Kristian Williams

I have two speaking events coming up, both in Portland.

On Monday April 20th, 6:30pm, at PSU, I will be speaking on a panel organized by the Platypus Affiliated Society on “The Three R’s: Reform, Revolution, and Resistance.”  Other speakers include emeritus professor Gerry Sussman and representatives from the DSA and Socialist Alternative.

Then, on Thursday April 23rd, at 7pm, the Free Society People’s Library (1810 SE 10th, suite A) will host a book release for my latest, Policing the Progressive City: Portland, Oregon, from Settlement to Uprising.  I will read a bit from the book, enjoy a spirited back-and-forth with antifascist scholar Shane Burley, take questions from the audience, and sign books if that is a thing that people want.

Both events are free.  Fliers appear below.

Here’s an interview I did with the podcast Seeds of Revolution.  We discuss the history of policing, gangs, counterinsurgency, and what it all tells us about the nature of the state.

Since the release of Policing the Progressive City, a number of kind people have sent me photos of the book “in the wild.”  This is my favorite so far.

I’ve reviewed the recent collection Partisans, dealing with armed struggle against European fascism, for The Comics Journal.

Here’s an excerpt from my review:

“Politically, the book poses many more questions than it answers: Which risks are necessary, and which are reckless? What responsibility do the Partisans have, if any, for the reprisals enacted by the nazis? Was Tito’s dictatorship necessary to hold violence at bay, or did its repression only exacerbate ethnic resentments and lead to a second period of nationalism and genocide? Is it better to oppose fascism as a defense of normal democracy, or as one part of a revolutionary struggle for a more just world? And given those irreconcilable aims, how can the different factions cooperate in an effective resistance movement?”