The Revolution Will Not Be Litigated: People Power and Legal Power in the 21st Century

Loading player...
Thanks for clicking play on this episode of Pagecast. In today's chat, Mark Gevisser, editor of 'The Revolution Will Not Be Litigated,' is in conversation with activists Mark Heywood and Kumi Naidoo, two of the contributors to the book.

Written from the maxim “it takes a lawyer, an activist, and a storyteller to change the world", The Revolution Will Not Be Litigated shows how the law and social movements can reinforce each other in the struggle for justice and freedom.

In these vibrant narratives, 25 of the world’s most accomplished movement lawyers and activists become storytellers, reflecting on their experiences at the frontlines of some of the most significant struggles of our time. In an era where human rights are under threat, their words offer both an inspiration and a compass for the way movements can use the law – and must sometimes break it – to bring about social justice.

The contributors here take you into their worlds: Jennifer Robinson frantically orchestrating a protest outside London’s Ecuadorean embassy to prevent the authorities from arresting her client Julian Assange; Justin Hansford at the barricades during the protests over the murder of Black teenager Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Ghida Frangieh in Lebanon’s detention centres trying to access arrested protestors during the 2019 revolution; Pavel Chikov defending Pussy Riot and other abused prisoners in Russia; Ayisha Siddiqa, a shy Pakistani immigrant, discovering community in her new home while leading the 2019 youth climate strike in Manhattan; Greenpeace activist Kumi Naidoo on a rubber dinghy in stormy Arctic seas contemplating his mortality as he races to occupy an oil rig.

The stories in The Revolution Will Not Be Litigated capture the complex, and often-awkward dance between legal reform and social change. They are more than compelling portraits of fascinating lives and work, they are revelatory: of generational transitions; of epochal change and apocalyptic anxiety; of the ethical dilemmas that define our age; and of how one can make a positive impact when the odds are stacked against you in a harsh world of climate crisis and ruthless globalization.

Contributors: Phelister Abdalla, Alejandra Ancheita, Joe Athialy, Baher Azmy, Pavel Chikov, Ghida Frangieh, Njeri Gateru, Mark Gevisser, Robin Gorna, Justin Hansford, Mark Heywood, Benjamin Hoffman, David Hunter, Ka Hsaw Wa, Julia Lalla-Maharajh, Kumi Naidoo, Nana Ama Nketia-Quaidoo, Katie Redford, Jennifer Robinson, Ayisha Siddiqa, Eimear Sparks, Klementyna Suchanov, Marissa Vahlsing, Krystal Two Bulls, David Wicker, Farhana Yamin and JingJing Zhang.
6 Nov 2023 English South Africa Books · Society & Culture

Other recent episodes

The Pagecast Holiday Round-up with Bookstagrammers

Welcome to Pagecast, the podcast by Jonathan Ball Publishers that brings books to life! This festive season, we’re stepping into the world of bookstagrammers to uncover the stories behind the stories. Bookstagram is a community of book lovers on social media that share their love for all types of reads!…
16 Dec 2024 44 min

The Pagecast Holiday Round-up: Booksellers Recommendations

Welcome to Pagecast, the podcast by Jonathan Ball Publishers that brings books to life! This festive season, we’re stepping into the world of booksellers to uncover the stories behind the stories. Join us as we explore Johannesburg’s literary scene, hearing directly from the experts – the booksellers themselves – about…
16 Dec 2024 15 min

Commando (New Expanded Edition) by Deneys Reitz

The definitive account of Commando: A Boer Journal of the Anglo-Boer War, published word-for-word as Reitz first wrote it; edited and annotated by historian and Anglo-Boer War expert, Professor Fransjohan Pretorius. In 1899, Deneys Reitz, then aged seventeen, enlisted in the Boer army to fight the British. He had learnt…
9 Dec 2024 36 min

The Other Side by Sarah Bullen

What happens when we die? How are some people able to see or communicate with spiritual worlds beyond our own? Can they offer answers to some of our most burning questions about life and death? Sarah Bullen, who has had a life-altering near-death experience herself, explores these mysteries as she…
2 Dec 2024 32 min