Meeting Description
Lacuna Zines’ inaugural Abolitionist Book Club (ABC) meeting kicked off with a modest attendance and lots of great discussion. The subject of this meeting was “Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement” by Angela Y. Davis, an iconic social and political activist from Birmingham, Alabama. Davis is well known for her writing and speeches on prison abolition, racial and gender equality, and class struggles. This meeting hosted by Lacuna was attended by Lacunas’ Editor-in-Chief Erin Green, and Acquisitions Editor Leslie Anne Smith, both of whom are Alabama natives as well.
BOOK COVER
BOOK DESCRIPTION
In these newly collected essays, interviews, and speeches, world-renowned activist and scholar Angela Y. Davis illuminates the connections between struggles against state violence and oppression throughout history and around the world.
Reflecting on the importance of black feminism, intersectionality, and prison abolitionism for today's struggles, Davis discusses the legacies of previous liberation struggles, from the Black Freedom Movement to the South African anti-Apartheid movement. She highlights connections and analyzes today's struggles against state terror, from Ferguson to Palestine.
Facing a world of outrageous injustice, Davis challenges us to imagine and build the movement for human liberation. And in doing so, she reminds us that "Freedom is a constant struggle."
Leslie’s Thoughts
For the purpose of this writing the Celtic nations are referred to by their native names.
I really wanted to be involved in this book club because while I believe in abolitionist ideas and principles, I don’t feel like I’m particularly well read in the subject. So co-facilitating this group with Erin is my way of encouraging myself to do the work of reading the theory and literature about abolition. It’s also nice to share ideas and viewpoints with others so I can see other ways of looking at social issues and possible community solutions for said issues!
This was my second time reading “Freedom is a Constant Struggle”, and it was actually one of the first abolitionist texts I ever read. It was the first time I had the Palestinian struggle for freedom explored through a non-Imperial American view, and the first time I saw it compared to the South African struggle against apartheid. Davis’ focus on intersectionality not only being the intersections of identity, but also the intersections of international struggle is interesting to me (take a shot for every word starting with I). It makes me think of the solidarity for Palestine shown by Éire. Éire, and many other Celtic nations, are no strangers to occupation. Éire was a British colony until 1921, with Tuaisceart Éireann still part of the British Empire. While the government of Éire has only moved to recognize a Palestinian state in the year 2024, the people of Éire have long found themselves and their experiences with British occupation in the struggles of South Africans and Palestinians.
While I agree with Davis' points that intersectionality unites us in our struggles, I wonder if this is also true for those we consider the oppressors. Does America not see itself in the British empire? Did Hitler’s Germany not model itself after American policies? Is AIPAC not buying and selling the American government, with no action from our elected officials, for their own personal gain, ignoring the wants and needs of American Jewish constituents? If the oppressed find intersectional solidarity in their struggles, will the oppressors not find the same in their actions and plans? I think intersectionality can be used in multiple ways, not all of them quite beneficial for the greater good. But I suppose that depends on what you see as the greater good.
Erin brought up a great point that I will be pondering on during our next read. We as abolitionists often seem to forget the need for theory and practice. I suppose this has been a problem since time began. Not everyone is going to read the theory, or the “academic” conversations around a topic. While I do agree that academic writing is often inaccessible, I think there is a certain resistance to engaging with it. Those engaging in practice often (rightfully) feel ignored or overlooked by the academy and those writing theory. Why would we listen to someone like Davis or Kimberlee Crenshaw who have never worked alongside the coal miners or the laborers who make up many of the historic unions we read about? The answer is, of course, the intersectionality of struggle, but try telling that to your old, Southern railroad and phone company union relatives! The short of it is, we need the theory and the practice, but it is difficult to impart both. Doing so requires a lot of local level education, patience, efforts, and time that we in a capitalist state are not allowed. But, nevertheless, we try to carve out our ways of reading, action, and community.
I am glad I got to hear Erin’s thoughts on the book and share some of my own. In many ways this meeting left me with more questions, but that is part of the journey of education I fear. Maybe the next read will bring these lingering thoughts to the forefront. I hope to have more of y’all join us next quarter, and, as always: Annibyniaeth i Gymru!
Erin’s Thoughts
Ditto.
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by Leslie Anne Smith and Erin Green
Leslie Anne Smith has an MA in Publishing from the University of Derby and has worked as an ESL teacher in South Korea and the US. They are passionate about language learning, minority language preservation, traveling, postcards, football (the real one), and uplifting queer voices. They live out of a suitcase most of the time, but the return address for all their post is for Alabama. Fodd bynnag, bidden nhw bob amser yn dweud annibyniaeth i Gymru.
Erin works as a college instructor and is perpetually exhausted. They currently are the creator and co-host of the Black Brew Podcast and are a politics writer for TransGriot. They enjoy horror fiction, superheroes, Top 40s pop music, cocktails, and shaking they ass at gay bars. #BlackTransLivesMatter!!!
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