A review by alexdpar
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis

challenging dark informative reflective fast-paced

3.5

I read this book as part of a group in my advocacy organization looking to better understand how to tell stories to lawmakers and how to message the issues we work on. Since this book is short, it was very easy to read chapters between events and travel, but it also meant that I was reading it searching for very specific kinds of takeaways that were not necessarily there on a first read. But again, since it’s short, I got to go back a few times and reread, and these are the ultimate lessons and points I took away:

1. The book is meant to be conversational, so don’t just read it, let it sit with you and digest it. If you are looking for some groundbreaking analysis, you won’t get that here (which is what I sought and still wager is a critique of this book - read the end of the review). 
2. The themes of interconnection between our freedoms is obviously the main talking point, but don’t let that distract you from the deeper lesson - that in order to prevent a movements success, forces will try to interrupt or disconnect the relationship between those struggles. It is our job to recognize and mobilize against such. This is incredibly evident in the discussions on leadership and the designation of terrorism. 
3. True ability to make change lies in movements, and movements take time. While we can argue that there is a need for both short term and long term wins in advocacy and social change initiatives (and if there really is any time), progress on the issues of freedom/civil/human rights never truly ends. Why? See point above. 

I really did not care for this book on my first read, but revisiting and thanks to the group at work who held long form discussions about the various subjects, I recognize the importance and power of this book. Now, while a lot of the information is not new, I think the book falls short in that it provides nothing analytical; in other words, if you are not reading this book in a group or in a setting that allows you to marinate or discuss the deeper levels to the information provided, you will miss a lot. Simply having an array of short speeches and interviews isn’t enough to fully grasp what the author is attempting to enlighten the reader with. My biggest critique - there is a supplemental needed.