Emido “Mimi” Soltysik was a revolutionary organizer and activist who believed in that a revolution starts from below. Soltysik was involved in local organizations in Los Angeles, California, such as Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, Coalition for Peace, Revolution, and Social Justice, and Maggie Phair Institute. Soltysik was also heavily involved in Socialist Party USA, where he served in leadership position from the local LA chapter to serving as Co-Chair of the national organization. In 2016, he ran as the Socialist Party USA candidate with Angela Walker.

The below reading list is one that Mimi often shared with comrades.

An intro list:

“The Wretched of the Earth” – Frantz Fanon (PDF) – http://abahlali.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Frantz-Fanon-The-Wretched-of-the-Earth-1965.pdf

“The Assassination of Fred Hampton” – Jeffrey Haas – http://www.hamptonbook.com/Hampton_Book/Home.html

“An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States” – Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz – http://www.beacon.org/An-Indigenous-Peoples-History-of-the-United-States-P1164.aspx

“The Socialist Imperative” – Michael Lebowitz – https://monthlyreview.org/product/socialist_imperative/

“Assata: An Autobiography” – Assata Shakur (PDF) – https://libcom.org/files/assataauto.pdf

“Open Veins of Latin America” – Eduardo Galeano – https://monthlyreview.org/product/open_veins_of_latin_america/

“Creating an Ecological Society: Toward a Revolutionary Transformation” – Fred Magdoff and Chris Williams – https://monthlyreview.org/product/creating_an_ecological_society/

“Thinking Through: Essays on Feminism, Marxism, and Anti-Racism” – Himani Bannerji – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/627138.Thinking_Through

“The Bending Cross: A Biography of Eugene Victor Debs” – Ray Ginger – https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/839-the-bending-cross

“October” – China Mieville – https://www.versobooks.com/books/2731-october

“Pedagogy of the Oppressed” – Paulo Freire (PDF) – https://selforganizedseminar.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/freire_pedagogy_oppresed1.pdf

“Don’t Leave Your Friends Behind: Concrete Ways to Support Families in Social Justice Movements”  – Victoria Law – https://secure.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=502

“Ya Basta!: Ten Years of the Zapatista Uprising” – Subcomandante Marcos – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3618._Ya_Basta_

“Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches” – Audre Lorde – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32951.Sister_Outsider

“The History of the Russian Revolution” – Leon Trotsky (PDF) – https://www.marxists.org/ebooks/trotsky/history-of-the-russian-revolution/ebook-history-of-the-russian-revolution-v1.pdf

“The Assassination of Lumumba” – Ludo De Witte – https://www.versobooks.com/books/792-the-assassination-of-lumumba

“Where We Stand: Class Matters” – bell hooks – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17603.Where_We_Stand

“Planet of Slums” – Mike Davis – https://www.versobooks.com/books/2293-planet-of-slums

“Black Against Empire” – Bloom and Martin – https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520293281/black-against-empire

“Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians” – Noam Chomsky – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62698.Fateful_Triangle