Minnesota Books

For anyone who has ever wanted to work for social change, this life story by a wise and vital woman is a guidebook. As the book's cover tells us, "Grace Lee Boggs is a first-generation Chinese American who has been a speaker, writer, and movement activist in the African- American community for fifty-five years." After earning her Ph.D. in philosophy at Bryn Mawr in June of 1940, Grace wanted to become an activist. She moved to Chicago in the fall of 1940 and began working with the South Side Tenants Organization--a group that had been set up by the Workers Party.

When distinguished "labor leader A. Phillip Randolph issued a call for blacks all over the country to march on Washington to demand jobs in the defense plants," more and more people began attending the Workers Party discussions in Chicago's Washington Park. Grace had been invited to participate in those discussions. She said, "The more I went out in the community and met people, the more inadequate I was beginning to feel." When Randolph's leadership of the March on Washington movement was successful and President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, Grace realized "the power that the black community has within itself to change this country when it begins to move. As a result, I decided that what I wanted to do with the rest of my life was to become a movement activist in the black community." To Grace, "Joining the Workers Party seemed a good way to start," and that's what she did, in order to get the political education she felt she needed.

In the 1950s, Grace moved to Detroit where she worked on the Socialist Workers Party newsletter and met Jimmy Boggs, "A rank-and-file black Chrysler-Jefferson worker and community activist." Grace liked living in Detroit because it "felt like a 'Movement' city where radical history had been made and could be made again." She also liked working with Jimmy. Having worked closely with C. L. R. James, the intellectually powerful Socialist philosopher, Grace felt that her life had been "exciting but also extremely intellectual." She reasoned that she "needed to return to the concrete." Grace and Jimmy married in 1953 and began a life together that was rooted in the concrete reality of a major 20th-century industrialized city that had been abandoned by the large corporations that built it and by much of its white population.

As Ossie Davis says in his foreword to Grace's book, "Through these pages walk causes, gatherings, confrontations, movements, and the men and women who made them: workers and students and committees of the People...." Studs Terkel has called Grace's book "More than a deeply moving memoir...." He said, "...this is a book of revelation."

It is just that, for with passion and reason, Grace invites us to join her and Jimmy. She shows how they made "Detroit Summer" and "Gardening Angels" part of a new urban economic system, and she shows us how to interact multiculturally and multi-generationally. She doesn't merely talk about it--she does it and reports on its results. Grace Boggs educates us in her book and helps us see the possibilities of what we can do in our own cities.

It was interesting to read about some of the options people had besides the Panthers, to hear the view of taking responsibilty, not only blaming the man for the situation. And to reaffirm the idea that a great shift in society needs to occur before we can have true equality.

NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!

Both had lost one they loved intensely. Damien had lost his wife and almost his sanity. Jenna had lost her child and then her marriage.

How these two emotionally scarred people made connections with each other and Jenna draws Damien back into the light of human connection and introduces him to her family and fights for him is truly amazing.

This is one story you will find hard to put down as the action keeps moving without any bed stops to confused the issue. But when the connection is made physically - Wow! Both learn from the other about love.

With Emily the connecting force between Damien and Jenna, their emotions run riot and end up healing them. Smokey, the wolf was an added attraction. With a little bit of wisdom in understanding the only way to keep something is to let it go.

MOST EXCELLENT story - great characters, even sceptic, Frank Novacek.

HIGHLY REOCMMENDED --M You will probably want to read this one over again.

I did not think that I would like this book because of the psychic storyline, but I found myself intrigued with the gift that Damien had. Damien's gift brings out the vulnerable and emotional side of him that is usually hidden behind his tough guy image. The man has a wolf for a pet for heaven sakes (although he does not consider smokey a pet). The reader can really connect with Jenna and the sense of guilt that she has for what she is putting Damien through. You also can understand why she would do it again if that is what it took for her to get her niece back. The reader can also understand why he asks for one night of passion in return for his services. In some stories his actions would be considered crude, but not in this story. Damien feels he has to deny himself the one thing that most of us take for granted, human touch. To my surprise, I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.