Revolutionary Threads

Book excerpt: An American Rastafarian “offers a vibrant examination of American and African history with an anti-colonial patina . . . engaging” (Kirkus Reviews). Revolutionary Threads offers an American Rasta’s retelling of episodes in American history with an anticolonial thrust, accented by Bobby Sullivan’s own personal experiences. The book ties together various subjects while returning each time to the culture of Rastafari, social justice movements, and cooperative economics. From how we perceive history in general, America's precolonial past, and global capitalism’s early development and the resistance to it, to political prisoners and a celebration of religious tolerance, the book approaches North America with an African-centric perspective. Sullivan dispels the oversimplification of our perceptions of Rastafari, as well as other cultures, in the age of the Internet, where the loudest voices are often the most extreme and divisive. Revolutionary Threads aims to serve as a unifying agent for our all-too-connected global village, and for the resistance to the consolidation of global capital and all its excesses. “A post-hardcore rock star, community activist, and social justice intellectual offers an alternative look at countercolonial history through the lens of the Rastafari movement.” —Kirkus Reviews “Outlining his philosophical influences and backpacking through history and criss-crossing continental borders, Sullivan puts his enlightenment journey and way of life, which includes activism for social justice, prison outreach, and cooperative economics, on paper.” —The Gleaner (Jamaica) “[Sullivan] meticulously sources his work throughout, whether providing a Howard Zinn-like take on the settlement of America by Africans predating Columbus, or in discussing political prisoners like Marilyn Buck . . . an engaging, lively, well-thought book which provides a picture of Rastafarianism in action, for punks and beyond.” —Razorcake