What My Left Hand Was Doing

In 1967, race riots burned across America, fueled by white blindness and black rage. In Detroit, the fire burned hottest and brightest. Faced with this unforgettable devastation, grassroots activists rose from the ashes to advance a radical social vision: blacks and whites working together toward a just society.

In What My Left Hand Was Doing, Joann Castle takes us into the heart of the movement, tracing her transformation from a naive, white working-class Irish Catholic mother of six young children in segregated post-war Detroit into a passionate foot soldier in the radical Catholic, civil rights, and black self-determination movements.

A priceless activist history lesson, What My Left Hand Was Doing chronicles the more common, less discussed reality of the day-to-day efforts, interactions, triumphs, and failures that reflect every movement. Castle explores a wide range of experiences, including the inevitable push-forward and push-back ignited by the civil rights and black power crusades, the challenging dynamics of white privilege, and why genuine political coalitions between blacks and whites have often been stalled by whites’ unwillingness to become allies and defenders of non-whites’ push for self-determination.

As a new wave of activists from Black Lives Matter to the Trump resistance respond to the latest tide of repression, misogyny, and racism, today’s activists are becoming the next link in a long line of American social justice movements. Looking to strengthen this historical bond, Castle turns to her deep experiences for lessons learned that speak to universal social and political issues, which resonate today.

What My Left Hand Was Doing’s exclusive “Activist’s Survival Guide” offers a relevant, critical bridge between generations of world changers fighting for a better tomorrow.