{"product_id":"a-continuous-struggle-the-revolutionary-life-of-martin-sostre-pb","title":"A Continuous Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Martin Sostre (pb)","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"product-info-main product-details left-section\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"product attribute description\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"value\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe first biography of the revolutionary political prisoner who laid the foundation for contemporary abolitionist struggles and Black anarchism.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Continuous Struggle\u003c\/em\u003e is a political biography of one of the most important revolutionary figures of the twentieth century in the United States. Martin Sostre (1923–2015) was a Black Puerto Rican from East Harlem who became a politicized prisoner and jailhouse lawyer, winning cases in the early 1960s that helped secure the constitutional rights of incarcerated people. He opened one of the country’s first radical Black bookstores and was scapegoated and framed by police and the FBI following the Buffalo rebellion of 1967. He was sentenced by an all-white jury to thirty-one to forty-one years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout his nine-year imprisonment, Sostre transformed himself and the revolutionary movements he was a part of, eventually identifying as a revolutionary anarchist and laying the foundation for contemporary Black anarchism. During that time, he engaged in principled resistance to strip frisks for which he was beaten eleven times, raising awareness about the routinized sexual assault of imprisoned people. The decade-long Free Martin Sostre movement was one of the greatest and most improbable defense campaign victories of the Black Power era, alongside those to liberate Angela Davis and Huey Newton. Although Sostre receded from public view after his release in 1976, he lived another four decades of committed struggle as a tenant organizer and youth mentor in New York and New Jersey. Throughout his long life, Martin Sostre was a jailhouse lawyer, revolutionary bookseller, yogi, mentor and teacher, anti-rape organizer, housing justice activist, and original political thinker. The variety of strategies he used and terrains on which he struggled emphasize the necessity and possibility of multi-faceted and continuous struggle against all forms of oppression in pursuit of an egalitarian society founded on the principles of “maximum human freedom, spirituality, and love.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e** The author of this book was recently (May 2025) interviewed about it on The Final Straw Radio. You can check that out \u003ca style=\"color: #07b1b9;\" href=\"https:\/\/thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org\/post\/2025\/05\/18\/the-lives-and-legacy-of-martin-sostre-with-garrett-felber\/\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e or wherever you listen to podcasts. **\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat People Are Saying\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Vibrant...This brings the revolutionary spirit of the '60s and '70s alive in fascinating detail.\" \u003cem\u003ePublisher's Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“I’ve been waiting for years for a biography of Martin Sostre worthy of its subject. This is it. Garrett Felber tells an engrossing story of a complex and committed man who dedicated his life to the struggle for liberation of the oppressed with depth and revolutionary love. A new generation will now get to know someone whose contributions have made all our lives more possible. \u003cem\u003eA Continuous Struggle\u003c\/em\u003e will be a mainstay on my shelf and my book recommendations.” \u003ca data-lwsa=\"eyJhdXRvbGluayI6dHJ1ZSwiYXV0b19pZCI6IjkzNjgifQ==\" href=\"https:\/\/leftwingbooks.net\/collections\/all\/mariame-kaba\" title=\"Mariame Kaba\"\u003eMariame Kaba\u003c\/a\u003e, coauthor of \u003cem\u003eLet this Radicalize You\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Now that Garrett Felber has given us such a deeply researched and compelling biography of Martin Sostre, Sostre’s pivotal and far-reaching contributions to the movement against prisons and the broader abolitionist movement can no longer be ignored. This book is more than a biography of a single individual—it charts the collective work that guides us today.” Angela Y. Davis, is a political activist and author of numerous books, including \u003cem\u003e\u003ca data-lwsa=\"eyJhdXRvbGluayI6dHJ1ZSwiYXV0b19pZCI6IjE5NzEyIn0=\" href=\"https:\/\/leftwingbooks.net\/products\/freedom-is-a-constant-struggle-ferguson-palestine-and-the-foundations-of-a-movement\" title=\"Freedom is a Constant Struggle\"\u003eFreedom is a Constant Struggle\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eA Continuous Struggle\u003c\/em\u003e is urgent reading for organizers everywhere. Martin Sostre’s project-oriented revolutionary vision gifts us with insights. Garrett Felber vividly shows how Sostre understood the consciousness-expanding power of frequently modest ‘objective examples.’ As a result, the man’s life and this book encourage us to notice the many unsung people who work towards a new society in militantly practical ways.” \u003ca data-lwsa=\"eyJhdXRvbGluayI6dHJ1ZSwiYXV0b19pZCI6IjkzNzAifQ==\" href=\"https:\/\/leftwingbooks.net\/collections\/all\/ruth-wilson-gilmore\" title=\"Ruth Wilson Gilmore\"\u003eRuth Wilson Gilmore\u003c\/a\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eAbolition Geography\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“A rigorous examination of Sostre's revolutionary life that offers vital lessons for those seeking to carry on the struggle.” Orisanmi Burton, author of \u003cem\u003eTip of the Spear\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The radical, indeed revolutionary life of Martin Sostre, a Black Puerto Rican political prisoner, is a remarkable one. He entered prison thinking himself nonpolitical, but learned, through hard-fought struggles and experience, that every time we wrestle with the State (Leviathan) we are engaged with politics. . . . His bio tells the tale of a man who transformed when faced with new challenges, becoming more radical with each transformation. Those students of the '60s, the Black nationalist and the prisoners’ rights movement would do well by reading his work.” Mumia Abu-Jamal, political prisoner and coeditor of \u003cem\u003eBeneath the Mountain\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGarrett Felber\u003c\/strong\u003e is an educator, writer, and organizer. They are the author of \u003cem\u003eThose Who Know Don’t Say: The Nation of Islam, the Black Freedom Movement, and the Carceral State\u003c\/em\u003e, and coauthor of \u003cem\u003eThe Portable Malcolm X Reader\u003c\/em\u003e, with Manning Marable. Felber is a cofounder of the abolitionist collective Study and Struggle and is currently building a radical mobile library, the Free Society People's Library, in Portland, Oregon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRobin D. G. Kelley\u003c\/strong\u003e (Foreword) is author or coeditor of numerous award-winning books including \u003cem\u003eFreedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eRace Rebels: Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class\u003c\/em\u003e, among others. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"AK Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44505559171165,"sku":"9781849356374","price":33.6,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0562\/0826\/1213\/files\/continuousstrugglesostre_pb.jpg?v=1780853411","url":"https:\/\/leftwingbooks.net\/products\/a-continuous-struggle-the-revolutionary-life-of-martin-sostre-pb","provider":"Leftwingbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}