Books by William Upski Wimsatt
How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office: The Anti-Politics, Un-Boring Guide to Power
by Adrienne Maree Brown, William Upski Wimsatt
Anyone can write a rant against the state of American democracy today. Anyone can talk trash about politicians, or bemoan the apathy of the electorate, the low turnout, the low attention span, the cynicism. How To Get Stupid White Men... is a guide to getting off one’s cynical ass and doing something about it. Over the past six months, William Upski Wimsatt has been working with a group of people who have hitherto engaged in myriad forms of social work and political activism to develop a strategy that will effect positive change on American society through the electoral process. Rather than taking to the streets, rather than "bombing [graffitting] the suburbs," Wimsatt and his colleagues plan to "throw the bums out." This book will tell the story of 19 such cases over the past couple of years and outline all the potential races for 2004, describing the tactics to be utilized in an array of contested races across the country by creating coalitions of gay, enviro, Black, Latino and other young groups of voters. The goal is to make this the most useful politically life-changing book any 15-35 year old could read this election year.
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Please Don't Bomb the Suburbs: A Midterm Report on My Generation and the Future of Our Super Movement
Best-selling author/activist William Upski Wimsatt is back with a blueprint for contemporary political organizers.
“[A] sober and funny assessment of where activism is and where it needs to go.” ―In These Times
“Wimsatt’s level of sincerity and enthusiasm is refreshing and bracing, and the book stands as a reminder that anybody who wants to help improve the world can find plenty of ways to get busy, and also have a great time doing it.” ―Literary Kicks
As a potty-mouth graffiti writer from the Southside of Chicago, William “Upski” Wimsatt electrified the literary and hip-hop world with two of the most successful underground classic books in a generation, Bomb the Suburbs (1994) and No More Prisons (1999), which sold more than 90,000 copies combined.
In Please Don’t Bomb the Suburbs, Wimsatt weaves a first-person tour of America’s cultural and political movements from 1985–2010. It’s a story about love, growing up, a generation coming of age, and a vision for the movement young people will create in the new decade. With humor, storytelling, and historical insight, Wimsatt lays out a provocative vision for the next twenty-five years of personal and historical transformation. Never heard of Billy Wimsatt before? Your life just got better.
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No More Prisons
by William Upski Wimsatt, Willaim Upski Wimsatt
Winner of the 2000 Firecracker Alternative Book Award for Best Book, Politics.
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Bomb the Suburbs: Graffiti, Race, Freight-Hopping and the Search for Hip-Hop's Moral Center
Should graffiti writers organize to tear up the cities, or should they really be bombing the 'burbs? That's the question posed by William Upski Wimsatt in his seminal foray into the world of hip-hop, rap, and street art, and the culture and politics that surround it.
Taking on a broad range of topics, including suburban sprawl, racial identity, and youth activism, Wimsatt (a graffiti artist himself) uses a kaleidoscopic approach that combines stories, cartoons, interviews, disses, parodies, and original research to challenge the suburban mindset wherever it's found: suburbs and corporate headquarters, inner cities and housing projects, even in hip-hop itself. Funny, provocative, and painfully honest, Bomb the Suburbs encourages readers to expand their social boundaries and explore the vibrant, chaotic world that exists beyond their comfort zones.
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No More Prisons: Urban Life, Homeschooling, Hip-Hop Leadership, the Cool Rich Kids Movement, a Hitchhiker's Guide to
A truly remarkable collection of activist writings across all topics and perspectives, all while recounting a personal evolution from idealistic urban wanderer to community organizer, from graffiti writer to renowned essayist.
Author William Upski Wimsatt delivers stories, strategies, suggestions, straight talk, and conversations with maverick activists. He advocates youth taking charge of their own education, whether it's in or out of school, and promotes the power of young people engaging in philanthropy. A truly original treatise from the paradigm-flipping theorist of youth activism, No More Prisons goes beyond pinpointing problems to hone in on solutions, and declares that today's youth is poised to surpass the activist efforts of the 1960s generation.
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