Radical Solidarity

“A masterful and beautiful account of the complicated and steadfast activist. . . . Materson, in her thorough retelling of Reynolds’s story, offers the reader a portrait of a complicated life, one that was not devoted to material wealth or personal gain but to her ideals and her steadfast belief in social justice and equality.”—The Americas

“Historians of US political history should add this excellent biography to their libraries. . . . Materson skillfully weaves personal retrospection through the story she reconstructs from the rich archive documenting Reynolds’ long career. . . . [An] illuminating account.”—Diplomatic History

“Materson succeeds in her attempt to recover the life of Ruth Reynolds, to explore what ‘radical solidarity’ might look like in practice, and to remind readers of the colonial relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States.”—Peace & Change

“Brillian[t]. . . . Radical Solidarity is an engaging biography that shows how allies can work with others in solidarity without minimizing the voices of those facing oppression.”—H-Caribbean

“Materson’s discussion of Reynolds’s life helps us understand the complexities of solidarity activism as well as the ways that Puerto Ricans and their allies have fought for liberation from colonial rule. Well written and engaging, the book stands to make a major contribution to the field.” — Marisol LeBrón, author of Policing Life and Death: Race, Violence, and Resistance in Puerto Rico

“In this stunning biography of Ruth Reynolds, a lifelong pacifist with deep roots in the Midwest, Lisa Materson introduces us not only to one of the twentieth century ’s most devoted, and unlikely, champions of Puerto Rican independence but also to the revelatory concept of radical solidarity. Neither political imprisonment nor the turn to violence on the part of some of her closest friends dislodged Reynolds’s commitment to exposing the colonial subjugation of Puerto Rico. Bringing a feminist lens to a lifetime of anti-imperialist politics, Materson brilliantly offers Reynolds’s life as a master lesson in allyship while likewise bringing attention to a too-long-overlooked chapter of American empire.”—Lorena Oropeza, author of The King of Adobe: Reies López Tijerina, Lost Prophet of the Chicano Movement

“Lisa Materson has drawn on an impressive array and quantity of resources that make for an extremely moving and inspiring read. It is an excellent and important project.”—Margaret Power, author of Solidarity across the Americas: The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and Anti-imperialism