12 books to help you fight the system

Cleve Jones speaks outside the Supreme Court in June 2013 (Image via Hachette Books)

6. When We Rise: My Life in the Movement

If you’re not careful, it often seems as if modern society has always been here in its form. Here in 2016, despite our current social and political troubles, it is difficult to remember a time when things were different. To many, it must seem as if women have always been able to vote and open their own bank accounts. It’s not only conceivable that a black person could be U.S. president, but it’s happened. Gay people have always had places where they could be out, and safely so.

Of course, even today not all of these things are guaranteed rights. Moreover, they were especially inconceivable in the past. American women only gained the right to vote with the passage and ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, not yet a century ago. African-Americans still face considerable prejudice and danger from their own societies. And LGBTQ communities are still fighting for their full rights; same-sex marriage was only legalized throughout the U.S. in 2015.

My point is, it’s important to understand your history in order to underscore the struggles of today. Not only does it provide an important case study of injustice in society, but it emphasizes both the advances we’ve made and the long roads ahead of us.

Cleve Jones’ memoir, When We Rise: My Life in the Movement is one of those important historical documents. Jones is an AIDS and LGBT rights activist who was especially prominent during the AIDS pandemic beginning in the 1980s. He conceived the idea for the AIDS Memorial Quilt, which became a striking piece of protest and, as of 2009, the world’s largest piece of community folk art. His story, like many others, is a striking example of gay life and activism throughout the 20th century.