With My People - by Jonathan Pulphus (Paperback)

About the Book

During Jonathan Pulphus's second year at Saint Louis University, the front line of a protest movement became his classroom. With My People is his gift to the next generation of student activists, offering mentorship in an ever-changing political landscape and connecting them to struggles all over the world.

Book Synopsis

A memoir of hard-fought lessons and the price for justice.

When the local government in Ferguson, Missouri, and federal authorities failed in their duty to serve justice in 2014, college sophomore Jonathan Pulphus committed to being in the streets and battling for justice in the wake of Michael Brown Jr.'s murder. This story traces a nine-month journey toward justice. Despite mistakes, student activists made extraordinary strides toward transforming the community. Many people aspire to fight for something larger than themselves and to make an impact. Few understand what it takes to sustain a movement. Even fewer know the expenses at which gains are made.

People would like for you to believe protest is an ineffective tool for change, but history tells us that student activism has been a formidable force leading to substantive change throughout history. Student activism has played a large role in societal transformation--consider the 1964 Mississippi Delta or Apartheid Soweto. Today's students continue this legacy but tell a new story, like that of the Ferguson Uprising.

We know why people, especially students, become involved in community organizing. But how should students organize? With My People answers this fundamental and crucial question by bringing together ethnography and notes on community-building, taking readers on a yearlong journey from the front lines of Ferguson to undergraduate campus life at Saint Louis University. Using Pulphus's account of events and notes to students, With My People reveals how youth can navigate setbacks to resist state violence and create opportunities for justice to prevail.

Review Quotes

"As I approached the protesters, social justice activist Jonathan Pulphus saw me struggling to begin ascending the amphitheater. He sprang from the upper steps and moved down to me. His extended hand met mine, and he assisted my climb to engage with the group. It was a simple gesture of decency that instantly signified the human connection that Jonathan, the student protest leader, and I, the university president, had forged as we worked to define key social justice commitments to end a multi-day encampment on our St. Louis campus. With My People reflects the care I've witnessed from him and documents his path to social activist and protest leader, and the lessons he learned along the way." --Fred P. Pestello, PhD, president, Saint Louis University

"This book is a powerful, unfiltered account of the Ferguson Uprising, told by someone who lived it. Every page captures the raw truth of our resistance--our unity, our struggle, and our unwavering demand for justice. If you want to understand what really happened, read this." --Malik Rhasaan, founder of Occupy the Hood

"Pulphus was already on a justice-seeking trajectory before the Ferguson Uprising. In fact, that would be the very arc that planted him on West Florissant Avenue. He was not a youthful participant wearing rose-colored glasses. JP deeply understood then as he understands now, and that is "getting wins for the local Black community" goes far beyond militant chants. A must read for those interested in hearing the next generation's views on the struggle for human liberation." --Jamala Rogers, long time community organizer, political strategist, and author of Ferguson is America

"This book presents a beautiful first-person perspective on pivotal moments of change in the racial history of St. Louis and Saint Louis University, interweaving the personal and political while explaining both the trees and the forest of complex social justice issues. Pulphus is a gifted writer: His is a thoughtful, caring voice that speaks to the time and provides mentorship and love to future activists." --Scott Berman, PhD, associate professor of philosophy and academic program coordinator for the Prison Education Program at Saint Louis University; and Ilene Berman, MFA, sculptor and assistant professor in the Visual and Performing Arts Department of Saint Louis University

"A powerful personal narrative bridging grassroots activism and serious academic inquiries. Drawing on lived experience as a student organizer during the Ferguson Uprising, Pulphus offers unflinching assessments of systemic white racism, Black community resistance, and meaningful collective action. A vital contribution to the canon of Black freedom-struggle literature and a testament to the enduring power of youth-led change movements." --Dr. Joe Feagin, University Distinguished Professor emeritus at Texas A&M University, and author of dozens of books, including Racist America

"A lot has been written about Ferguson, but far too few words have come from the courageous people who were actually there on the streets every night. Forging a new path in the tradition of student-activists who came before him, Pulphus was there--facing down militarized police, reactionary politicians, and movement contradictions. It's refreshing to finally read and hear the voice of a Ferguson activist, who was A-1 from day one!" --Dr. Jonathan Fenderson and Dr. Bukky Gbadegesin, Black Studies scholars in St. Louis