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20 books everyone should read before they’re 20

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“Illuminating and heartbreaking”: how Angela Davis’s intersectional Women, Race & Class still resonates half a century later

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‘Illuminating and heartbreaking’: why Angela Davis’s Women, Race & Class still resonates

An Autobiography

'Riveting; as fresh and relevant today as it was almost 50 years ago. The words fire off the page with humour, anger and eloquence' Guardian 
 
A powerful and commanding account of the life of trailblazing political activist Angela Davis 
 
Edited by Toni Morrison and first published in 1974, An Autobiography is a classic of the Black Liberation era which resonates just as powerfully today. It is reissued now with a new introduction by Davis, for a new audience inspired and galvanised by her ongoing activism and her extraordinary example. 
 
In the book, she describes her journey from a childhood on Dynamite Hill in Birmingham, Alabama, to one of the most significant political trials of the century: from her political activity in a New York high school to her work with the U.S. Communist Party, the Black Panther Party, and the Soledad Brothers; and from the faculty of the Philosophy Department at UCLA to the FBI's list of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. 
 
Told with warmth, brilliance, humour, and conviction, it is an unforgettable account of a life committed to radical change.

There are books you should read, books that you will enjoy reading, and books that will educate you. Rarely does one book do all three. The Autobiography of Angela Y. Davis is one of those books

[A] rare book that even almost 50 years later feels timely and relevant. Maybe too relevant, considering how little has changed in the interim

She has eyes in the back of our head. With her we can survive and resist

Davis's arguments for justice are formidable. . . The power of her historical insights and the sweetness of her dream cannot be denied

Angela Davis has stood her ground on every issue important to the health of our people and the planet. It is impossible to read her words or hear her voice and not be moved to comprehension and gratitude for our incredible luck in having her with us

ANGELA Y. DAVIS is Professor Emerita of History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies at UC Santa Cruz. An activist, writer and lecturer, her work focuses on prisons, police, abolition and the related intersections of race, gender and class. She is the author of many books, including Women, Race and Class and Freedom Is a Constant Struggle.

Edited by Toni Morrison and first published in 1974, An Autobiography is a classic of the Black Power era which resonates just as powerfully today. It is reissued now with a new introduction by Davis, for a new audience inspired and galvanised by her ongoing activism and her extraordinary example. 
 
In the book, she describes her journey from a childhood on Dynamite Hill in Birmingham, Alabama, to one of the most significant political trials of the century: from her political activity in a New York high school to her work with the U.S. Communist Party, the Black Panther Party, and the Soledad Brothers; and from the faculty of the Philosophy Department at UCLA to the FBI's list of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. 
 
Told with warmth, brilliance, humour, and conviction, it is an unforgettable account of a life committed to radical change.

Abolition. Feminism. Now.

In this landmark work, four of the world's leading scholar-activists issue an urgent call for a truly intersectional, internationalist, abolitionist feminism. 
 
As a politics and as a practice, abolitionism has increasingly shaped our political moment, amplified through the worldwide protests following the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a uniformed police officer. It is at the heart of the Black Lives Matter movement, in its demands for police defunding and demilitarisation, and a halt to prison construction. 
 
As this book shows, abolitionism and feminism stand shoulder-to-shoulder in fighting a common cause: the end of the carceral state, with its key role in perpetuating violence, both public and private, in prisons, in police forces, and in people's homes. Abolitionist theories and practices are at their most compelling when they are feminist; and a feminism that is also abolitionist is the most inclusive and persuasive version of feminism for these times. 
 
ABOLITION. FEMINISM. NOW. 
 
'This extraordinary book makes the most compelling case I've ever seen for the indivisibility of feminism and abolition' Robin D. G. Kelley 
 
'This book is as capacious and demanding as the abolitionist feminism it calls for' Sara Ahmed

This extraordinary book makes the most compelling case I've ever seen for the indivisibility of feminism and abolition . . . Combining decades of analytical brilliance and organizational experience, the authors offer a genealogy of the movements that brought us here, lessons learned, battles won and lost, and the ongoing collective struggle to build a thoroughly revolutionary vision and practice

Powerful, wise and well-crafted . . . filled with insight and provocation . . . this book is as capacious and demanding as the abolitionist feminism it calls for

A powerful and empowering manifesto for a better world. Bringing together history, theory, practice and hope, this book gives us what we need to build flourishing communities in challenging times

A howl of despair at the penal system . . . reveals [Angela Davis'] tireless eloquence and rage

Abolition. Feminism. Now. is a demand in every way. It pushes readers not to accept simple stories but to embrace complexity and new ways of thinking

Davis's politics are expressed not merely in what she writes, but how she writes. Although there are four authors, the book is written in one voice. Its form reflects her belief in collective action

Angela Y. Davis (Author) ANGELA Y. DAVIS is Professor Emerita of History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies at UC Santa Cruz. An activist, writer and lecturer, her work focuses on prisons, police, abolition and the related intersections of race, gender and class. She is the author of many books, including Women, Race and Class and Freedom Is a Constant Struggle. Gina Dent (Author) GINA DENT is associate professor of feminist studies, history of consciousness, and legal studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is the editor of Black Popular Culture, and lectures and writes on African diaspora literary and cultural studies, postcolonial theory, and critical area studies. Her current project Visualizing Abolition grows out of her work as an advocate for transformative and transitional justice and prison abolition. Erica Meiners (Author) ERICA MEINERS is Professor of Education and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Northeastern Illinois University. She is the author of several books including For the Children? Protecting Innocence in a Carceral State. Beth Richie (Author) BETH E. RICHIE is Professor of Criminology, Law and Justice and Black Studies, Sociology, Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her most recent book is Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence and America's Prison Nation.

A powerful work from four activist scholars on the need for our thinking on abolitionism and feminism to intersect. As a politics and as a practice, abolitionism has increasingly shaped our political moment. Abolitionism and feminism stand shoulder-to-shoulder in fighting a common cause: the end of the carceral state, with its key role in perpetuating violence, both public and private, in prisons, in police forces, and in people's homes. Abolitionist theories and practices are at their most compelling when they are feminist; and a feminism that is also abolitionist is the most inclusive and persuasive version of feminism for these times.

Freedom Is A Constant Struggle

From the Author of WOMEN, RACE AND CLASS, this is a timely provocation that examines the concept of attaining freedom in light of our current world conflicts 
 
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 analyses 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.'

Angela Davis new book made me think of what Dear Nelson Mandela kept reminding us, that we must be willing to embrace that long walk to freedom. Understanding what it takes to really be free, to have no fear, is the first and most important step one has to make before undertaking this journey. Angela is the living proof that this arduous challenge can also be an exhilarating and beautiful one

Incisive, urgent, and comprehensive . . . These essays take us back in history to the founders of revolutionary and anti-racist struggle, but they also take us toward the possibility of ongoing intersectional solidarity and struggle. Angela Davis gathers in her lucid words our luminous history and the most promising future of freedom

Whether you've grown up with the courage and conscience of Angela Davis, or are discovering her for the first time, Freedom Is a Constant Struggle is a small book that will be a huge help in daily life and action . . . [Davis] exposes facts and makes connections, but also leads in the most important way by example

ANGELA Y. DAVIS is Professor Emerita of History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies at UC Santa Cruz. An activist, writer and lecturer, her work focuses on prisons, police, abolition and the related intersections of race, gender and class. She is the author of many books, including Women, Race and Class and Freedom Is a Constant Struggle.

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 analyses 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.'

Penguin Modern Classics

Women, Race & Class

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Ranging from the age of slavery to contemporary injustices, this groundbreaking history of race, gender and class inequality by the radical political activist Angela Davis offers an alternative view of female struggles for liberation. 
 
Tracing the intertwined histories of the abolitionist and women's suffrage movements, Davis examines the racism and class prejudice inherent in so much of white feminism, and in doing so brings to light new pioneering heroines, from field slaves to mill workers, who fought back and refused to accept the lives into which they were born. 
 
'The power of her historical insights and the sweetness of her dream cannot be denied' The New York Times

The power of her historical insights and the sweetness of her dream cannot be denied

Angela Y. Davis is a political activist, scholar, author, and speaker. She is an outspoken advocate for the oppressed and exploited, writing on Black liberation, prison abolition, the intersections of race, gender, and class, and international solidarity with Palestine. She is the author of several books, including Women, Race, and Class and Are Prisons Obsolete? She is the subject of the acclaimed documentary Free Angela and All Political Prisoners and is Distinguished Professor Emerita at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

'Black women were equal to their men in the oppression they suffered; they were their men's social equals within the slave community; and they resisted slavery with a passion equal to their men's' 
 
Ranging from the age of slavery to contemporary injustices, this seminal history of race, gender and class inequality by the radical political activist Angela Davis offers an alternative view of female struggles for liberation. Tracing the intertwined histories of the abolitionist and women's suffrage movements, Davis examines the racism and class prejudice inherent in so much of white feminism, and in doing so brings to light new pioneering heroines, from field slaves to mill workers, who fought back and refused to accept the lives into which they were born.

Angela Y. Davis

In a brilliantly observant, profoundly knowledgeable, and unfailingly original text, the author’s passion and eloquence render even the driest facts fascinating . . . even the staunchest Davis devotees are likely to discover new material and new ways to reimagine a more just world. A must-read essay collection for anyone invested in racial equity

An icon of revolutionary politics, Angela Y. Davis has been at the forefront of collective movements for prison abolition for over fifty years. Abolition: Politics, Practices, Promises, the first of two important new volumes, brings together an essential collection of Davis&rsquo;s essays, conversations, and interviews over the years, showing how her thinking has sharpened and evolved even as she has remained uncompromising in her commitment to collective liberation. 
 
Davis traces a genealogy of the penal system, from slavery to the prison industrial complex, offering a trenchant analysis of the relationship between the prison system and capitalism, both in the US and on a global scale. Combining decades of analytical brilliance and lessons from organising both inside and beyond prison walls, Davis addresses the history of abolitionist practice, details the unique contributions of women to abolitionist struggles, and offers the radical tools we need for revolutionary change. 
 
Powerful and rewarding, filled with insight and provocation, Abolition: Politics, Practices, Promises, is essential reading for anyone seeking to imagine a world without prisons.

Angela Y. Davis

Praise for Abolition: Politics, Practices, Promises, Vol. 1

In a brilliantly observant, profoundly knowledgeable, and unfailingly original text, the author’s passion and eloquence render even the driest facts fascinating . . . even the staunchest Davis devotees are likely to ...

Angela Davis has stood her ground on every issue important to the health of our people and the planet. It is impossible to read her words or hear her voice and not be moved to comprehension and gratitude for our inc ...

Books by Angela Y. Davis

Articles featuring Angela Y. Davis

The ultimate feminist books reading list

20 books everyone should read before they’re 20

Books to help you fight gender inequality

‘Illuminating and heartbreaking’: why Angela Davis’s Women, Race & Class still resonates

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