James Tracy (activist)
James Richard Tracy is an American author, poet and activist living in Oakland, California. He is the co-author of Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels and Black Power: Community Organizing in Radical Times.
Early life
Tracy was born in Oakland, California in 1970. His family moved shortly thereafter to Vallejo, California. His father was a kindergarten teacher in the Richmond Unified School District. His mother worked a variety of jobs in the social work field. Tracy has two younger brothers.Tracy credits several formative events in shaping his early political outlook. His first job was as a paper delivery person for the Vallejo Independent Press, a worker-owned newspaper founded by striking newspaper workers. This introduced the idea of worker self-management to him. In early 1989, the presence of Neo-Nazi organizers in Vallejo helped him form an anti-racist commitment.
Housing organizing
In 1992, Tracy co-founded the Eviction Defense Network an organization which utilized direct action to prevent evictions. The EDN was invited to work alongside public housing residents organizing for the right-of-return in the federal HOPE VI program. Subsequently, he was a member of the Coalition On Homelessness, Mission Agenda, and the Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition.Teaching
In 2023, Tracy was lecturing at San Francisco State University.Published work
The Civil Disobedience Handbook: A Brief History and Practical Guide for the Politically Disenchanted The Military Draft Handbook: A Brief History and Practical Guide for the Curious and Confused Molotov Mouths Outspoken Word Troupe: Explosive New Writing Avanti Popolo: Italian Americans Sail Beyond Columbus Sparks and Codes Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels and Black Power: Community Organizing in Radical Times Dispatches Against Displacement: Field Notes From San Francisco's Housing Wars- ''No Fascist USA!: The John Brown Anti-Klan Committee and Lessons for Today’s Movements''
Anthologies and encyclopedia entries
- “A Decade of Displacement,” The Political Edge, City Lights Publishers, 2009.
- “Rising Up: Poor, White and Angry in the New Left”, The Hidden 1970s, Histories of Radicalism Rutgers Press, 2010.
- “Henry David Thoreau,” Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice, New York University Press, February 2007.
- “Housing Movements,” Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice, New York University Press, February 2007.
- “Young Patriots Organization,” Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice, New York University Press, February 2007.