“If Black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free.”
—Combahee River Collective Statement
Winner of the 2018 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Nonfiction
The Combahee River Collective, a path-breaking group of radical black feminists, was one of the most important organizations to develop out of the antiracist and women’s liberation movements of the 1960s and 70s. In this collection of essays and interviews edited by activist-scholar Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, founding members of the organization and contemporary activists reflect on the legacy of its contributions to Black feminism and its impact on today’s struggles.
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“This new collection of a four-decades-old text reminds us that black women have long known that America’s destiny is inseparable from how it treats them and the nation ignores this truth at its peril.”
—The New York Review of Books
“A striking collection that should be immediately added to the Black feminist canon.”
—Bitch Media
“An essential book for any feminist library.”
—Library Journal
“The publication of How We Get Free marks the 40th anniversary of the Combahee River Collective statement, which is often said to be the foundational document of intersectional feminism. As white feminism has gained an increasing amount of coverage, there are still questions as to how black and brown women’s needs are being addressed. This book, through a collection of interviews with prominent black feminists, provides some answers.”
—Rachael Revesz, The Independent
“For feminists of all kinds, astute scholars, or anyone with a passion for social justice, How We Get Free is an invaluable work.”
—Ethnic and Racial Studies Journal
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On Friday, November 6th, Naomi Klein, Astra Taylor and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor joined Haymarket's Anthony Arnove for a conversation about next steps for the struggle in the aftermath of the 2020 election and the ongoing crisis. Here, we present a transcript of their discussion.
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Intersectionality Matters: A Conversation with Kimberlé Crenshaw
Kimberlé Crenshaw discusses why intersectionality matters in this moment of crisis.
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Ruth Wilson Gilmore on Covid-19, Decarceration, and Abolition
Watch the full video of our event with Ruth Wilson Gilmore on Covid-19, Decarceration, and Abolition, hosted by Naomi Murakawa. Gilmore’s new Haymarket book Change Everything: Racial Capitalism and the Case for Abolition, will be released in February, 2021.
Other books by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
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Our History Has Always Been Contraband
Edited by Colin Kaepernick, Robin D. G. Kelley, et al. -
From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation (Expanded Second Edition)
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How We Get Free
Edited by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor -
The Anti-Inauguration
by Anand Gopal, Owen Jones, et al.