Red Lives: Our Years in the U.S. Communist Party (1950–2000), Vol. 1: Coming of Age in the Communist and Labor Movements

Synopsis

Red Lives: Our Years in the US Communist Party (1950–2000) brings together nearly fifty firsthand accounts from members of the Communist Party USA and the communist youth movement, documenting a chapter of American radical history that has often been overlooked. Beginning where many histories of US Communism end, the collection traces the experiences of activists who came of age during the Civil Rights Movement, the anti-war movement, the labour movement, and the global struggles for decolonization and socialism.

Part memoir, part oral history, and part political history, these essays offer a wide range of perspectives on organizing, solidarity, labour, and social change. Together they provide a vivid portrait of political commitment across five decades and an important contribution to the history of the American left.

About the Book

Edited by Tony Pecinovsky, Faith Santilla, and Shelly Marshall, Red Lives is the first volume in a series documenting the experiences of members of the Communist Party USA from the 1950s through the 1990s. The collection preserves personal histories that illuminate the intersections of labour organizing, civil rights, anti-war activism, and socialist politics in the United States.

Publisher
International Publishers

Publication Date
September 2, 2025

Format
Paperback

Pages
480

Subjects
History · Labour History · Political History · Memoir · Social Justice

ISBN
9781685712907