Finally Got the News

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. 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 saw an absolute 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 practice in workplaces and neighborhoods across the U.S.

Forward — Jen Hoyer and Josh MacPhee, Interference Archive 

Introduction — Brad Duncan, The R.F. Kampfer Revolutionary Literature Archive 

In the Factories and in the Streets: Going to the Working Class — Dan La Botz 

Flashpoint: Boston Busing Crisis — Ethan Young 

Flashpoint: The Revival of May Day — Elly Leary 

Solidarity and Global Liberation: Anti-colonial Struggles — Bill Fletcher 

“Women! Nothing to Lose But Our Chains!” — Johanna Brenner 

Flashpoint: International Women’s Day — Silvia Federici 

Nation, Class, and Culture: People of Color Majority Communist Organizations — Kazembe Balagun 

Toward New Afrika: Black Self-determination Politics in the 1970s — Akinyele Umoja 

Flashpoint: African Liberation Day — Badili Ifadoyin Jones-Goodhope 

Love and Solidarity: Queer Liberation — Emily K. Hobson 

No More Business As Usual: Anarchists, Anti-Authoritarians, and Other Trouble-Makers — Stephanie Browner 

Radical Propagandist Roundtable: An Oral History-style Collection

Glossary 

Acknowledgements