Radical Reading Groups + Political Education
Radical Reading Groups + Political Education
“Looking at the past must only be a means of understanding more clearly what and who you are- so you can more wisely build the future” - Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
"Great is study for it leads to action" - Rabbi Akiva, Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 40b
In this blog post, you’ll find advice on how to start a radical reading group, information about some cool political education reading collectives, as well as a list of book recommendations.
image description: Photo of a reading group, about twenty people, mixed genders, most appear to be Black and people of color. They meet in what appears to be a bookstore with black and white checkered flooring and brick walls. There is shelving holding books and book posters on much of the wall space.
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How to start a Book Club Radical Reading Group
Get together (virtually!) with friends or community members. Commit to learning together. Come up with guidelines and expectations. Hold each other accountable.
Get a library card- Here is a link to get a library card in Multnomah county. If you live outside of Mult. Co. google your county + library card. Once you have access, you will be able to get ebooks, audiobooks, streaming services, and more.
image description: A black background with yellow text that reads, “having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a” in all upper case lettering. Below there is a white library card for the cartoon character, Arthur. There is a photo of Arthur, and red text that reads, “library card” in upper case lettering. So the full statement on the poster reads, “having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card”.
OR Support Black Owned Bookstores! If you love to own and mark up a book, definitely look into buying from a Black owned business. Here is a link to Portland-based Black Rose Books. Here is a national directory. You can also google your city + Black owned bookstore to browse yourself.
Stay realistic. Go for depth over breadth. Start with a book a month. Or a couple selected articles a month. See below for a recommended reading list.
Check to see if your book of the month has reading questions, or come up with your own.
Choose a person or a few people to facilitate your monthly conversation, rotating each month. This looks like guiding the conversation, pulling threads from people’s comments, and making sure everyone gets a chance to speak.
As a facilitator/point person for the month, send out questions in advance. If possible, also send out important excerpts if people are too busy to read a book in its entirety, or have a brief teach-back at the beginning of your discussion
Make sure your questions + discussion relate back to the role of your group, the current moment, and action y’all could take. Education informs action.
Here are some common group agreements:
WAIT- Why am I talking? For people that speak frequently, think about what you are going to say before you speak. Is it important, helpful, genuine? Are you repeating what somebody already said?
From AORTA, the Anti-Oppressive Resource and Training Alliance:
image description: on a white background there is dark maroon text that reads, “AORTA” in all upper case lettering. Below, the acronym spells out, “anti-oppression resource and training alliance” in all lower case lettering. Behind the text, to the right is a grey and white drawing of a human heart.
“This isn’t about creating rules—it’s about creating and clarifying agreements and expectations that allow everyone in the group to participate”
One person speak at a time. “(It can also be useful to ask people to leave a few moments in between speakers, for those who need more time to process words, or are less comfortable interjecting in a conversation).”
No one knows everything, together we know a lot.
Move up, move up. “If you’re someone who tends to not speak a lot, please move up into a role of speaking more. If you tend to speak a lot, please move up into a role of listening more. This is a twist on the more commonly heard “step up, step back.” The “up/up” confirms that in both experiences, growth is happening. (You don’t go “back” by learning to be a better listener. In fact, listening is a frequently feminized skill that is often seen as a lack of something. On the contrary, choosing to learn how to listen moves both you and the group up.) Saying “move” instead of “step” recognizes that not everyone can take steps, while we can all move in body or spirit.”
We can’t be articulate all the time
Be aware of time
Embrace curiosity
Acknowledge the difference between intent and impact
Cool groups to highlight
Noname book club
“Noname Book Club is an online/irl community dedicated to uplifting POC voices. We do this by highlighting two books each month written by authors of color. In addition to our social media presence we feel it is highly important to have free in-person meetups to discuss the monthly picks in a safe and supportive environment. Currently we have 12 local chapters with plans for continuous growth.”
“In 2020 we launched our Prison Program which allows us to send the monthly book picks to incarcerated folks around the country. We believe reading is a critical part of liberation and developing solidarity. The Prison Industrial Complex is working incredibly hard to erase members of our community and we feel we have to work even harder counter this effort.”
Each month, they stream live to their youtube. And if you want to be included in the conversation you can fill out a google form. Along with two books, each month they also curate a playlist.
image 1 description: image on the left has a light pink background with text that reads, “Noname’s book club” in all uppercase lettering. All of the lettering is bold and chunky, with a black shadow to the left. “Noname’s” is in pink, “book” is in orange, and “club” is in yellow.
image 2 description: image on the right is a photo of a book tote bag that reads, “Noname’s book club” in black and white all uppercase lettering. Surrounding the text on the book bag, there are ten characters, some human some animals reading, listening to music, and jumping rope. They are colored brightly with primary colors. Behind the book bag, there is a textured wall, with what appears to be orange carpeting. There is shelving on this wall, holding books with titles and authors’ names being partially obscured by the bag.
Check them out on. . .
Check out a list of past books they have covered
Support them on Patreon
Liberation Literacy (Portland based)
Mission- “building social justice literacy in prisons in order to reimagine and re-articulate the relationship between incarceration, our community, and ourselves”
Support by. . .
Donating books. Buy books for the freedom library through our Amazon wish list. The freedom library is a collection of racial justice and historical books requested by men at Columbia River Correctional. Buy books through your local bookstore! Take a look on our Amazon wishlist, and send us copies through your local bookstore to: Liberation Literacy 800 SE 10th Ave Portland, OR 97214. Make sure to include your name and address so we can send you your tax-deductible receipt.
Check out their. . .
Portland Books to Prisoners
Portland Books to Prisoners is a volunteer run, donation based organization that provides free reading materials to incarcerated individuals. Prisoners can request books by writing to: Seattle Books to Prisoners 92 Pike Street Seattle. WA 98101
Get involved by contacting pdxbookstoprisoners@riseup.net
Or check them out on Facebook!
Black and Pink PDX
Black and Pink PDX is a Portland based chapter of the national org fighting for abolition of the prison industrial complex alongside incarcerated LGBTQ people. They host meetings every second thursday at 6pm.
Black and Pink PDX is starting an abolitionist study group!!! To get involved, fill out this survey to let them know what sort of format would work best for you and to stay in the loop for updates. You are welcome to join the study group regardless of whether or not you are looking to get more involved with core organizing.
Check out their. . .
Book recommendations
Compiled by Hal Schrieve
Gender and Shifting Trans Identity
Stone Butch Blues, by Leslie Feinberg. Link to download. Link to buy.
Transgender Liberation: A Movement Whose Time Has Come, by Leslie Feinberg. Link
How Sex Changed, by Joanne Meyerowitz (NONFICTION). Link
Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity, by C. Riley Snorton. (NONFICTION). Link. .
Trap Door: Trans Cultural Production and the Politics of Visibility, ed. Reina Gossett, Johanna Burton, and Eric A. Stanley (NONFICTION). Link.
Holy Wild, by Gwen Benaway (POETRY). Link.
image 1 description: Book covers from left to right. The first book cover is for When Brooklyn Was Queer by Hugh Ryan. It is a black and white old timey photograph of two people arm and arm faced away from the camera, and the title of the book is in bright pink lower case lettering. The next book cover is for Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde. It has an orange background with a black stripe down the left side. There is a black and white drawing of a person standing, surrounded by leaves and tall buildings. The text is black and all uppercase lettering. The next book cover is for Semi Queer: Inside the World of Gay, Trans and Black Truck Drivers by Anne Balay. The cover is an aerial photograph of five parked semi trucks. The semi truck one in from the right is painted with a rainbow. The title “Semi Queer” is written larger than the sub heading, and all text is written in a bold light blue font. The last book cover is for This Bridge Called My Back: Writing by Radical Women of Color, edited by Cherríe L. Moraga and Gloria E. Anzaldúa. The cover is a silhouette of a person filled in with green leaves. The background behind this figure is orange. The text is written in white.
Queers, Work, Race, and Disability
When Brooklyn Was Queer by Hugh Ryan (NONFICTION). Link.
Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde (NONFICTION). Link.
Semi Queer: Inside the World of Gay, Trans and Black Truck Drivers by Anne Balay (NONFICTION E-BOOK). Link.
This Bridge Called My Back: Writing by Radical Women of Color, edited by Cherríe L. Moraga and Gloria E. Anzaldúa (NONFICTION). Link.
The Cancer Journals by Audre Lorde. (NONFICTION). Link
image 1 description: Book covers from left to right. The first book cover is Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom. The cover is light pink with drawings of blue hands with red nails holding a lit cigarette, a pink piece of pie, a pink pair of high heels, a light blue dagger, a light blue mermaid tail, and a bunch of little bees. There are also white stripes and little four sided white stars. The title is written in all upper case lettering that is white with a darker pink shadowing. The next book cover is Roving Pack by Sassafras Lowrey. The cover is off white with a black and white drawing of a person wearing overalls and a t shirt. There is a little dog peeking around this person’s side, also rendered in black and white. The title is rendered in red with a blue-purple outline to the left of the figure. The next book cover is Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg. The cover is an image of a nighttime cityscape. There is a light yellow glow surrounding the buildings. The night sky is dark blue with a couple clouds and some stars. The title is written in white uppercase lettering. The last book cover is Tiny Pieces of Skull by Roz Kaveny. The cover is a painting of six figures in what appears to be a bar or club. The style is not super realistic; the figures have almost blue skin. Some figures are applying lipstick, some are playing pool, some are sitting, some are dancing. The title is written in white font above the painting, and the author’s name is in white font below the painting.
Runaways, Queerness, and Found Family
Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom (FICTION). Link.
Roving Pack by Sassafras Lowrey (FICTION). Link.
Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg (FICTION). Link.
Tiny Pieces of Skull by Roz Kaveny (FICTION). Link.
Compiled by Timmy Chau. All links are to free PDFs. Full document here.
Intro to Black Radical Politics
kwame ture: stokely speaks, from black power to pan-africanism
thomas sankara: women’s liberation and the african freedom struggle
Black and Marxist Feminism
keeanga-yamahtta taylor: how we get free, black feminism and the combahee river collective
Prison Abolition
angela davis: political prisoners, prisons, and black liberation
paula c. johnson: voices of african american women in prison
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Political education is the “the critical effort through which [people] take themselves in hand and become agents of curiosity, become investigators, become subjects in an ongoing process of quest for the revelation of the ‘why’ of things and facts” - Paulo Freire ,Pedagogy of Hope: Reliving Pedagogy of the Oppressed