The US Antifascism Reader

By: Bill V. Mullen and Christopher Vials

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Synopsis: How anti-fascism is as American as apple pieSince the birth of fascism in the 1920s, well before the global renaissance of &“white nationalism,&” the United States has been home to its own distinct fascist movements, some of which decisively influenced the course of US history. Yet long before &“antifa&” became a household word in the United States, they were met, time and again, by an equally deep antifascist current. Many on the left are unaware that the United States has a rich antifascist tradition, because it has rarely been discussed as such, nor has it been accessible in one place. This reader reconstructs the history of US antifascism into the twenty-first century, showing how generations of writers, organizers, and fighters spoke to each other over time. Spanning the 1930s to the present, this chronologically-arranged, primary source reader is made up of antifascist writings by Americans and by exiles in the US, some instantly recognizable, others long-forgotten. It also includes a sampling of influential writings from the US fascist, white nationalist, and proto-fascist traditions. Its contents, mostly written by people embedded in antifascist movements, include a number of pieces produced abroad that deeply influenced the US left. The collection thus places US antifascism in a global context.