Deftly blending autobiography and history, James Green  here reflects on thirty years as an activist, educator, and  historian. He recounts how he became deeply immersed in political  protest and in recovering and preserving the history of progressive  social movements, and how the two are linked. His book, written in an  engaging and accessible style, tells powerful stories of people in  struggle, framed by the personal account of his own development.    As a historian, Green gives voice to generations of Americans who  banded together to fight for social justice. His subjects range from  the martyrs of the Haymarket tragedy to the Bread and Roses strikers  of 1912, from depression-era struggles for democracy to the civil  rights crusaders, from recent Rainbow Coalition campaigns to the  latest union organizing drives.    As an activist, Green describes how his participation in the civil  rights and labor movements of our own time has transformed his life,  first as a student and radical scholar in the 1960s, then as a public  historian and teacher of working-class students. He also describes his  efforts to break free from academic confinement and "tell movement  stories in public," in an attempt to offer hope and counsel to those  still fighting for equality and fairness. He concludes with a  revealing look at how awareness of past social activism has  contributed to the revival of the labor movement during the last ten  years, an effort in which Green has been vigorously engaged.

Taking history to heart: the power of the past in building social movements PDF

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