Grace Lee Boggs on the Next American Revolution
On Thursday May 26th at 7:00 pm the Book Beat is pleased to present Grace Lee Boggs together with Oran Hesterman in discussion at the Oak Park Library, located at 14200 Oak Park, Blvd., in Oak Park. Books will be available at the event for purchase. Please call 248-968-1190 for more information. We sincerely thank the Oak Park Library for providing their space and support for this important community event.
Grace Lee Boggs is a legendary Detroit based activist and force for social change. She is a visionary thinker and author who has devoted over seven decades of her life not only in sharing her ideas on civil rights, education, environmental justice and peace but putting them into everyday use and practice. She is an internationally renowned author and inspirational force for change. Her new book is The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century.
Grace Lee Boggs was born in New York City in 1915 and is the daughter of Chinese born immigrants. In 1953 she moved to Detroit and married African-American labor and Black Power activist Jimmy Boggs (1919-1993) whose selected writings have recently been released as Pages from a Black Radical’s Notebooks: A James Boggs Reader.
“Reading Grace Lee Boggs helps you glimpse a United States that is better and more beautiful than you thought it was. As she analyzes some of the inspiring theories and practices that have emerged from the struggles for equality and freedom in Detroit and beyond, she also shows us that in this country, a future revolution is not only necessary but possible.” –Michael Hardt, co-author of Commonwealth
“One of the most accomplished radicals of our time, the Detroit-based visionary Grace Lee Boggs has become one of our most influential and inspiring public intellectuals. The Next American Revolution is her powerful reflection on a lifetime of urban revolutionary work, an ode to the courage and brilliance of her late partner James Boggs, and a plain-spoken call for us to address the troubled times we face with a sense of history, a strong set of values, and an unwavering faith in our own creative, restorative powers.” –Jeff Chang, author of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop
“Grace has continued to make history as she has nurtured new ideas in Detroit and raised new possibilities of reuniting the efforts of all of us into a new movement…. As we move forth in the twenty-first century, I want to thank you, Grace. I want to thank you so much for being a part of my life. And certainly I am going to soak up whatever I can from you as long as you are here and as long as you are able and willing to give it.” –Danny Glover, actor/humanitarian (from the Foreword, The Next American Revolution)
Hear a recent interview with Grace Lee Boggs on the NPR Michael Eric Dyson Show. a recent program dedicated Mothers Day to mother’s everywhere.
“Over a long life, Grace Lee Boggs has tried out one radical idea after another to make America work for everyone. She embraced some, discarded others, fashioned new ones of her own and has remained passionate about trying to humanize our democracy. And through it all, this activist and philosopher has been a witness to tumultuous change even as she kept herself rooted to the place she still calls home.” -Bill Moyers ,veteran journalist, PBS commentator, author and White House Press Secretary under President Lyndon B. Johnson (1965-1967)
“I see a movement beginning to emerge, ’cause I see hope beginning to trump despair.” – Grace Lee Boggs, interviewed in 2007 on PBS by Bill Moyers, read or see the entire interview at: The Bill Moyer’s Journal
A short fascinating article in the Monthly Review by Grace Lee Boggs on education, Freedom Schools and the Detroit Summer Project.
Grace Lee Boggs, an “elder stateswoman on the Black Power movement” reflects on the Beloved Community of Martin Luther King Other archived articles by Grace Lee Boggs are available on the site of Yes! Magazine.
The Boggs Center was established in Detroit in 1995 by friends of Jimmy Boggs (1919-1993) and Grace Lee Boggs to continue their legacy as movement activists and theoreticians.
Oran Hesterman on Fair Food
Dr. Oran Hesterman is the founder of the Fair Food Network “a national nonprofit that works at the intersection of food systems, sustainability and social equity to guarantee access to healthy, fresh and sustainably grown food, especially in underserved communities.” He is also author of the new book Fair Food, a book that takes a look at how food gets to our dinner table and how it can be done better. We are pleased to bring him into this discussion on new ways to think about living and creating a sustainable future. Oran Hesterman lives in Ann Arbor.
“The author’s deft explanation of our current cultivation and consumption of food should have families moving away from their supermarket aisles and into farmers’ markets and community-supported agriculture programs…A thorough, inspiring guide on how to restructure the food system for a long and healthy future, for consumers and legislators alike.” – Kirkus Review
“Fair Food not only chronicles the challenges our food system faces and the achievements already made but also illuminates a clear path toward a more sustainable, fair, and delicious future.” —Alice Waters | Chef, Restaurateur