Radical Solidarity

Ruth Reynolds, Political Allyship, and the Battle for Puerto Rico's Independence

Lisa G. Materson

• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9781469679921, 9781469679914
• eBook ISBN: 9781469679938
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Political Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

Radical Solidarity tells the riveting story of Ruth Reynolds (1916–89), a white pacifist from South Dakota who became a stalwart ally of nationalist revolutionaries during Puerto Rico’s long struggle for independence. Reynolds dedicated her life to ending US control of the archipelago. She testified before Congress and the UN, organized fellow North Americans, investigated the brutal tactics used by the colonial state to quash independence sentiment, and was incarcerated as a political prisoner.

Lisa G. Materson introduces the concept of “radical solidarity” to describe Reynolds’s powerful model for globally engaged activism. Guided by her vision of allyship, Reynolds developed deep bonds with the Puerto Rican nationalist women with whom she was imprisoned, collaborated across ideological divides with revolutionary leaders, and established lasting relationships with civil rights lawyers, political exiles, and New Left activists. Her radical solidarity enabled her to remain a tireless champion for Puerto Rico’s independence through five decades of hope, disappointment, and political change. Her life reveals the price paid by those who supported an independent Puerto Rico and sheds light on the possibilities of working across differences in the face of US state-sanctioned violence and colonialism.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Maps and Figures
• Abbreviations in the Text
• A Note on Terminology
• Introduction
• Part I
• Part II
• Part III
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index