Uses of a whirlwind : movement, movements, and contemporary radical currents in the United States

From housing struggles to food politics, from poor people's movements to radical art projects, from the Right to the City Alliance to the US Social Forum, Uses of a Whirlwind explores the current composition of social movements in the United States. With equal emphasis placed on movement history and movement building, Whirlwind is a call to action for a new decade of organizing. Contributors include Robin DG Kelley, Grace Lee Boggs, Michael Hardt, Chris Carlsson, Take Back the Land, Domestic Workers United, the Starbucks Workers Union, Brian Tokar, Dorothy Kidd, and Ashanti Alston. Team Colors is a geographically dispersed militant research collective. TABLE OF CONTENTS......Page 7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 11 PREFACE: IN THE WIND by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Andrej Grubacic......Page 16 FOREWORD: THE WHIRLWINDS PROJECT IN CONTEXT by Marc Herbst......Page 28 INTRODUCTION SOWING RADICAL CURRENTS IN THE ASHES OF YESTERYEAR: The Many Uses of a Whirlwind by Team Colors Collective......Page 31 ORGANIZATION CASE STUDIES......Page 45 BLUESTOCKINGS BOOKSTORE AND NEW INSTITUTIONS OF SELFORGANIZED WORK: The Space Between Common Notions and Common Institutions by Malav Kanuga......Page 49 ANTI-AUTHORITARIAN ORGANIZING IN PRACTICE by Anonymous (Direct Action to Stop the War)......Page 67 A LOOK AT RESISTANCE TO INTERSTATE 69: Past, Present, and Future by Roadblock Earth First!......Page 77 THE PRECARIOUS ECONOMY AND ITS DISCONTENTS: Struggling Against the Corporate Chains Through Workplace Organizing by The Starbucks Workers Union......Page 87 HARVESTING SOLIDARITY: Farmworkers, Allies, and the Fight for Fair Food by Student Farmworker Alliance......Page 95 A CONVERSATION ON ORGANIZING MODELS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE STRUGGLES IN THE CITY by Moderated by Betty Robinson / Introduction by John Duda......Page 109 WHAT'S GOING ON? THE USSF, GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM, AND SITUATED KNOWLEDGE by Maria Karides (U. S. Social Forum Documentation Committee)......Page 115 BUILDING POWER IN THE CITY: Reflections on the Emergence of the Right to the CityAlliance and the National Domestic Workers Alliance by Harmony Goldberg......Page 127 MOVEMENT STRATEGIES......Page 139 LOCAL STRUGGLES, GLOBAL CONTEXTS: Building Movements in North America in the Age of Globalized Capital by Basav Sen......Page 143 YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT: The Food Sovereignty Struggle within the Global Justice Movement by John E. Peck (Family Farm Defenders)......Page 155 TOWARD A MOVEMENT FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE by Brian Tokar......Page 165 THE DESIRE HEAL: Harm Intervention in a Landscape of Restorative Justice and Critical Resistance by Stevie Peace (Team Colors Collective)......Page 179 DIY POLITICS AND QUEER ACTIVISM by Benjamin Shepard......Page 193 ART AS INTERVENTION: A Guide to Today's Radical Art Practices by Julie Perini......Page 213 WHISTLING INTO THE TYPHOON: A Radical Inquiry Into Autonomous Media by Dorothy Kidd......Page 229 GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CITY AND THE SOCIAL MOVEMENTS THAT CALL IT HOME: The Hybrid Networking and Documentary Work of AREA Chicago Daniel Tucker......Page 241 THEORETICAL ANALYSES......Page 253 TRANSATLANTIC TRANSLATIONS: Detectives and Researchers for the Revolution(s) by Maribel Casas-Cortes & Sebastian Cobarrubias (Producciones Translocales)......Page 257 ORGANIZING COUNTERS AND GENERATING EVENTS by EI Kilombo Intergalactico & Michael Hardt......Page 275 LIVING IN A WHIRLWIND: The Food/Energy/Work Crisis of 2008-09 by Brian Marks......Page 289 NOT THE FINANCIAL CRISIS: From Meltdown to Deep Freeze George Caffentzis......Page 303 FEMINISM AND THE POLITICS OF THE COMMONS IN AN ERA OF PRIMITIVE ACCUMULATION by Silvia Federici......Page 313 PALLAS AND "THE PEOPLE'S BUSINESS" by Peter Linebaugh......Page 325 RADICAL PATIENCE: Feeling Effective over the Long Haul by Chris Carlsson......Page 335 INTERVIEWS......Page 345 CHALLENGING POWER AND CREATING NEW SPACES FOR POSSIBILITY: A Discussion with Robin D.G. Kelley by Benjamin Holtzman......Page 347 WE CAN BEGIN TO TAKE BACK OUR LIVES: A Discussion with Ashanti Omowali Alston by Team Colors Collective......Page 361 THE POWER WITHIN US TO CREATE HE WORLD ANEW: A Discussion with Grace Lee Boggs by Stevie Peace (Team Colors Collective)......Page 377 BIOGRAPHIES......Page 393 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 401 INDEX......Page 417 A Comprehensive Overview Of Contemporary Radical Social Movements In The United States. Building Power In The City: Reflections On The Emergence Of The Right To The City Alliance And The National Domestic Workers Alliance / Harmony Goldberg -- Movement Strategies -- Local Struggles, Global Contexts: Building Movements In North America In The Age Of Globalized Capital / Basav Sen -- You Are What You Eat: The Food Sovereignty Struggle Within The Global Justice Movement / John Peck -- Toward A Movement For Peace And Climate Justice / Brian Tokar -- The Desire To Heal: Harm Intervention In A Landscape Of Restorative Justice And Critical Resistance / Stevie Peace -- Diy Politics And Queer Activism / Benjamin Shepard -- Art As Intervention: A Guide To Today's Radical Art Practices / Julie Perini -- Whistling Into The Typhoon: A Radical Inquiry Into Autonomous Media / Dorothy Kidd -- Getting To Know Your City And The Social Movements That Call It Home: The Hybrid Networking And Documentary Work Of Area Chicago / Daniel Tucker Theoretical Analyses -- Transatlantic Translations: Detectives And Researchers For The Revolution(s) / Sebastian Cobarrubias -- Organizing Encounters And Generating Events / El Kilombo Intergalactico -- Living In A Whirlwind: The Food/energy/work Crisis Of 2008-09 / Brian Marks -- Notes On The Financial Crisis: From Meltdown To Deep Freeze / George Caffentzis -- Feminism And The Politics Of The Commons In An Era Of Primitive Accumulation / Silvia Federici -- Pallas And The People's Business / Peter Linebaugh -- Radical Patience: Feeling Effective Over The Long Haul / Chris Carlsson -- Interviews -- Challenging Power And Creating New Spaces For Possibility: A Discussion With Robin D.g. Kelley / Benjamin Holtzman -- We Can Begin To Take Back Our Lives: A Discussion With Ashanti Omowali Alston / Team Colors Collective -- The Power Within Us To Create The World Anew: A Discussion With Grace Lee Boggs / Stevie Peace. Edited By Craig Hughes, Stevie Peace, And Kevin Van Meter For The Team Colors Collective. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "In the midst of a moment defined by international crises, community devastation, increasing injustice, and ruptures in the fabric of everyday life, winds of resistance continue to emerge and to circulate. *Uses of a Whirlwind* is more than just a snapshot of current activity, organizing, ideas, and questions circulating among today's radicals. It's an opportunity for organizers, theorists, strategists, and movement elders to share and connect, to speak honestly of the challenges before us, to articulate new demands and possibilities in the ongoing war against state and capital." --Back cover