Conviction: A Memoir

by C.K. Gallagher

How do you live a purposeful life in a world divided by racial, social, and economic inequality?What can today’s social justice activists learn from the powerful mass movements of the 1960s and ’70s? Conviction is the story of one woman’s journey from a working-class town in central California through some of the most significant struggles for radical change in the last third of the twentieth century. Confronted with intense criticisms of U.S. imperialism while traveling in Europe as a student, C. K. Gallagher enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley and participated in the battle for ethnic studies programs, became an ally of the Black Panther Party, and spent three years as a political prisoner at the California Institution for Women. She takes the reader with her inside Cuba and China, where she experiences different models of socialism; the auto industry, as a member of the United Auto Workers union; and the public schools, where she spent twenty years as a dedicated teacher.Conviction reflects a life lived in significant times and inspires hope for a new generation of activists.

190 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 11, 2020

Reviews

[Carolyn Winnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

One could say that CK Gallagher is sharing with us her “life lived to its fullest”. It might not be the path many of us would have chosen, as Gallagher seemed to have the envious capability of choosing “in the moment”. Some of us ponder too long, weighing what we perceive as possible consequences . Not withstanding, in embarking on her journey with her, one wonders with each step she took, if , in fact, we might have possibly taken that “road less traveled” as she did. Because she was “there in the moment”, she experiences real life-threatening events in multiple world locations. She takes the chances of a lifetime to expand her understanding of current events in America and abroad that would have never been possible by watching 30 minutes of nightly news, or even reading a book rehashing what history has taught us. From the beginning, a noticeable large swath of us baby-boomers born in the year 1946 truly walked her journey from Oklahoma to the lush fertile Salinas Valley of California. We were there. We experienced the angst of teen years. We can be engrossed in, and laud the author for capturing what most of us were introduced to as far as religion training, teen boy/girl relationships, parents’ mores and our interactions with siblings. In our generation, the assassination of John F Kennedy on the morning of November 23, 1963, and everything else seemed to snow-ball from that epoch-making event. Candice caught the ride. She left her mark of conviction with every “in the moment” decision she made.


The book is engrossing from beginning to end, and riveting in parts in between. It is absolutely a recommended read for all.

[Ruth Gravitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring book for young activists

The author has a remarkable ability to convey her idealism and highest values in words put together so beautifully. This is a book that, once begun, carries one along on the fun and fascinating ride of her unusual life. We have come full circle from the 60's and 70's activism to what we see now carried on by the brave and caring youth of various political movements and organizations. Those of us who were there then, who saw the Civil Rights and student movements first hand, need to tell what we saw and experienced for the benefit of these youths. They need inspiration and encouragement from those of us who walked similar roads and have much to teach about their safe navigation.