From Here To There collects unpublished talks and hard-to-find essays from legendary activist historian Staughton Lynd.
The first section of the Reader collects reminiscences and analyses of the 1960s. A second section offers a vision of how historians might immerse themselves in popular movements while maintaining their obligation to tell the truth. In the last section Lynd explores what nonviolence, resistance to empire as a way of life, and working class self-activity might mean in the 21st century. Together, they provide a sweeping overview of the life, and work—to date—of Staughton Lynd.
Both a definitive introduction and further exploration, it is bound to educate, enlighten, and inspire those new to his work and those who have been following it for decades. In a wide-ranging Introduction, anarchist scholar Andrej Grubacic considers how Lynd’s persistent concerns relate to traditional anarchism.
About Staughton Lynd:
Staughton Lynd taught history at Spelman College and Yale in the 1960s and coordinated the hugely successful Freedom Schools during the Mississippi Summer Project of 1964. After moving to New Haven, Lynd became a spokesperson for opponents of the Vietnam War. As a result of these activities, Lynd was blacklisted as a university professor and he and his wife became lawyers. Since 1976 they have lived in Youngstown, Ohio, working with and representing local victims of deindustrialization, and prisoners confined at Ohio’s first super-maximum security prison.
Together with Marty Glaberman, Stan Weir, and Daniel Gross of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), he developed and publicized “solidarity unionism”: the idea that workers should rely on their own direct action and seek horizontal relationships with similar groups in other workplaces.
Staughton Lynd turned 80 in November 2009. Throughout, he has affirmed that another world is possible and sought means to get from here to there.
About Andrej Grubacic:
Andrej Grubacic is an anarchist dissident, historian and sociologist who has written prolifically on anarchism and the history of the Balkans. He is a lecturer at the ZMedia Institute and San Francisco Art Institute. Grubacic is a founding member of the Global Balkans network of the Balkan anti-authoritarian diaspora, and ZBalkans—a Balkan edition of Z Magazine on whose editorial board he also sits. He is or has been active as an anarchist organizer in networks such as Planetary Alternatives Network, the post-Yugoslav coalition of anti-authoritarian collectives DSM!, Peoples Global Action, the World Social Forum, Freedom Fight and, most recently, as a program director for the Global Commons. His works include Wobblies and Zapatistas (with Staughton Lynd), books in Balkan languages, chapters and numerous articles related to anarchism, as well as the history and utopian present of the Balkans.
Reviews:
- “I met Staughton and Alice Lynd nearly fifty years ago in Atlanta. Staughton’s reflective and restless life has never ceased in its exploring. This book is his great gift to the next generations.” –Tom Hayden
- “Staughton Lynd’s work is essential reading for anyone dedicated to implementing social justice. The essays collected in this book provide unique wisdom and insights into United States history and possibilities for change, summed up in two tenets: Leading from below and Solidarity.” –Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
- “This remarkable collection demonstrates the compassion and intelligence of one of America’s greatest public intellectuals. To his explorations of everything from Freedom Schools to the Battle of Seattle, Staughton Lynd brings lyricism, rigour, a historian’s eye for irony, and an unshakable commitment to social transformation. In this time of economic crisis, when the air is filled with ideas of ‘hope’ and ‘change,’ Lynd guides us to understanding what, very concretely, those words might mean and how we might get there. These essays are as vital and relevant now as the day they were written, and a source of inspiration for activists young and old.” –Raj Patel
- “The Staughton Lynd Reader is a veritable treasure chest. Lynd shows unparalleled respect for rank-and-file movements. If you’re interested in broad social change and meaningful democracy, you simply must read Staughton Lynd.” –Daniel Gross
Product Details:
Author: Staughton Lynd Edited with an Introduction by Andrej Grubacic
Publisher: PM Press
ISBN: 978-1-60486-215-7
Published: April 2010
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 320
Dimensions: 9 by 6
Subjects: Politics, History
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