DeRay Mckesson is an internationally recognized civil rights activist, community organizer, host of the popular Crooked Media podcast, “Pod Save the People,” and now — author. In his first book, “On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope,” which goes on sale September 4, 2018, he offers an intimate and powerful portrait of the Black Lives Matter movement from the front lines — part deeply personal memoir and part timely meditation on politics, justice, and freedom. The result is a full-throated argument for hope, and against cynicism, from one of the most electrifying voices of the resistance.
In 2014, when Michael Brown was killed and the Ferguson protests began in earnest, Mckesson was sitting at home in Minneapolis, checking Twitter, and noticed a discrepancy between what was on his timeline and what was on his TV screen. Feeling called to action, he headed to Ferguson without much of a plan — and ended up staying for 400 days. So began his journey as an activist and public figure. In “On the Other Side of Freedom,” he shares his memories of being on the streets of Ferguson, Charlottesville, Baltimore, and more, as well as memories from his childhood and his work as an educator and a public official—all of which shaped his path to the movement and inspire him to keep fighting.
Passionate and provocative, “On the Other Side of Freedom” is a work of both immediate relevance and enduring consequence — a visionary’s call to action, designed to empower a new generation of leaders and activists.
Hardcover; $25.00