James Boggs (activist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
James Boggs
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James Boggs and his wife Grace Lee Boggs
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| Born | May 27, 1919 Marion Junction, Alabama, U.S.
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| Died | July 22, 1993 (aged 74) |
| Occupation | Political activist |
| Spouse(s) | Annie McKinley (m. 1938–??) |
James Boggs (born May 27, 1919 – died July 22, 1993) was an American activist, a worker in car factories, and a writer. He spent many years working for social change. He was married to another important activist, Grace Lee Boggs, for 40 years.
Contents
Who Was James Boggs?
Early Life and Activism
James Boggs was born in 1919 in Marion Junction, Alabama. He was an African-American activist who worked hard for civil rights and social justice. He is well-known for writing a book called The American Revolution: Pages from a Negro Worker's Notebook in 1963. For many years, from 1940 to 1968, he worked in a car factory for Chrysler.
Boggs was involved with a group called the Correspondence Publishing Committee. This group focused on revolutionary ideas. In 1955, James Boggs became the editor of their newspaper, Correspondence.
Working for Change
Later in his life, James Boggs became a very important person in the civil rights movement. This movement worked to gain equal rights for African Americans. He met and worked with many famous civil rights leaders, including Malcolm X and Ossie Davis.
In 1979, James Boggs and his wife, Grace Lee Boggs, helped start a group called the National Organization for an American Revolution (NOAR).
James and Grace Lee Boggs were married from 1953 until his death in 1993. Their partnership was very strong. They worked together on many ideas and projects. One historian, Ibram X. Kendi, said their partnership was "a genuine partnership of equals." They were always thinking of new ways to make the world better.
His Important Books
James Boggs wrote many books and articles. These writings shared his ideas about social change and justice. Here are some of his works:
- Book Manifesto for a Black revolutionary party (1969)
- Racism and the Class Struggle: Further Pages from a Black Worker's Notebook (1970)
- Lenin Today; Eight essays on the hundredth anniversary of Lenin's birth (1970) (with Paul Sweezy and Harry Magdoff)
- The awesome responsibilities of revolutionary leadership (1970) (with Grace Lee Boggs)
- But what about the workers? (1973) (with James Hocker)
- Revolution and Evolution in the Twentieth Century (1974) (with Grace Lee Boggs)
- Issues in race and ethnic relations: theory, research, and action (1977) (with Jack Rothman)
- Conversations in Maine: exploring our nation's future (1978) (with Grace Lee Boggs, Freddy Paine and Lyman Paine)
- Liberation or Revolution? (1980)
- These are the times that try our souls: the questions we have yet to ask ourselves (1981) (with Grace Lee Boggs and James Hocker)
- Historical development of our social forces (1982)
- Our American Reality (1982)
- The urgent plea: a call for Black leadership (1985)
- What can we be that our children see? (1994)
See also
