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Books For Activists and Allies
Words are a call to action in these 10 non-fiction books from acclaimed artists, actors and culture critics / BY Nathalie Atkinson / December 13th, 2023
Books by and about past and present trailblazers, from a biography of Civil Rights fundraiser Mollie Moon to comedian Amber Ruffin’s latest riffs on racism – and including the memoir of a burlesque dancer and a history of Ms. Magazine – will inspire introspection and future change.
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1Our Secret SocietyMollie Lewis Moon, who died in 1990 at 82, was an African American social worker turned Black socialite who was known as the doyenne of Harlem society. She gets a much-needed biographic portrait from Ford, the award-winning cultural critic and historian, who traces Moon’s rise from poverty to leading fundraiser for the early Civil Rights movement.
Mollie Lewis Moon, who died in 1990 at 82, was an African American social worker turned Black socialite who was known as the doyenne of Harlem society. She gets a much-needed biographic portrait from Ford, the award-winning cultural critic and historian, who traces Moon’s rise from poverty to leading fundraiser for the early Civil Rights movement.
2NakedShake it ‘til you make it: Musings and essays by the Brooklyn-based burlesque performer, sex educator and social worker (and, as Miss Coney Island 2016, subject of a documentary) bare her opinions on selling, performing and consuming desire, as well as respectability, power and fatphobia.
Shake it ‘til you make it: Musings and essays by the Brooklyn-based burlesque performer, sex educator and social worker (and, as Miss Coney Island 2016, subject of a documentary) bare her opinions on selling, performing and consuming desire, as well as respectability, power and fatphobia.
3Radicals and RoguesIf you “heart” New York, you can thank the women in this lively social history about an experimental group of subversive bohemians who, in the 1910s, founded and burnished the city’s artistic scene, and modernized it. Greenwich Village illustrator Clara Tice, for example, bobbed her hair and contributed art in her own image to Vogue and Vanity Fair. Through influence and social contacts, they were instrumental in the founding of MoMA.
If you “heart” New York, you can thank the women in this lively social history about an experimental group of subversive bohemians who, in the 1910s, founded and burnished the city’s artistic scene, and modernized it. Greenwich Village illustrator Clara Tice, for example, bobbed her hair and contributed art in her own image to Vogue and Vanity Fair. Through influence and social contacts, they were instrumental in the founding of MoMA.
450 Years of Ms.This compendium with the fuchsia cover celebrates a half-century of the groundbreaking feminist magazine. Each chapter covers a decade, contextualized with behind-the-scenes moments: from the making of the issues and the challenges they had; letters from everyday readers; and excerpts by notable contributors, right up to the recent dismantling of Roe v. Wade.
This compendium with the fuchsia cover celebrates a half-century of the groundbreaking feminist magazine. Each chapter covers a decade, contextualized with behind-the-scenes moments: from the making of the issues and the challenges they had; letters from everyday readers; and excerpts by notable contributors, right up to the recent dismantling of Roe v. Wade.
5The World Record Book of Racist StoriesPointed anecdotes about the absurd everyday experiences of racism and racist micro-aggressions shouldn’t be this entertaining, but the essays in these tales collected by Ruffin, a comedian, and her sister, from extended family members cuts across generations with hilarity.
Pointed anecdotes about the absurd everyday experiences of racism and racist micro-aggressions shouldn’t be this entertaining, but the essays in these tales collected by Ruffin, a comedian, and her sister, from extended family members cuts across generations with hilarity.
6Black FriendThe author is best known as the host of her eponymous satirical late-night show, and these pop-culture stories and anti-racist essays about herself, and the world around her, use humour to mask vulnerability. The anecdotes are heartfelt and unravel insightful cultural analysis.
The author is best known as the host of her eponymous satirical late-night show, and these pop-culture stories and anti-racist essays about herself, and the world around her, use humour to mask vulnerability. The anecdotes are heartfelt and unravel insightful cultural analysis.
7Why Willie Mae Thornton MattersAlabama blues singer Big Mama Thornton, whose song Hound Dog was later recorded by Elvis and changed the course of American music, is one of the most important figures in the history of rock and roll, yet she has been written out of history and collective memory. This edition from the Music Matters series examines her art, life and legacy and corrects that.
Alabama blues singer Big Mama Thornton, whose song Hound Dog was later recorded by Elvis and changed the course of American music, is one of the most important figures in the history of rock and roll, yet she has been written out of history and collective memory. This edition from the Music Matters series examines her art, life and legacy and corrects that.
8It’s All About the LandThis Kahnawà:ke Mohawk writer, philosopher and activist has been at the forefront of the Indigenous sovereignty movement in Canada for decades. He says anyone who wants to understand the history and contemporary impact of injustices perpetrated in the interests of colonialism and capitalism should read this anthology of his key talks and commentary on Indigenous issues and resurgence.
This Kahnawà:ke Mohawk writer, philosopher and activist has been at the forefront of the Indigenous sovereignty movement in Canada for decades. He says anyone who wants to understand the history and contemporary impact of injustices perpetrated in the interests of colonialism and capitalism should read this anthology of his key talks and commentary on Indigenous issues and resurgence.
9The SisterhoodA group of Black feminist writers that included Toni Morrison, Ntozake Shange, Alice Walker and Margo Jefferson began meeting once a month in the late 1970s; the gatherings were short-lived, but influential at generating renegade scholarly ideas that have expanded the canon and notions of literature, as shown by these original interviews with Sisterhood members, as well as correspondence, meeting minutes and readings of their work.
A group of Black feminist writers that included Toni Morrison, Ntozake Shange, Alice Walker and Margo Jefferson began meeting once a month in the late 1970s; the gatherings were short-lived, but influential at generating renegade scholarly ideas that have expanded the canon and notions of literature, as shown by these original interviews with Sisterhood members, as well as correspondence, meeting minutes and readings of their work.
10Mother TongueThe linguistic journey of feminist language is the subject of this treatise, in chapters like Flux (menstrual language) or Nurse (the language of care), as well as entries on sex, labour and male violence. The chapter on feminist vocabulary, charting the origins and politicized evolution of the words gender and patriarchy, is worth the cover price alone.
The linguistic journey of feminist language is the subject of this treatise, in chapters like Flux (menstrual language) or Nurse (the language of care), as well as entries on sex, labour and male violence. The chapter on feminist vocabulary, charting the origins and politicized evolution of the words gender and patriarchy, is worth the cover price alone.