Finally Got the News uncovers the hidden legacy of the radical left of the 1970s, a decade when vibrant social movements challenged racism, imperialism, patriarchy, and capitalism itself. It combines written contributions from movement participants with original printed materials—from pamphlets to posters, flyers to newspapers—to tell this politically rich and little-known story.
The dawn of the 1970s witnessed an explosion of interest in revolutionary ideas and activism. Young people radicalized by the antiwar movement became anti-imperialists, veterans of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements increasingly identified with communism and Pan-Africanism, and women were organizing for autonomy and liberation. While these movements may have different roots, there was also an incredible overlapping and intermingling of activists and ideologies.
These diverse movements used printed materials as organizing tools in every political activity, creating a sprawling and remarkable array of printing styles, techniques, and formats. Through the lens of printed materials we can see the real nuts and bolts of revolutionary organizing in an era when thousands of young revolutionaries were attempting to put their beliefs into practices in workplaces and neighborhoods across the U.S. and the world.
Contributors include Akinyele Umoja, Elly Leary, Badili Ifadoyin Jones-Goodhope, Johanna Brenner, Stephanie Browner, Silvia Federici, Emily K. Hobson, Dan LaBotz, Dan Berger, Kazembe Balagun, Ethan Young, Bill Fletcher, Abayomi Azikiwe, Paul Buhle, Jesse Drew, Max Elbaum, Dianne Feeley, David Finkel, Miriam Frank, Kit and Lisa Lyons, Nick Medvecky, Dennis O’Neil, Banbose Shango, Jim Skillman, Wendy Thompson, Alan Wald, Peter Werbe, Laura Whitehorn, and Ron Whitehorne.
About the Editors:
Brad Duncan is an activist and a union library worker who has been collecting printed materials related to social protest for twenty years. His work as a collector focuses on the radical movements and liberation struggles of the sixties and seventies, some of which can be seen on his popular blog, The R. F. Kampfer Revolutionary Literature Archive. In 2014 his archive was the focus of an exhibition titled “Power to the Vanguard: Original Printed Materials from Revolutionary Movements Around the World, 1963–1987” at Trinosophes in Detroit, Michigan.
Interference Archive explores the relationship between cultural production and social movements. This work manifests in an open stacks archival collection, publications, a study center, and public programs, all of which encourage critical and creative engagement with the rich history of social movements.