Living for Change: An Autobiography

338 Pages·1998·19.17 MB·English

by  Grace Lee Boggs

Living for Change
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Living for Change
An Autobiography
Grace Lee Boggs
Foreword by Ossie Davis
University of Minnesota Press
Minneapolis
London
"Reassurance," from Revolutionary Petunias and Other Poems, by Alice Walker, is
reprinted by permission of Harcourt Brace and Company; "Sam's Life," words and
music by Oscar Brown Jr., originally published by E. B. Marks Music, reprinted by
permission of Oscar Brown Jr.; "A White Man's Heaven Is a Black Man's Hell,"
by Louis X, reprinted by permission of Louis Farrakhan; "Paul Robeson," by
Gwendolyn Brooks, reprinted by permission of Broadside Press; "Let Us Stop This
Madness," by Trinidad Sanchez Jr., from "Why Am I So Brown?" from the book of
the same name by Trinidad Sanchez Jr., copyright 1991, reprinted by permission of
March Abrazo Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Calling All Brothers,0" by Gloria House
(aka Aneb Kgositsile), originally published by Broadside Press, reprinted by
permission of the author; "SOSAD—The War Zone," by Errol A. Henderson,
reprinted by permission of the author; "Lessons in Grace," by Gloria House (aka
Aneb Kgositsile), reprinted by permission of the author; "On the Anniversary of
Grace," by Louis Tsen, reprinted by permission of the author; "For James Boggs —
Writer, Activist, Worker," by Ruby Dee, reprinted by permission of the author.
Copyright 1998 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press, 111 Third Avenue South,
Suite 290, Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520
http ://www.upress .umn. edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Boggs, Grace Lee.
Living for change : an autobiography / Grace Lee Boggs ; foreword
by Ossie Davis,
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8166-2954-4 (hc : alk. paper). — ISBN 0-8166-2955-2 (pb :
alk. paper)
1. Boggs, Grace Lee. 2. Chinese American women — Michigan —
Detroit—Biography. 3. Political activists — Michigan — Detroit —
Biography. 4. Chinese Americans — Michigan—Detroit—Biography.
5. Detroit (Mich.) — Biography. 6. Boggs, James. I. Title.
F574.D49C53 1998
303.48'4'092—dc21 97-27296
[B]
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer.
10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
Dedicated to
Jimmy Boggs 19/9-1993
W. H. (Ping) Ferry 1910-1995
Dorothy Garner 1929-1995
Kathleen Gough 1925-1990
Freddy Paine 1912-1999
Lyman Paine 1901-1978
and
Detroit Summer Youth Volunteers
"Shaking the World with a New Dream"
Books, pamphlets, and newsletters by Grace and Jimmy Boggs and associates.
Photo by Rebecca Cook
Contents
Foreword ix
Ossie Davis
Introduction xi
1 1
East Is East—Or Is It?
2 21
From Philosophy to Politics
3 45
C. L. R. James
4 75
Jimmy
5 117
"The City Is the Black Man's Land"
6 143
Beyond Rebellion
7 191
"Going Back" to China
8 209
New Dreams for the Twenty-First Century
9 241
On My Own
Notes 273
Index 291
Foreword
Ossie Davis
Life is not easy, and like most who are perpetual students I need help. My
logic limps; my conclusions stumble and fall; the truth I seek has been
known to bear false witness. So when most in need of clarification, or to
get confusions mended, I come to Jim and Grace to sit and listen. The foun-
tain is always flowing, the welcome generous. They share their thinking
gladly. I never leave without learning something new. This book by Grace
is no exception. I read it, my cup runneth over.
For here is more than a feast for the hungering heart, or even a
picnic—here is a life stating its case in eloquent summation, the journey
now in sight of the setting sun. Grace is the voice, but you'll hear Jimmy,
too, caught in midflight, never at rest except for ammunition. Time does
not stand still, and neither do our two mentors. This book records two
lives still up and growing. They search for truth as flowers search for sun-
light, as hunters search for game, and whatever they find they bring and
put on the table.
Through these pages walk causes, gatherings, confrontations, move-
ments, and the men and women who made them: workers and students
and committees of the People; Christians, Black Muslims, Black Panthers,
labor unions; C. L. R. James, Rev. Cleage, Rev. Franklin, Coleman Young,
Malcolm and Martin; artists, musicians, poets, actors, strikers, and seekers
of revolution; members of both their families; and Jimmy, the flaming
sword as much as Grace: his energy, his urgency, his dedication, his hon-
esty, his patience, as well as his egregious lack of patience.
ix