Open Media Series

"'This collection of short meditations, written from a prison cell, captures the past two decades of police violence that gave rise to Black Lives Matter while digging deeply into the history of the United States. This is the book we need right now to find our bearings in the chaos'--Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States; 'Mumia's writings are a wake-up call. He is a voice from our prophetic tradition, speaking to us here, now, lovingly, urgently'--Cornel West; 'He allows us to reflect upon the fact that transformational possibilities often emerge where we least expect them'--Angela Y. Davis; In December 1981, Mumia Abu Jamal was shot and beaten into unconsciousness by Philadelphia police. He awoke to find himself shackled to a hospital bed, accused of killing a cop. He was convicted and sentenced to death in a trial that Amnesty International has denounced as failing to meet the minimum standards of judicial fairness. In Have Black Lives Ever Mattered? Mumia gives voice to the many people of color who have fallen to police bullets or racist abuse, and offers the post-Ferguson generation advice on how to address police abuse in the United States. This collection of his radio commentaries on the topic features an in-depth essay written especially for this book to examine the history of policing in America, with its origins in the white slave patrols of the antebellum South and an explicit mission to terrorize the country's Black population. Applying a personal, historical, and political lens, Mumia provides a righteously angry and calmly principled radical Black perspective on how racist violence is tearing our country apart and what must be done to turn things around. Mumia Abu-Jamal is author of many books, including Death Blossoms, Live from Death Row, All Things Censored, and Writing on the Wall"--Provided by publisher.

What is the meaning of freedom? Angela Y. Davis' life and work have been dedicated to examining this fundamental question and to ending all forms of oppression that deny people their political, cultural, and sexual freedom. In this collection of twelve searing, previously unpublished speeches, Davis confronts the interconnected issues of power, race, gender, class, incarceration, conservatism, and the ongoing need for social change in the United States. With her characteristic brilliance, historical insight, and penetrating analysis, Davis addresses examples of institutional injustice and explores the radical notion of freedom as a collective striving for real democracy - not something granted or guaranteed through laws, proclamations, or policies, but something that grows from a participatory social process that demands new ways of thinking and being. "The speeches gathered together here are timely and timeless," writes Robin D.G. Kelley in the foreword, "they embody Angela Davis' uniquely radical vision of the society we need to build, and the path to get there." The Meaning of Freedom articulates a bold vision of the society we need to build and the path to get there. This is her only book of speeches.

Book Description: In this powerful follow-up to Between Barack and a Hard Place, Tim Wise argues against "colorblindness" and for a deeper color-consciousness in both public and private practice. We can only begin to move toward authentic social and economic equity through what Wise calls "illuminated individualism"--Acknowledging the diverse identities that have shaped our perceptions, and the role that race continues to play in the maintenance of disparities between whites and people of color in the United States today. This is the first book to discuss the pitfalls of "colorblindness" in the Obama era.

"According to U.S. military planners, climate change now poses the #1 national security threat to the United States, even before terrorism. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre reports that a person is four times more likely to be forced to move due to environmental disaster than by war, and in 2015 alone, 19.2 million people were displaced worldwide by environmental disasters. Droughts, fires, and floods are driving ever-larger numbers of people to cross national borders, and the problem is not just the vast numbers of people on the move, but also the legions of highly militarized border armies being deployed to stop them. In fast-paced prose, Todd Miller travels to hot spots in the United States and around the globe to investigate how environmental crisis is creating millions of climate refugees who are challenging the developed world's borders and resources. Miller explores how a sense of threat in the United States is giving rise to high-tech surveillance fortresses and fueling calls for an ever-expanding border wall. He also weaves in stories of people engaged in creative defiance of the armies, border patrols, and police being deployed to fight those in need. Miller passionately makes the case for ecological restoration, not border militarization, as the best way to achieve sustainability and security"--

The Other Campaign is a collection of texts by Subcomandante Marcos and his Zapatista compañeros that articulate a vision for “change from below,” a call to create social change beyond the limits of electoral politics. As Mexico approaches the presidential elections, Marcos and supporters are touring the country in an effort to build a broad-based movement. The book includes a recent interview with Marcos and speeches made by Zapatista comandantes, as well as the Zapatistas’ “Sixth Declaration of the Lacandón Jungle,” which places the indigenous struggle for democracy in its historical context and articulates an evolving vision for democracy, dignity, and justice.

""Chomsky is a global phenomenon. perhaps the most widely read voice on foreign policy on the planet."--New York Times Book Review"Unwavering political contrarian Noam Chomsky smart-bombs the US military's global Interventions. Shock and awe!"--Vanity FairBecause We Say So presents more than thirty concise, forceful commentaries on US politics and global power. Written between 2011 and 2015, Noam Chomsky's arguments forge a persuasive counter-narrative to official accounts of US politics and policies during global crisis. Find here classic Chomsky on the increasing urgency of climate change, the ongoing impact of Edward Snowden's whistleblowing, nuclear politics, cyberwar, terrorism, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, and the Middle East, security and state power, as well as deeper reflections on the Obama doctrine, political philosophy, the Magna Carta, and the importance of a commons to democracy.Because We Say So is the third in a series of books by Chomsky published by City Lights Publishers that includes Making the Future (2012) and Interventions (2007), a book banned by US military censors. Taken together, the three books present a complete collection of the articles Chomsky writes regularly for the New York Times Syndicate, and are largely ignored by newspapers in the United States. Because We Say So offers fierce, accessible, timely, gloves-off political writing by America's foremost public intellectual and political dissident.Noam Chomsky is one of the world's most well-known critics of US policy. He has published numerous groundbreaking and best-selling books on global politics, history, and linguistics"-- "Because We Say So presents more than thirty short, forceful commentaries written between 2011 and 2015 covering the most urgent matters in U.S. politics during global crisis. With uncompromising clarity, Chomsky takes on a range of hot-button issues from climate change, nuclear politics, and spying/cyberwar, to the Middle East and the future of democracy. Brilliant, accessible, timely, gloves-off political writing"--

"The Obama presidency represents a major milestone in black history and the struggle for political, economic and cultural equality in the United States. But how--if at all--has the first black presidency helped move things forward for people of color? Has it delivered the "change we can believe in" and "deepening of democracy" that communities of color organized around? How has the reality and image of a black First Family impacted American culture? What lessons from past struggles can be applied to this unique historical moment to advance multicultural democracy in the U.S.? Starting the exploration of these questions with the voices of past civil rights and black power activists held in the historic Pacifica Radio Archives, BBC journalist Joanne Griffith traveled the country to interview black intellectuals, leaders and activists. The result is a rich and wide-ranging exploration of the hot-button issues facing African Americans today, from religion, law and media to education and the economy, to the ever-shifting meaning of Obama's contribution and impact. Both timely and rich in personal wisdom, Redefining Black Power connects the dots between past civil rights struggles and the future of black civic and cultural life in the United States. Featuring Van Jones, Michelle Alexander, Julianne Malveaux, Vincent Harding, Ramona Africa, Esther Armah and Linn Washington Jr. Foreword by Pacifica Radio Archives director Brian DeShazor."--Jacket.

"In a series of essays on the intersections of political power, popular culture and new methods of social control, Giroux explores how neoliberal discourse and the ongoing commodification of everyday life constitute an active assault on public memory, chip away at civil rights, and diminish the public's capacity to speak and act in its own interests. Alarmed at the increased authoritarianism creeping into all levels of national experience, Giroux looks to flashpoints in current events to reveal how the institutions of government and business are at work to generate false narratives that promote mass fear, quietism and passivity. "The Violence of Organized Forgetting" makes visible the untruth of these narratives and the historical, political, economic, and cultural conditions that produce them. Giroux analyzes how various institutions in American society are distracting and miseducating the public. Political and cultural responses to current event--such as the ongoing economic crisis, income inequality, health care reform, Hurricane Sandy, the war on terror, the Boston Marathon bombing, and the Chicago teacher protests--represent flashpoints that reveal a growing disregard for people's democratic rights, public accountability, and civic values. From the inflated rhetoric of the political right to market-driven media peddling spectacles of violence, the influence of these forces in everyday life is undermining our collective security by justifying cutbacks to social supports and restricting opportunities for democratic resistance. Giroux argues that widespread acceptance of the militarized lockdown of Boston crystalizes the degree to which society has come to accept martial law and mass surveillance as inevitable necessities of contemporary American life. Over-the-top repression of social movements like Occupy reveals an increasing intolerance and suspicion of those who challenge state and corporate power, while the violence marketed to youth as entertainment promotes further disconnection from a sense of cohesive community. "The Violence of Organized Forgetting" is a passionate call for public engagement as a means to push back against restrictions on freedom and the passive acceptance of a frightening status quo"--

"From hatemongering tactics in the run-up to the 2016 presidential race, to the increasing number of mass shootings, to excessive police violence, evidence that America is at war with itself is everywhere around us. The question is not whether or not it's happening, but how to understand what's driving the crisis and how to prevent conditions from getting worse. In this insightful book, Henry A. Giroux offers a far-reaching critique of the economic interests, cultural dynamics, and political forces at work in the nation's shift toward increasingly abusive forms of power, and what can and should be done to resist them. Reflecting on a wide range of social issues, Giroux contrasts Donald Trump's America with Sandra Bland's to understand who really benefits from politically fueled intolerance for immigrants, communities of color, Muslims, low-income families, and those who challenge state and corporate power. A passionate advocate for civil rights and the importance of the imagination, Giroux argues that only through widespread social investment in democracy and education can the common good hope to prevail over the increasingly concentrated influence of extreme right-wing politicians and self-serving economic interests. Praise for America at War with Itself: "This is the book Americans need to read now. No one is better than Henry Giroux at analyzing the truly dangerous threats to our society. He punctures our delusions and offers us a compelling and enlightened vision of a better way. America at War with Itself is the best book of the year."-Bob Herbert, Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos and former Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times "In America at War with Itself, Henry Giroux again proves himself one of North America's most clear-sighted radical philosophers of education, culture and politics: radical because he discards the chaff of liberal critique and cuts to the root of the ills that are withering democracy. Giroux also connects the dots of reckless greed, corporate impunity, poverty, mass incarceration, racism and the co-opting of education to crush critical thinking and promote a culture that denigrates and even criminalizes civil society and the public good. His latest work is the antidote to an alarming tide of toxic authoritarianism that threatens to engulf America. The book could not be more timely."-Olivia Ward, Toronto Star "The current U.S. descent into authoritarianism did not just happen. As Henry Giroux brilliantly shows it was the result of public pedagogical work in a number of institutions that were part of a long-standing assault on public goods, the social contract, and democracy itself. Giroux powerfully skewers oppressive forces with the hallmark clarity and rigor that has made him one of the most important cultural critics and public intellectuals in North America. His sharp insights provide readers with the intellectual tools to challenge the tangle of fundamentalisms that characterize the political system, economy, and culture in the current conjuncture. America at War with Itself makes the case for real ideological and structural change at a time when the need and stakes could not be greater. Everyone who cares about the survival and revival of democracy needs to read this book."-Kenneth Saltman, Professor, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Author of The Failure of Corporate School Reform Henry A. Giroux's most recent books include The Violence of Organized Forgetting and America's Addiction to Terrorism. A prolific writer and political commentator, he has appeared in a wide range of media, including the New York Times and Bill Moyers"-- "A searing critique of state violence and intolerance in the United States today, Henry Giroux examines how hot-button issues and events reveal the nation's drift toward totalitarian forms of social control. From police violence in black communities to meteoric rise of Donald Trump, Giroux parses the trends and flashpoints to understand the underlying politics and social forces impacting America today"--