Taking Sides: Revolutionary Solidarity and the Poverty of Liberalism

by Cindy Barukh Milstein (Editor)

"Taking Sides is more than a book; it's a politic aimed at the heart of every radical struggling against a racist state." —Luis A. Fernandez, author of Policing Dissent

Taking Sides is a critical response to divisive debates within current movements against police violence and white supremacy, especially since Michael Brown's murder. These sharp interventions ask activists to avoid easy—and safe—answers and take on the hard work of building real grassroots solidarity across racial lines.

Cindy Milstein is author of Anarchism and Its Aspirations. Her essays have appeared Realizing the Impossible, Confronting Capitalism, and Globalize Liberation.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Social Justice, Race, Activism

162 pages, Unknown Binding

First published October 20, 2015

About the author

Cindy Barukh Milstein is a diasporic queer Jewish anarchist and longtime organizer. They've been writing on anarchism for over two decades, and are the author of Anarchism and Its Aspirations and Try Anarchism for Life: The Beauty of Our Circle. They edited the anthologies Rebellious Mourning: The Collective Work of Grief and Deciding for Ourselves: The Promise of Direct Democracy, among others.

Reviews

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely necessary and wonderful collection of essays. It’s been called a guide book for activists (especially white activists) that care about social justice. I think it made me understand what it means to organize, and actually make things happen with activism. Most of the articles are free online, but the book is only 12-13 dollars and I think it’s nice to have them all together. Amazing, and I would love to support this publisher more!

[Alex Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a white person attempting to unlearn the propaganda and lies I've been taught for decades I find myself falling back into the "one way" fallacy. That there is one right way for me (or all of us) to address white supremacy. Also, that there is one leader to guide us. This collection is one I'm going to need to keep revisiting as I continue to slide back into that thinking. There is not one way to fight for change. This collection is varied in it's approaches and gives many ideas for ways to engage, and the reminder that no one person or organization holds all the answers.

[zaynab · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's amazing how a short anthology published in 2015 identifies & the White Fragility Industrial Complex and the Ally Industrial Complex as counterinsurgencies that stymie revolt.

In trenchant, brief, & unapologetic essays, this book snatches the terrain of struggle away from the impoverished political imaginations of liberalism & demands rigorous anti-colonial, anti-imperial solidarities against the world as is.

[Ju · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not written for those unfamiliar with the language of social justice. It's a collection of essays digging into ethical civic disobedience, and generally discussing the necessity and shape of militant action in the face of a violent and unjust state.

I read this because I wanted to learn more about protest, and how seasoned organizers/protesters cultivate unity amidst the many disparate beliefs, identities, and needs of all the many communities of oppressed people.

I didn't love most of the writing styles; many social media hot takes/essays/stories dissect activism, racism, allyship, etc. more completely and persuasively.

BUT there was a lot of value in having these essays together in this one book. Many of them disagree with each other. I disagreed with several of them. The point that this collection does drive home is that any successful and ethical movement must respect the many different views of its members, rather than invalidating, internally policing, gatekeeping. It must be aware of violent patriarchal and colonial social patterns that tend to replicate themselves within a movement, especially when white allyship is involved. It must think broadly and reject narratives that undermine the agency of its members. And it must strive to put humanity and collectivity first.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I could give it 3.5 starts since I thought some essays were great and some were less so. But regardless of the varying thoughtfulness of the articles, the discussion is crucial. Anyone who has struggled with what it means to be an "ally," how to let the people most affected drive things without being coopted by conservatives, what to do about the nonprofit industrial complex, how to deal with behavior police....should read it and let it be the start of a useful conversation about how to manage the tensions.

[isra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 💫

For my fellow Blacks, this book aint for you. A lot of this information is our inherent knowledge or if you have been deeply in the advocacy world for a long time. No shade to the book. I think that its pretty solid.

[Kevin F · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of essays roughly organized around exploring and critiquing the notion of "ally" in revolutionary movements. Many essays feature voices of marginalized groups writing from experience of dealing with white allies, writing about what did and didn't work on the ground, making this not just a theoretically interesting read but a practically useful guide to becoming "accomplices, not allies".

[Max Rohleder · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars because the essays are rather inconsistent in quality. Some, like the final one, are extremely good. Others could use some editing and are at times self-contradicting. But I recommend this book to any interested in free speech, protest, solidarity, and/or political action. You might disagree with some of what's written but it's extremely thought-provoking and very worthwhile.

[Kristina Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a conversation (and a plea, and a statement) about our role as organizers, community members, allies, and accomplices. It describes the reality of the diverse tactics of radical organizing across Turtle Island, and inspires a vision of what our future could be. Excellent book for 2020 and beyond. Highly recommend.

[Cee Scallen · Rating 5 out of 5]

a collection of deeply powerful essays that challenge, inspire, hearten and dishearten, empower, check, etc. took me a little bit to get my footing as some of the language does get a bit heady/academic, but once i was in, i was IN. highly recommend, especially for us white folx doing / interested in doing social justice work.

[Avery Follett · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible collection of essays that stem from various leftist activists. I really resonated with the message that leftist unity doesn't mean that all leftists have to act in the same way and practice the same forms of direct action. There is room in the revolution for all types of resistance, from civil disobedience to malicious compliance, and more. Made me feel inspired to learn more, do more, and be more.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many great essays on solidarity. The dismantling of performative ally-ship for true inter-connected and inter-related struggle as accomplices whose lives literally all depend on one another. Highly recommended reading.

[Ems · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really thoughtful little collection on solidarity. I was familiar with a number of the essays already through zines so its neat to see them in print. Some really good critiques on ally politics and I liked how varied the viewpoints were.

[Rhys · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting discussion about solidarity - parsing ally, affinity, accomplice, and co-conspirator. The authors in the collection offer their (unpolished, earnest) disputations and perspectives in a common effort against capital, bigotry and violence. Taking Sides felt real.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal collections of essays on the commodification of 'allyship' in activism and charities - how we need to move to accomplices and consistently work within our communities to argue with and include all perspectives

[Kate Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

no strong feelings about this as an entire edited piece, but there are some real gems in here.

[Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring and important. A great collection of essays, some I knew, and some I was unfamiliar with.

[NZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must-read anthology for organizers and alliances.

[Alli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful and enlightening collection of essays! Highly recommend, especially right now!

[River · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a crucial collection for people interested in anarchist and radical politics. The anthology contains several important contributions to the debate over ally politics.

The only downside is that if you follow contemporary anarchist debates, nearly all of these have been published online, in zines, or in various publications.

[Soph Nova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book version of a zine that was produced during the Ferguson uprisings, which is about all the context you need. Collection of militant essays critiquing ally & privilege politics and talking about what concrete solidarity across race, class, and gender lines can look like. Every organizer - especially those deep inside the non-profit industrial complex - should read this and reflect on how we can be creating the world that we want to see in the conditions we're in today.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, released as an intervention to the complex issues rising out of the "Black Lives Mater" movement, helped to open my perspective when it comes to allies. Some ideas are radical, some just common sense, but if you don't feel like you need to change, or at least open to new ways os enacting solidarity and affinity then I'm not sure we read the same book..

[Des · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read on ally politics, provides viewpoints I hadn't previously thought about and makes the reader analyze their role in recent events, namely the Ferguson and Oakland riots. Some essays were more impactful than others, and some discussed topics I wasn't very knowledgeable in, but it definitely intrigued me and has me interested in branching out to read more books or zines like it.

[Justher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a great collection of essays with varying leftist views on solidarity. These essays can be found online, but it's nice to have a physical copy to reference.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now my brain's on fire. Brain fertilizer, soul grower, heart destabilizer, question prompter.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today, apropos of literally everything, revisiting this one

[Corvus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this short anthology helpful and insightful in my ongoing obsession with radical tactics, interpersonal relationships, politics, and how we can survive, get along, and find sustainable movements. I like that they intentionally compiled writers that didn't all agree in order to foster thinking and critical analysis rather than tell you what is "correct."

My favorite entries were "Critiquing Ally Politics" by M., "Accomplices not Allies..." by Indigenous Action Media, "In support of Baltimore..." by Benji Hart, and "Solidarity as a weapon and practice..." by Cindy Milstein. I felt these 4 entries did the best job of critiquing ally and identity politics' pitfalls and liberalism while still providing insight as to how to combat systems of oppression that have often resulted in the silencing and harming of marginalized folks within radical circles. (Also, I got all warm and fuzzy seeing Milstein's mention of the Pittsburgh Principles from the 2009 G20 as a positive history point.)

This book helped me think more critically about how many of my attempts to combat white supremacy as a white person have caused me to slide into political realms I don't agree with, act out of guilt, ignore other oppressions, or undermine my own struggles and how these things are enemies of solidarity with anyone.

Quick and worthwhile read for sure.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for organizers. This is the kind of stuff we all need to understand if we are going to build a broad movement based on solidarity.