A group of creative and inspiring artistic intellectuals, scholarly artists, literary activists, and revolutionary thinkers – the categories are not mutually exclusive, have come together to present Hammer & Hope: A Magazine of Black Politics and Culture. Forged in the fires of creative rebellion, artistic brilliance, and communities in solidarity and struggle over the past two decades, Hammer & Hope provides inciteful insights, provocative provocations, and discussions about the most pressing themes facing political movements and the future of democracy today. There is even a playlist.
“Hammer & Hope…is a project rooted in the power of solidarity, the spirit of struggle and the generative power of debate, all of which are vital parts of our movement toward freedom. We are inspired by the courageous Black Communists in Alabama whose lives and struggles to organize against capitalism and white supremacist terror in the 1930s and 1940s are memorialized in Robin D. G. Kelley’s book Hammer and Hoe, from which we take our name. We will envision collectively what a better future might look like and the strategies that could get us there. Such an undertaking compels us to deepen our knowledge of history, politics, culture and our own movements. Our aim is to build a project whose politics and aesthetics reflects the electric spirit of the protesters who flooded the streets in 2020, a project that breathes life into the transformative ideas pointing us towards the world we deserve. Come join us. We have a world to win.”
Co-founded by Jen Parker (editor) and 2021 MacArthur Foundation Fellow Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (Editor-at-large), the first issue features Ashley M. Jones, Carrie Mae Weems, the Kansas City Tenants, Robin D.G. Kelley, Derecka Purnell, Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, Nia T. Evans, Ann Larson, Lumumba Akinwole-Bandele, Monifa Akinwole-Bandele, Chase Strangio, and Taja Cheek.
In “When Cis Women Attack Trans Rights, Fascists Win,” Chase Strangio emphasizes the importance of solidarity between people whose control of their bodies is under attack. In this contribution, Taja Cheek, “The Brooklyn singer and songwriter, creates a playlist and reflects on two songs she can’t stop thinking about.” “After the Uprising, What Is to Be Done?” is a powerful statement on the vital significance of solidarity, the threat of right-wing political ideas and policies, and the enduring impact of the global 2020 protests against police violence. Finally, Monifa Akinwole-Bandele and Lumumba Akinwole-Bandele share why they continue to work to free political prisoners from the Black Power Era.
You can check out the entire volume Winter 2023, #1, available here.
