Synopses & Reviews
Head of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. Honorary prime minister of the Black Panther Party. Bestselling author. Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) is an American legend, one whose work as a civil rights leader fundamentally altered the course of history -- and our understanding of Pan-Africanism today. andlt;BRandgt; andlt;Iandgt;Ready for Revolutionandlt;/Iandgt; recounts the extraordinary course of Carmichael's life, from his Trinidadian youth to his consciousness-raising years in Harlem to his rise as the patriarch of the Black Power movement. andlt;BRandgt; In his own words, Carmichael tells the story of his fight for social justice with candor, wit, and passion -- and a cast of luminaries that includes James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Bayard Rustin, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Ho Chi Minh, and Fidel Castro, among others. Carmichael's personal testimony captures the pulse of the cultural upheavals that characterize the modern world. This landmark, posthumously published autobiography reintroduces us to a man whose love of freedom fueled his fight for revolution to the end.
Review
"Stokely Carmichael is the most courageous and consistent black revolutionary of his generation. Long live his spirit!"andlt;BRandgt; -- Cornel West, professor, Princeton University
Review
andlt;Iandgt;"Ready for Revolutionandlt;/Iandgt; captures Carmichael's electrifying moments in the national spotlight and his emblematic journey."andlt;BRandgt; -- andlt;Iandgt;The New York Times Book Reviewandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
"Maybe the single best autobiography to come out of the Movement struggles....Carmichael turns out to be a wonderful storyteller with a marvelous ear for dialogue."andlt;BRandgt; -- andlt;Iandgt;Bookforumandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
"Carmichael's magnetism seeps through. The courage, warmth, and compassion of the man, the sharp intellect and devilish sense of humor. All are there."andlt;BRandgt; -- andlt;Iandgt;The Washington Postandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
"Be prepared to revise your understanding of civil rights....andlt;Iandgt;Ready for Revolutionandlt;/Iandgt; [allows] Carmichael to tell his story and finally take his rightful place in history."andlt;BRandgt; -- andlt;Iandgt;Chicago Sun-Timesandlt;/Iandgt;
Synopsis
The astonishing personal and political autobiography of Stokely Carmichael, the legendary civil rights leader, Black Power architect, Pan-African activist, and revolutionary thinker and organizer known as Kwame Ture.
Head of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. Honorary prime minister of the Black Panther Party. Bestselling author. Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) is an American legend, one whose work as a civil rights leader fundamentally altered the course of history--and our understanding of Pan-Africanism today. Ready for Revolution recounts the extraordinary course of Carmichael's life, from his Trinidadian youth to his consciousness-raising years in Harlem to his rise as the patriarch of the Black Power movement.
In his own words, Carmichael tells the story of his fight for social justice with candor, wit, and passion--and a cast of luminaries that includes James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Bayard Rustin, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Ho Chi Minh, and Fidel Castro, among others. Carmichael's personal testimony captures the pulse of the cultural upheavals that characterize the modern world. This landmark, posthumously published autobiography reintroduces us to a man whose love of freedom fueled his fight for revolution to the end.
About the Author
andlt;Bandgt;Stokely Carmichaelandlt;/Bandgt; died in Guinea in 1998.andlt;Bandgt;Ekwueme Michael Thelwell,andlt;/Bandgt; professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, is the author of the classic novel andlt;Iandgt;The Harder They Comeandlt;/Iandgt; and numerous influential articles on politics and literature.
Table of Contents
Contents Collaborator's Note
Introduction
I. Oriki: Ancestors and Roots
II. The House at the Forty-Two Steps
III. A Tale of Two Cities
IV. "A Better Neighborhood"
V. Bronx Science: Young Manhood
VI. Howard University: Everything and Its Opposite
VII. NAG and the Birth of SNCC
VIII. Nonviolence -- Apprenticeship in Struggle
IX. The Great Leap Forward: The Freedom Rides
X. Nashville: A New Direction
XI. To School or Not to School
XII. The Hearts and Minds of the Student Body
XIII. Mississippi (1961-65): Going Home
XIV. A Band of Brothers, a Circle of Trust
XV. Of Marches, Coalitions, Dreams, and Ambulance Chasing
XVI. Summer '64: Ten Dollars a Day and All the Sex You Can Handle
XVII. They Still Didn't Get It
XVIII. The Unforeseen Pitfalls of "Success" American Style
XIX. Selma: Crisis, Chaos, Opportunity
XX. Lowndes County: The Roar of the Panther
XXI. "Magnified, Scrutinized, Criticized..."
XXII. "We Gotta Make This Our Mississippi"
XXIII. Black Power and Its Consequences
XXIV. Around the World in Eighty Days
XXV. Mother Africa and Her Suffering Children
XXVI. In That Ol' Brier Patch
XXVII. Conakry, 1968: Home to Africa
XXVIII. Cancer Brings Out the Best in People
XXIX. A Struggle on Two Fronts
Postscript
Afterword: In the Tradition
Acknowledgments
Index