Lumpen: The Autobiography of Ed Mead

by Ed Mead

More than a memoir, Lumpen: The Autobiography of Ed Mead takes the reader on a tour of America’s underbelly. From Iowa to Compton to Venice Beach to Fairbanks, Alaska, Mead introduces you to poor America just trying to get by—and barely making it. When a thirteen-year-old Mead ends up in the Utah State Industrial School, a prison for boys, it is the first step in a story of oppression and revolt that will ultimately lead to the foundation of the George Jackson Brigade, a Seattle-based urban guerrilla group, and to Mead’s re-incarceration as a fully engaged revolutionary, well-placed and prepared to take on both his captors and the predators amongst his fellow prisoners.

Through his work organizing against conditions in solitary confinement, and then with queer prisoners in the legendary Men Against Sexism, followed by his exile from Washington to the dungeons at Marion, Brushy Mountain, and Florence, Ed Mead’s practice stands as a rebuke to the inhumanity and indifference which surround the world’s largest prison system.

As the late Black Liberation Army soldier Safiya Bukhari observed, “we must at least write our history and point out the truth of what we did—the good, the bad, and the ugly.” Ed Mead has done that here, recounting his life’s story with unflinching honesty, providing a model of personal integrity and revolutionary creativity and determination for us all.

Genres: History

360 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Kit · Rating 5 out of 5]

The George Jackson Brigade is an amazing piece of leftist history, and this book is such an interesting view of the ins and outs of not only Ed’s background and upbringing, but also the things going on during the prison abolition movement throughout the 70s and 80s.

My only issue with it is the frankly uncalled for criticizing of anarchists. I guess I’m not sure what anarchists were like between the strength of the labor movements of the 20s and 30s and the occupy / animal rights movements of the late 90s and 00s, so I decided to take his criticisms (that seemed unfounded to me) with a grain of salt and chalk it up to his personal experiences with people rather than his criticisms of the movement at large.

But even still—great book, super quick read!

[Evelyn R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mead is clearly a longtime writer and storyteller––an impression I formed and quickly had confirmed by all the publications he talks about publishing in his lifetime. It's a record of an extraordinary life, much of which was sacrificed to revolutionary causes and far too much of which was spent in US jails. I also deeply appreciated Mead's exploration of his love life and its own political context, which is important to me as a would-be revolutionary trying to build my own personal partnership. I'm thankful I've gotten a better grasp of the history of the GJB and the last great wave of revolutionary activity in my (broad) neck of the woods. It's nothing life-changing, but it's a rewarding read.

[Aaliyah Zionov · Rating 4 out of 5]

A jaw-droppingly inspiring memoir by an absolute legend of the American prisoner struggle as well as American Marxism-Leninism. Ed Mead was unbelievably progressive in just about every way, organising a "Men Against Sexism" group in prison which effectively ended prison rape and sex trade within that prison for a few years, as well as winning important rights and safety measures for gay prisoners. This was in the early '70s, when Marxist-Leninists on the outside were still debating whether or not homosexuality was petty bourgeois degeneracy (usually arriving at the wrong answer), and prisoner struggles were barely on the agenda.

The book is full of amazing achievements like that, as well as many losses and missed opportunities. Each instance is accompanied by an honest, sober analysis of the objective and subjective factors at play, with an eye towards moving forward and learning from one's strategic and theoretical mistakes. As a result, the book is loaded with goodies for people looking to organise in or around prisons, with invaluable info on how to reach the right people, how to judge whether cadre or mass-style organising is best suited to a given prison, what to look for in the physical and organisational infrastructure of the prison, and so forth.

My only real criticism is that the first third or so is mostly just a straightforward autobiography. It's very detailed and personal, and most of it is not super relevant to the rest of the book, except potentially as an extended case study into the school-to-prison pipeline. It would have been nice to see some of the anecdotes and relationships from his childhood reflected on in the context of his later life. In saying that, though, his life is really interesting from day one and the dude is obviously well within his rights to recount it, so it's more my problem than Mead's.

[Michael Boyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent work from the homies at Kersplebedeb, this time an original memoir from a movement original, Ed Mead. Without any pretension or bluster, Mead details his early life and childhood, anti-social behavior and relationships with friends and family, and early experiences with the state and the brutality of occupation, and how that all shaped him into a revolutionary, who was willing to confront his oppressors head on- first as a member of the George Jackson Brigade, then behind bars as a prison organizer for nearly two decades. This is a funny, provocative, and self-critical political memoir from a veteran revolutionary who never apologies for siding with the people.

[Comrade Zupa Ogórkowa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ed Mead has lived a life filled to the brim with adventure and revolutionary struggle. Though I think the incidences that landed him in prison were somewhat foolish and adventurist, his heart was absolutely committed to the revolution and his unrelenting spirit is admirable. His prison work is inspiring and he struggled tirelessly to improve the condition of prisoners during his many decades in prison. Long live Ed Mead, we need more like him.

[Ernesto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed Mead passed away in his home on November 6 2023 at the age of 81 after a decade of battling lung cancer. Having endured incarceration and the included abuse for almost half his life, he was instrumental in many prisoners struggles, fighting for the rights of all locked up, whether against the justice system, their uniformed thugs or the collaborators from the reactionary and opportunist segment of the prison population. He fought sexism and homophobia, went on an arms race to end sexual exploitation among inmates through violence if necessary, and stood up to the Aryan Brotherhood in cultivating solidarity across racial divides. He risked his life on multiple occasions, never grew cynical or lost his fighting spirit even after betrayals and continued the abolitionist fight until well after his release, until his death.

RIP to a real one.

[Lewis Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tried reading the book from the beginning, didn't grabme and then I started finding sections to read when I had a few minutes. Some interesting insights about the conditions of his early life and his lifelong interest and activities as an activist..

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

🫡

Must-read for anyone pursuing revolutionary struggle in the U.S.