Contents
Grace Lee Boggs
Connecting radical political thought with decades of community organizing in Detroit.
Revolution and Evolution in the Twentieth Century · Living for Change
- Born
- 27 June 1915
- Birthplace
- Providence, United States
- Died
- 5 October 2015
More people
Grace Lee Boggs
Chinese American writer and activist who worked across labour, Black liberation and grassroots community movements.
Early life
Immigrant family
Was born above her father’s restaurant to parents who had emigrated from China.
Philosophy
Studied at Barnard and earned a doctorate at Bryn Mawr in 1940.
Career
- 1940s
Radical politics
Worked with C. L. R. James and Raya Dunayevskaya on Marxist theory.
- 1950s–1980s
Detroit organizing
Built a long intellectual and political partnership with James Boggs.
- 1990s–2015
Community renewal
Helped develop Detroit Summer and continued writing and mentoring into old age.
Selected work
Revolution and Evolution in the Twentieth Century
Co-wrote an account of social transformation with James Boggs.
Living for Change
An autobiography reflecting on her political development.
The Next American Revolution
Co-wrote a case for sustainable grassroots activism.
Beyond work
A shared life
Married James Boggs, an autoworker and writer, in 1953.
Youth participation
Detroit Summer brought young people into practical neighbourhood projects.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and references ↗Biography and contributions ↗Photo: Castilibrary8. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
