The most important thing I’ve learned in organizing is to read about those who came before me to learn how they organized within their communities and to read the work of Black Feminist. Below are two books I highly recommend for those organizing in their own communities for Black liberation or those wanting to start. Over the next few months I’ll add more resources for folks to check out.
I’ve Got The Light Of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and The Mississippi Freedom Struggle by Charles M. Payne
This book details the history of the early civil rights movement in the South. Everything that took place in Mississippi during the 1960s took place against that state’s long tradition of systematic racial terrorism. This book is a great resource for learning about the strategies and tactics southern organizers used.
Free Download: I’ve Got The Light of Freedom
Ella Baker & The Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision by Barbara Ransby
This biography chronicles Ella Baker's political career as an organizer, an intellectual, and a teacher, from her early experiences in depression-era Harlem to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. The vision and work of Ella Baker is a great resource for Black organizers wanting to deepen their work and commitment to Black liberation.
Free Download: Ella Baker & The Black Freedom Movement