"A powerful — and personal — account of the movement and its players."—The Washington Post“This perceptive resource on radical black liberation movements in the 21st century can inform anyone wanting to better understand . . . how to make social change.”—Publishers Weekly The breadth and impact of Black Lives Matter in the United States has been extraordinary. Between 2012 and 2016, thousands of people marched, rallied, held vigils, and engaged in direct actions to protest and draw attention to state and vigilante violence against Black people. What began as outrage over the 2012 murder of Trayvon Martin and the exoneration of his killer, and accelerated during the Ferguson uprising of 2014, has evolved into a resurgent Black Freedom Movement, which includes a network of more than fifty organizations working together under the rubric of the Movement for Black Lives coalition. Employing a range of creative tactics and embracing group-centered leadership models, these visionary young organizers, many of them women, and many of them queer, are not only calling for an end to police violence, but demanding racial justice, gender justice, and systemic change.
In
Making All Black Lives Matter, award-winning historian and longtime activist Barbara Ransby outlines the scope and genealogy of this movement, documenting its roots in Black feminist politics and situating it squarely in a Black radical tradition, one that is anticapitalist, internationalist, and focused on some of the most marginalized members of the Black community. From the perspective of a participant-observer, Ransby maps the movement, profiles many of its lesser-known leaders, measures its impact, outlines its challenges, and looks toward its future.
“I can imagine no more perfect example of the dedicated scholar-activist than Barbara Ransby. She now offers us an analysis of the Movement for Black Lives, and its historical continuities and ruptures, that reflects both her considerable skills as a historian and her rich experience as an activist. This book passionately urges us to adopt the radical and feminist versions of democracy that will move us forward.”—Angela Y. Davis, author of Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement
“It’s rare that we get to read the work of Black feminist historians who have the ability to shape present-day history through a leftist lens. Barbara Ransby’s Making All Black Lives Matter is one of the most important texts for this generation and generations to come—truth telling so clarifying it begs us to be better and bolder. Everyone, read this book, then read it again.”—Patrisse Khan-Cullors, cofounder of Black Lives Matter Global Network and best-selling coauthor of When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir
“Barbara Ransby is a national treasure. When it comes to understanding pathways to liberation that simultaneously account for the deep and nuanced history of our country as well as global struggle, a frontline perspective on organizing and social change, and an intersectional lens on black people and the many aspects of our fight for freedom, there are few voices I trust more. Ransby offers us the insights of the past, through an uncompromising critical lens, as a means of illuminating the future. I'm so grateful that we get to live in her time.”—Eve L. Ewing, author of Electric Arches
“Historian and activist Barbara Ransby locates the Black feminist roots of the Black Lives Matter movement, providing rich and necessary context to the critical role played by Black women in this struggle against police abuse and violence. Ransby’s insistence on centering the experiences of Black women within the movement is not simply an exercise in demography, but it is fundamental to understanding the organizing principles, horizontal structure, and the leader-full strategy that defines the Movement for Black Lives. Ransby writes with urgency, passion, and a deep love for Black people. Get this book to understand where the movement is at and where it has the potential to take all of us.”—Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, author of From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation
“This is a call to arms that powerfully reveals the Black Lives Matter movement for what it is: anchored in black feminist and intersectional politics; principled coalition-building; revolutionary art and cultural transformation; love; and a shared commitment to defending all black life from degradation, dispossession, defamation, and premature death. An urgent book on an urgent topic.”—Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination
"Barbara Ransby's book, Making All Black Lives Matter, is the perfect companion. The book maps the movement, profiles many of its lesser-known leaders, measures its impact, outlines its challenges and looks toward its future. It's a crucial guide for anyone who wants to better understand the origins of the movement and the moment we're living in."
