Storytelling about a life spent at the heart of many of the major social movements in the US in the last 35 years combined with very practical lessons about how to organize. I had never heard of Lisa Fithian before, but as an organizer, a facilitator, a trainer, and an activist, she has done a lot – from working a as an organizer in some of the early Justice for Janitors campaigns, to a mass direct action that (briefly) shut down CIA headquarters, to the anti-WTO protests in Seattle and a number of other big global justice actions, to New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina, to the attempts by internationals in Cairo to join the Gaza Freedom March, to Occupy and its environs, to Ferguson, to Standing Rock, and much more. And it should convey a sense of where she’s speaking from that she wasn’t someone who just randomly showed up to these things, but was usually invited to play whatever role she played because she has a reputation as someone who is able to Make Things Happen and Get Things Done. I think what I find most compelling about her approach is the way that it combines a resolute commitment to things like horizontalism, direct action, and other key elements of anti-authoritarian grassroots politics, with an equally solid commitment to practical campaigns that are oriented towards actually winning stuff. Sad to say, that combination is rarer than you might think. Anyway, it’s an engaging read if you’re interested in first-hand accounts of some key movement moments – I certainly learned things I didn’t know, even though I was around and paying attention from a distance across much of the era she writes about – and it has lots of practical advice for anyone trying to figure out how work collectively to fight for change. A great movement book.
Originally posted by Scott on Goodreads.