Henry Box Brown (l. c. 1815-1897) was an enslaved African American who became famous as "the man who mailed himself to freedom" after he had himself shipped in a box from Richmond, Virginia, to abolitionists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 29 March 1849. #History #HenryBoxBrown #Abolitionism #Slavery #HistoryFact https://whe.to/ci/1-24329-en/
Sojourner Truth's Escape from Slavery comes from the Narrative of Sojourner Truth, an account of the famous abolitionist's life as given to her friend and admirer Olive Gilbert and published in 1850. #History #SojournerTruth #Abolitionism #Slavery #USHistory #HistoryFact https://whe.to/ci/2-2694-en/
Sojourner Truth (l. c. 1797-1883) was an African American abolitionist, women's suffrage advocate, and civil rights activist who famously "walked away" from slavery in 1826, sued in court for the return of her son and, between 1843 and her death in 1883, became one of the most popular lecturers and preachers in the United States. #History #SojournerTruth #Abolitionism #Slavery #USHistory #HistoryFact https://whe.to/ci/1-24323-en/
Harriet Jacobs (l. c. 1813-1897) was a former slave, abolitionist, and author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), her autobiography, describing her life as a slave in North Carolina, her flight to freedom in the North, and her experiences there. #History #HarrietJacobs #Abolitionism #Slavery #HistoryFact https://whe.to/ci/1-23889-en/
Although Phillis Wheatley's poetry found an audience upon publication, it was not well received by everyone and some, notably Thomas Jefferson (l. 1743-1826), dismissed her work entirely as "mimicry" since, according to the prevailing understanding of the time, Blacks were incapable of the "higher thought" that was necessary in writing poetry. #History #ThomasJefferson #PhillisWheatley #Abolitionism #AmericanLiterature #Slavery #HistoryFact https://whe.to/ci/2-2684-en/
Next Saturday at Firestorm Books we'll be discussing the Eurochristian origins of mass criminalization and racial capitalism. Join us in-person at 3pm with Andrew Krinks, author of the recently published book "White Property, Black Trespass." In dialog with local organizers Hill Brown and Rev. Allyn Maxfield-Steele, Andrew will share their work on the historical continuity and religiosity of whiteness and property, concluding with a vision for a faith-based abolition of prisons and policing.
You can find more information on the event and copies of "White Property, Black Trespass: Racial Capitalism and the Religious Function of Mass Criminalization" on our website at https://firestorm.coop/events/3344-the-religion-of-criminalization-the-religion-of-abolition.html.
#Abolitionism #ChristianAbolitionists #SocialJustice #LiberationTheology #FreeThemAll #ChristianAnarchism #FeministBookstore #FirestormCoop (- L)
Mary Prince (l. c. 1788 to c. 1833) was the first enslaved Black woman to publish an autobiography/slave narrative. #History #MaryPrince #Abolitionism #Slavery #HistoryFact https://whe.to/ci/1-24270-en/
Olaudah Equiano (l. c. 1745-1797, also known as Gustavus Vassa) was an African of the Igbo village of Essaka, of the Kingdom of Benin (modern Nigeria), who was enslaved around the age of ten, bought his freedom around the age of 20, and became an influential abolitionist and writer in Britain. #History #Abolitionism #OlaudahEquiano #Slavery #USHistory #HistoryFact https://whe.to/ci/2-2672-en/
On the last day of March we're hosting a conversation with two authors we adore: Dean Spade and Kai Cheng Thom! Join online to discuss how we can be the change we want to see—both out in the world, and in our closest connections. Dean's new book "Love in a F*cked-Up World: How to Build Relationships, Hook Up, and Raise Hell Together" is a resounding call to action and a practical manifesto for how to combat cultural scripts and take our relationships into our own hands.
This event is also a fundraiser for families in Gaza and attendees are asked to make a donation in lieu of ticket cost. Live ASL interpretation will be provided.
Register for this virtual event and find your copy of "Love in a F*cked-Up World" at https://firestorm.coop/events/3339-hooking-up-raising-hell-a-conversation-with-dean-spade-and-kai-cheng-thom.html. Can't make the live event? Sign up anyway, pitch in on the fundraiser if you can, and we'll send you a recording of the event to stream at your convenience!
#ThePersonalIsPolitical #FreePalestine #FeministBookstore #QueerSouth #Abolitionism #DeanSpade #KaiChengThom #FirestormCoop (- L)
David Walker (l. c. 1796-1830) was an African American abolitionist writer best known for his 1829 work An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World (also known The Appeal or Walker's Appeal) advocating for a united front in the abolition of slavery and noting the hypocrisy of White Americans holding slaves in the "land of the free. #History #Abolitionism #USHistory #HistoryFact https://whe.to/ci/2-2659-en/
Denmark Vesey (c. 1767-1822) was a free Black man living in Charleston, South Carolina, as a carpenter and community leader. #History #DenmarkVesey #Abolitionism #AmericanCivilWar #AntebellumSouth #Slavery #HistoryFact https://whe.to/ci/1-24133-en/
The 2022 essay collection "Ending Slavery", edited by Lawrence Aje & Claudine Raynaud, reflects on the historiographical and memorial legacies of post-1830s #antebellum #Abolitionism in the United States
Came across #HarrietMartineau's #SocietyInAmerica by following a trail of citations and this feels like one of those "she actually did important #sociological work but we don't talk about her because she's a #woman" sort of things.
Next weekend Firestorm is delighted to be hosting former political prisoner Henri Feola for a short reading and discussion of their recently published zine, "The Veil Between Worlds is Plexiglass."
Henri's work focuses on his experience as an incarcerated forest defender, intertwining the personal and the political. This conversation will explore abolition, jail support and solidarity, and the role of art and personal narrative in revolution.
Learn more and find copies of "The Veil Between Worlds is Plexiglass" at https://firestorm.coop/events/3316-the-veil-between-worlds-is-plexiglass.html.
#DefendTheForest #Zinestagram #Abolitionism #FreeThemAll #PoliticalPrisoners #FeministBookstore #FirestormCoop (- L)
"I wouldn't have made it this far without books. In prison, reading is not so much a means of escape as a survival mechanism. Books become tools of diverse purpose within the penitentiary; not only do they combat loneliness, but they are also barriers against isolation. Books will build you up more effectively than any time spent in the yard's weight pit, and the information they impart will protect you far better than a sharpened shiv."
—Lee Doane, as quoted by Victoria Law in "Books Through Bars: Stories From the Prison Books Movement"
Here's a recent photo we snapped of abolitionist titles being modified before being mailed to an individual incarcerated in the Southeast. Because the facility doesn't allow hardbacks, we were asked to strip the covers, which we did as carefully as we could to avoid damaging the integrity of the book spine.
Prisons take a hostile view of even the smallest forms of care and solidarity expressed for those under their control. They outright ban tens of thousands of titles, only allow books from approved retailers (or *only* Amazon), regularly delay delivery by weeks, and, increasingly, want to restrict physical books entirely, forcing prisoners to access e-books. Banning physical books is a way to further squeeze profits out of prisoners while undermining both solidarity from outside and mutual aid within facilities.
Want to make a difference and learn how people are fighting back against prison book bans? You can join Asheville Prison Books today at 1pm for a packaging party at our co-op!
#Abolitionism #FreeThemAll #BookBan #FireToThePrisons #PrisonBookBan #FeministBookstore #FirestormCoop (- L)
What if we took Ruby Hamad seriously?
'Chivalry, "protecting" white women by restricting their movements and suppressing their sexuality, improving brown men, Lynne and executing black men, reading colonized women; all of this bolstered white male and, by extension, female power while conveniently absolving white people of any wrong doing by permitting them to project their own sexual violence onto black and brown men. And then to punish them ruthlessly."
We've canceled a lot of plans in the last month, but one plan we're excited to stick with is hosting author Bill Ayers at the end of October! Bill is one of those amazing people who has folded many lives into a single lifetime. He was a leading voice in the antiwar movement of the 1960s, a most wanted fugitive in the 1970s, an educator in the 1980s, an influential school reformer and anti-poverty activist in the 1990s and 2000s, an author of over a dozen books, and always an irrepressible dreamer.
On Wednesday, October 30th Firestorm will be hosting Bill Ayers for a conversation about his newest book, "When Freedom is the Question, Abolition is the Answer." This will be a hybrid event, meaning you can join in person or virtually. Either way, you can register for free at https://firestorm.coop/events/3276-when-freedom-is-the-question-a-conversation-with-bill-ayers.html.
If you aren't able to attend but want to listen to the conversation later, sign up for the virtual event and we'll share the audio when we post it!
#Abolitionism #Pedagogy #Anarchism #RadicalEducator #FeministBookstore #BillAyers #WhenFreedomIsTheQuestion #FirestormCoop (- L)
“at the time [in the early 1800s] one could openly challenge the norm of slavery.
“By the 1840s, it would no longer be acceptable as the nation rumbled closer to #war.”
#history #ElihuEmbree #RadicalRepublicans #abolitionism https://www.wbir.com/article/news/history/black-history-month-tn-man-wanted-to-free-the-slaves-he-also-owned-them/51-12f5b806-2ab0-497e-b564-1c3070a5aaba
