A Radical Reframing with Jeanne Theoharis and Erik Wallenberg

When a popular leader emerges from the whirlwind of a struggle for justice, power always stands in opposition—ignoring the rising demands where possible, ridiculing and coopting, and eventually fighting with everything in their arsenal. When the popular leader is gone—murdered or passed on—power makes them into a mythical hero while simultaneously working furiously to strip away the radical content that energized and guided the struggle. Joining us this week are Jeanne Theoharis and Erik Wallenberg, one of Pilsen Community Book’s worker owners who co-authored a dazzling guide to Chicago’s Black Freedom Struggle which appeared in The Chicago Tribune. Jeanne is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College, and author of the bestselling book The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, and the new King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life of Struggle Outside the South (The New Press).