Two Books To Help Imagine Ourselves As Dissidents Against Authoritarians & In Movements With Complex Dynamics

​


Two books I found interesting & helpful this year were I Have No Enemies--The Life and Legacy of Liu Xiabo & Let The Record Show--A Political History Of Act Up New York, 1987-1993.

You see the books above.

I Have No Enemies is a biography of the late Nobel Peace Prize winning Chinese Dissident Liu Xiabo. It discusses his intellectual development, personal life, role in Tiananmen Square during the June 4, 1989 massacre and his approach to making change.

Let The Record Show is about interactions and relationships-- often difficult--between activists of different races, education levels and life experiences during some years of the AIDS crisis. It talks at length about taking physical risks facing aggressive New York City police & also about the high barriers between grassroots activism and official channels.  (Still very much a thing.) 

In 2024, we must be able to imagine ourselves as dissidents facing authoritarians and their violent allies & be able to see ourselves as part of a movement working with people far outside our normal day-to-day existences. We must to be able to grasp and then willing to confront whatever is ahead.               

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 

Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to [email protected].

---

Please CONTRIBUTE