Join Leah Hunt-Hendrix, Astra Taylor, and Malaika Jabali for an in-depth examination of the history and politics of Solidarity.

Solidarity is often invoked, but it is rarely analyzed and poorly understood. In this event, leading activists and thinkers will discuss the past, present, and future of the concept across borders of nation, identity, and class to ask: how can we build solidarity in an era of staggering inequality, polarization, violence, and ecological catastrophe?

In their recently published book, Solidarity, Leah Hunt-Hendrix and Astra Taylor offer a lively and lucid history of the idea—from Ancient Rome through the first European and American socialists and labor organizers, to twenty-first century social movements like Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter—tracing the philosophical debates and political struggles that have shaped the modern world.

Looking forward, they argue that a clear understanding of how solidarity is built and sustained, and an awareness of how it has been suppressed, is essential to warding off the many crises of our present: right-wing backlash, irreversible climate damage, widespread alienation, loneliness, and despair.

For this launch event Hunt-Hendrix and Taylor will be joined by Malaika Jabali.


Order a copy of Solidarity: The Past, Present and Future of a World Changing Idea from Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/1039/9780593701249

***Register through Ticket Tailor to receive a link to the live-streamed video on the day of the event. This event will also be recorded and captioning will be provided.***

Speakers:

Leah Hunt-Hendrix is an organizer and writer who works on economic inequality and democracy. She is co-founder of the Solidaire Network and Way to Win, networks of progressive philanthropists that support social movements and electoral politics, respectively. She is co-author with Astra Taylor of Solidarity: The Past, Present and Future of a World Changing Idea, and she has a PhD from Princeton University in Religion, Ethics, and Politics.

Astra Taylor is a writer, documentary filmmaker, and political organizer. Her books include the American Book Award winner The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in a Digital Age and Democracy May Not Exist But We'll Miss It When It's Gone. Her films include "What Is Democracy?" and "Examined Life.” Her 2023 book The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart was part of the CBC Massey Lecture series. She is an advisor to Lux Magazine, on the editorial board of Hammer & Hope, and a co-founder of the Debt Collective, the world’s first debtors’ union.

Malaika Jabali is a journalist and author whose writing has appeared in The Guardian, where she was a columnist, Teen Vogue, The New Republic, Vox, Jacobin, The Intercept, and ESSENCE, where she served as Senior News and Politics Editor. A 2024 New Arizona Fellow at New America, Malaika’s writing on race and politics has led to appearances on Bloomberg, NPR, The Hill TV, BBC Radio, The Brian Lehrer Show, and a sit-down with Oscar-winning director Michael Moore on his Rumble podcast, among others.

Malaika’s debut book, It’s Not You, It’s Capitalism: Why It’s Time to Break Up and How to Move On, was named by the Boston Globe as one of the Best Books of 2023, and her debut political feature, “The Color of Economic Anxiety,” published in Current Affairs Magazine, was awarded the 2019 New York Association of Black Journalists Media Award for Newspaper/ Magazine feature.

A Columbia Law School graduate, Malaika is a retired public policy attorney who wrote legislation and examined policy for the New York City Council for 7 years.