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Letters from Young Activists: Today's Rebels Speak Out
Who will lead America in the years to come? Letters from Young Activists introduces America's bold, exciting, new generation of activists. These diverse authors challenge the common misconception that today's young people are apathetic, shallow, and materialistic. Aged ten to thirty-one, these atheist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, pagan, transgender, heterosexual, bisexual, metrosexual Americans are from every type of background and ethnicity, but are united by their struggle toward a common goal. They are the inheritors of their parents' legacy from the sixties, but also have the imagination and courage to embark on new paths and different directions. In letters addressed to their parents, to past generations, to each other, to the youth of tomorrow and to their future selves, each author articulates his or her vision for the world as they work towards racial, economic, gender, environmental and global justice. As the editors write in their "From globalization to the war on terrorism and beyond, our generation is compelled to action in the midst of a rapidly changing, and unique political moment Our challenge, and yours, is to live our lives in a way that does not make a mockery of our values."
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 24, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 10, 2009
i guess i should have known better than to try to read this book. i am going through a phase where i am really annoyed by a lot of stuff that is by/geared for "young activists". not because i am so incredibly elderly at age 29, but i am definitely at a life stage where i don't think i fit into the "young activist" template anymore, & i am growing increasingly self-aware & critical of the some of the dumb shit i said/did/espoused during my "young activist" time. this book kind of collected a lot of the embarrassment & stident empty rhetoric & exhortations to ACTION! together into a compendium rife with bizarre grammatical errors (i liked kenyon farrow's letter a lot--one of the few that stuck with me--but seeing the word "principle" used in lie of "principal" in the middle of a paragraph where kenyon is talking about how smart he was as a high school student was definitely jarring...& there were other mistakes like that too, "defuse" used instead of "diffuse," etc). & as an aside, i LOATHED the font & the cheap paper. the font was hideous, like e-mail font. i'm not sure what they actually used, but i feel like the designer was maybe going for something young & fresh & not stuffy, & it just came across as sloppy, amateur, & immediately irrelevant.
speaking of irrelevant, what the hell was up with people using the therm "the Movement"? yes, with a capital M like that! WTF? has that been in popular usage among "young actvists" at all seriously in the last 35 years? every time i came across a reference to "the Movement" (& it really happened a lot), i cringed.
on to content. well...i guess this book was kind of a response to todd gitlin's condescending book, letters to young activists. people read it & were like, "hey, don't talk down to us just because we're young. we actually have a clue what we're doing." i can respect that. so they compiled a book full of letters to various parents, teachers, other activists, activist elders, future selves, etc, all about being young activists. not the worst idea in the world...but i think it's safe to say that the execution was predictably hit or miss. anytime you are using the expository format as a writing prompt & not actually writing a letter, there's a certain conceit at work. sometimes it comes across as very clever & generates an intimate tone that couldn't be harnessed in a traditional essay format. but a whole book of these kinds of letters is going to wear thin pretty quickly. many of the letters devolved into kids patting themselves on the back for the activist work they do, or criticizing other activists (contemporaries & elders alike) for failing to grasp issues important to the activist writers (for example, domestic violence in activist communities). i guess i am just sick of young activist types being all, "OMG, i just realized that domestic violence happens even in activist communities! i am the first one to grapple with this fact! LET ME SCHOOL YOU!" it's not an unimportant issue...but i don't need to be schooled. i don't know. i just felt like i was being yelled at by snooty jerks for 300 pages & i was like, "uh huh...yeah...i know...i know that already...yeah, dude, i was at that protest too, get over yourself...OMG SHUT UP."
there were a couple of great pieces in here (kenyon farrow's afore-mentioned piece, the letter from the single mom putting herself through med school, etc), but the chaff made up the bulk of the pieces. example: in one contributer bio, a letter writer feels compelled to note that she has hairy armpits. just kill me now, if this is the pinnacle of feminism. I HAVE HAIRY ARMPITS TOO, OKAY? TRUST ME WHEN I SAY NO ONE CAAAAAARES.
speaking of irrelevant, what the hell was up with people using the therm "the Movement"? yes, with a capital M like that! WTF? has that been in popular usage among "young actvists" at all seriously in the last 35 years? every time i came across a reference to "the Movement" (& it really happened a lot), i cringed.
on to content. well...i guess this book was kind of a response to todd gitlin's condescending book, letters to young activists. people read it & were like, "hey, don't talk down to us just because we're young. we actually have a clue what we're doing." i can respect that. so they compiled a book full of letters to various parents, teachers, other activists, activist elders, future selves, etc, all about being young activists. not the worst idea in the world...but i think it's safe to say that the execution was predictably hit or miss. anytime you are using the expository format as a writing prompt & not actually writing a letter, there's a certain conceit at work. sometimes it comes across as very clever & generates an intimate tone that couldn't be harnessed in a traditional essay format. but a whole book of these kinds of letters is going to wear thin pretty quickly. many of the letters devolved into kids patting themselves on the back for the activist work they do, or criticizing other activists (contemporaries & elders alike) for failing to grasp issues important to the activist writers (for example, domestic violence in activist communities). i guess i am just sick of young activist types being all, "OMG, i just realized that domestic violence happens even in activist communities! i am the first one to grapple with this fact! LET ME SCHOOL YOU!" it's not an unimportant issue...but i don't need to be schooled. i don't know. i just felt like i was being yelled at by snooty jerks for 300 pages & i was like, "uh huh...yeah...i know...i know that already...yeah, dude, i was at that protest too, get over yourself...OMG SHUT UP."
there were a couple of great pieces in here (kenyon farrow's afore-mentioned piece, the letter from the single mom putting herself through med school, etc), but the chaff made up the bulk of the pieces. example: in one contributer bio, a letter writer feels compelled to note that she has hairy armpits. just kill me now, if this is the pinnacle of feminism. I HAVE HAIRY ARMPITS TOO, OKAY? TRUST ME WHEN I SAY NO ONE CAAAAAARES.
September 26, 2007
This book is almost cute when it talks about the Movement (yes, capital M), but the letters themselves are completely worthwhile--a great cross-section of what's going on in the world of Left Wing Activism.
January 4, 2015
LOVED this book! it's exciting, thoughtful, and raw in the ways these activists describe their struggles within struggles, movements. and the joys, thrills of being involved, and the sacrifices, etc. it's also much more than this, and some describe the issues they had within institutions they belong(ed) in. and the book varies in age of activists who tell their stories - one is a story written by a 6 year old. beautiful.
April 1, 2008
Some of these pieces came off as masturbatory, self-congratulatory and on the "activist points" spectrum. Some of the others are fabulous essays by activists my age (including a dear friend of mine).
May 12, 2008
The very unevenness of this anthology is what makes it so lovely. The writers range from brilliant 11-year-olds to think-they're-brilliant late-twenty-somethings, but overall, it's an engrossing trip into youth activism at the dawn of the 21st century.
August 13, 2008
This is a wonderful collection of essays written by the activists and organizers of my generation (and slightly older). The letters cover a wide range of topics and themes, but my favorite essay was by Sarah Stillman, about making feminism political again.
July 17, 2010
This book makes me want to go out and work with these young people to better the world. It is a compialation of letters from young people about their perspectives on various political issues. It is funny, sad, and interesting.
December 10, 2015
Inspiring and filled with knowledge of movements and social change from years prior, but also beautifully written and weaved together. Many of the letters are poetic and feel as if the writers are speaking directly to you.
September 9, 2007
my essay is in here. so i'm biased. but all of the essays are phenomenal...
February 13, 2009
re-reading, cherishing the pieces written by gabriel olga khougaz sayegh, nell hirschman-levy, stephanie guilloud, kat aaron, others...
July 18, 2008
I am the co-editor so I think it's fab.
July 23, 2008
It's a collection of essays; some amazing! Check out a certain essay from a certain girlfriend of mine:) Also, Kenyon Farrow's essay to Condoleezza Rice. My faves.
November 3, 2008
I couldn't put this book down. Of course, some sections are better than others, but the whole thing is an inspiring and exciting read.
Currently reading
August 14, 2008I received this book for my birthday, and I'm enjoying much more than I thought I would. A very cool project, bringing all of these activists together in a single volume.
November 15, 2014
A lot has evolved in 9 years. On point, though I had hoped for more on sustainable practices and/or spirituality. Maybe the next edition...
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews