Thursday, December 30, 2010

Radicalism at the Crossroads: African American Women Activists in the Cold War

Come check out local scholar Dayo Gore's new book Radicalism at the Crossroads: African American Women Activists in the Cold War.

"With the exception of a few iconic moments such as Rosa Parks’s 1955 refusal to move to the back of a Montgomery bus, we hear little about what black women activists did prior to 1960. Perhaps this gap is due to the severe repression that radicals of any color in America faced as early as the 1930s, and into the Red Scare of the 1950s. To be radical, and black and a woman was to be forced to the margins and consequently, these women’s stories have been deeply buried and all but forgotten by the general public and historians alike.

In this exciting work of historical recovery, Dayo F. Gore unearths and examines a dynamic, extended community of black radical women during the early Cold War, including established Communist Party activists such as Claudia Jones, artists and writers such as Beulah Richardson, and lesser-known organizers such as Vicki Garvin and Thelma Dale. These women were part of a black left that laid much of the groundwork for both the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and later strains of black radicalism. Radicalism at the Crossroads offers a sustained and in-depth analysis of the political thought and activism of black women radicals during the Cold War period and adds a new dimension to our understanding of this tumultuous and violent time in United States history."

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Food For Thought Books in the news

Check out this article on Food For Thought Books in the Valley Advocate!

It's particularly nice to know that, in a Valley known for its leftward leanings, there are businesses that employ progressive ideas not as mere ideals but as working methods. The Valley's worker-owned, democratically run co-ops include Collective Copies, Pelham Auto, Ronin Tech Collective, Northampton's often-seen bicycle stalwarts Pedal People, and more.

One of the best-known is Amherst's not-for-profit Food for Thought Books, which specializes in "radical and progressive media." The bookstore also hosts plenty of author appearances. It's remarkable, in a bad economic climate and in a time when the fate of books and bookstores is less than clear, for any small bookstore to stay on the scene. Food for Thought, which has sustained itself since 1976, seemed to have achieved institution status, but even indie bookstores that have succeeded over the long haul are in danger these days. ...read more

Friday, December 17, 2010

Sweaty Buttons at Food For Thought Books!

Stop by this Sunday for a free afternoon concert of rootsy goodness courtesy of our good friends: the fabulous Sweaty Buttons!

Update: Here's a nice little video from the concert.



Monday, December 13, 2010

New Book Bags!

As part of our Support and Sustain Campaign we are releasing this limited edition book bag, designed by fellow radical artist Ricardo Levins Morales. Only $25.00 - all proceeds go to support Food for Thought Books Collective.


This printing is limited, so don't miss out on an opportunity to get this beautiful, unique bag AND support FFT at the same time. Get one for yourself and get some to give to your friends and family - click here to order.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Haruki Murakami on reality

A thought-provoking piece in the NY Times from one of my favorite authors (and Javiera's too!), Haruki Murakami - you really should go read it right now:

We often wonder what it would have been like if 9/11had never happened — or at least if that plan had not succeeded so perfectly. Then the world would have been very different from what it is now. America might have had a different president (a major possibility), and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars might never have happened (an even greater possibility).

Let’s call the world we actually have now Reality A and the world that we might have had if 9/11 had never happened Reality B. Then we can’t help but notice that the world of Reality B appears to be realer and more rational than the world of Reality A. To put it in different terms, we are living a world that has an even lower level of reality than the unreal world.   ...read more
Right? And once you're done with that, you should really go & track down one of his novels & read it. Here's some suggestions:


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