Living for Change An Autobiography

Grace Lee Boggs — 1998

Living for Change is a sweeping account of the life of an untraditional radical from the end of the thirties, through the cold war, the civil rights era, and the rise of Black Power, the Nation of Islam, and the Black Panthers to the present efforts to rebuild our urban communities. This fascinating autobiography traces the story of a woman who transcended class and racial boundaries to pursue her passionate belief in a better society.

Reviews

Michelle Li@michellybelly

May 23, 2022

it's taken me over 2 years to finally finish this, but i did it! a very detailed (at times boring but appreciated her details) account of grace lee bogg's long life as a political activist civil rights revolutionary and the relationships she built, including with her husband jimmy lee boggs. she was born in 1915, she wrote this in her mid-80's and lived to 100! interesting to read about the evolution of her politics and ideologies, the evolution of all the movements throughout the years, and great eye-opening look at detroit's civil rights organizing since the mid-1900's, and through the different justice movements, how we can understand the past to help envision a better future. there's sooo much to learn from her life's work in detroit, her books, and her stories. i especially enjoyed hearing her backstory as a chinese-american woman in the US growing up in the early 1900's. she is truly inspiring! "reality is constantly changing and we must be wary of becoming stuck in ideas that have come out of past experiences and have lost their usefulness in the struggle to create the future" "key distinction between revolution and rebellion is rebellion is a stage in the development of revolution but it is not the revolution. it is still important as it represents the standing up of the oppressed, breaks the threads that have been holding the system together and questions the legitimacy of the supposed permanence of the existing institutions" "revolution provides the basis of new social order after disruption, struggle with institution and must make a spiritual and philosophical leap to become more human human beings, in order to transform the world, they/we must transform ourselves" *"one of the most important qualities of revolutionary leadership: the ability to evolve as reality changes and as you learn from your own experiences and the experiences of others" *"what kind of transformations do we need in our values, institutions, and behavior to reconnect us with the rhythms and processes of nature?"