Grace Lee Boggs on Detroit and “The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century”

We discuss the state of the economy in Detroit, “ground zero” for the economic downturn in the United States, with civil rights activist and author, Grace Lee Boggs. “I think it’s very difficult for someone who doesn’t live in Detroit to say you can look at a vacant lot and, instead of seeing devastation, see hope,” says Boggs, “see the opportunity to grow your own food, see an opportunity to give young people a sense of process, that’s very difficult in the city, that the vacant lot represents the possibilities for a cultural revolution.” [includes rush transcript]

Grace Lee Boggs, 95-year-old activist, author and philosopher based in Detroit. Her new book is The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century. She wrote the book with Scott Kurashige. She is speaking at the Brecht Forum in New York on Friday night .

Rev. Jim Wallis, is an evangelical Christian writer and political activist. He is founder and editor of Sojourners magazine, and of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian community also called Sojourners.

Thomas Frank, columnist at Harper’s Magazine. His most recent book is The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Ruined Government, Enriched Themselves, and Beggared the Nation. He is also the author of What’s the Matter with Kansas?