Beautiful Rising: Creative Resistance from the Global South

by Dave Oswald Mitchell (Editor), Juman Abujbara (Editor), Andrew Boyd (Editor)

In the struggle for freedom and justice, organizers and activists have often turned to art, creativity, and humor. In this follow-up to the bestselling Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for Revolution, Beautiful Rising showcases some of the most innovative tactics used in struggles against autocracy and austerity across the Global South.

Based on face-to-face jam sessions held in Yangon, Amman, Harare, Dhaka, Kampala and Oaxaca, Beautiful Rising includes stories of the Ugandan organizers who smuggled two yellow-painted pigs into parliament to protest corruption; the Burmese students’ 360-mile long march against undemocratic and overly centralized education reforms; the Lebanese “honk at parliament” campaign against politicians who had clung to power long after their term had expired; and much more.

Now, in one remarkable book, you can find the collective wisdom of more than a hundred grassroots organizers from five continents. It’s everything you need for a DIY uprising of your own.

Genres: Activism, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Dave Oswald Mitchell is a freelance editor, researcher, and communications strategist whose work focuses on supporting social-change and community-organizing initiatives. He edited Briarpatch Magazine from 2005 to 2010 and serves as the Editorial Director of the Beautiful Trouble/Solutions/Rising suite of projects. His interests include found haiku, photography, and going elsewhere.

Reviews

[عبدُ الرَّحمن · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must-read book for all activists and change-makers. I'm blessed to read it and will need to reread it to apply great ideas as much as possible in my context. It's strong starting point and way to build strategic and creative campaigns.

All respect to the editors and contributors

[Sabrina Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot recommend this book more highly. It provides inspiring accounts of creative movements around the world, offers the tools necessary to make your own change, and endless resources to inspire, delight, and digest. It has a very accessible writing style and manages to summarise complex problems succinctly and with nuance.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with straightforward and effective tactics. I thought the book chapter order was a little off. I thought it made more sense to read it with Stories last, so that after learning the tactics, principles, and methodologies, you can get case examples of these subjects in action. Great book, great connective website, glad I purchased this book.

[Lukáš Zorád · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent some good time with this book, enjoyed the creativity of people, enjoyed the stories (though occasionally I found the bit shallow and would love to dig bit deeper). It's easy to read yet provides good insights on how to carry out creative and successful campaigns (or revolutions).

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautifulrising.org