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Just finished "Heart of the Race" and it is mandatory reading for ANYONE organising, period.
Particularly the sections on the distinction between identity politics, the politics of identity, and collectivist politics. Wisdom!
Going to share the bits that stuck out to me below.
Particularly the sections on the distinction between identity politics, the politics of identity, and collectivist politics. Wisdom!
Going to share the bits that stuck out to me below.
The Introduction "The Ties that Bind" lays out the historic material conditions of pre-colonial Africa, slavery, the rise of European capitalism, and the lasting results of British imperialism on the world. It is CRUCIAL! Know the history so we can change the present!
The subsequent 1-4 chapters cover the experiences of Black working-class women / students and it is both horrific how much has remained the same (institutionally racist class-war), and inspiring to see the instinctual organising spirit of working-people in all spheres:
I realise the above quotes centre the trauma, but the stories of resistance are too varied and lengthy to do justice in this format. Everyone from Nanny of the Maroons through to Claudia Jones is recounted. Once again, I cannot stress the value of this book.
Important is the constant and correct foregrounding of class, and the trouble for political organisations when class-analysis and political education takes a back foot:
The recently published "Afterword" speaks particularly about the danger of identity politics (as opposed to the politics of identity) taking precendence over class analysis:
More on Idpol & socialism:
This is just what jumped out to me and what fits in this thread. There is a TON of content that is important in this book, not least the first hand accounts ot Black working-class women speaking of their struggle, often erased in class / race discussions. Read the damn book! 
