The Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity

Historian, playwright, and activist Schulman (Let the Record Show) offers a timely if somewhat unfocused meditation on the fraught nature of solidarity. Dismissing the “fantasy” version of solidarity—“a magical combination of pure motive [and] clean action”—Schulman instead embraces the on-the-ground reality as messy and imperfect. She argues that waiting for a “saintly” ideal of solidarity is fruitless, and advocates for “big tent politics” that “includes many different kinds of people.” Schulman reveals how she came to these conclusions through a plethora of personal examples from her lifetime of activism, including her 1970s participation in an underground Spanish abortion network and her longtime support of Palestine. (The recent campus anti-war movement looms large throughout, as Schulman connects it to her own experiences, such as being “charged and brought before the CUNY task force on antisemitism” in 2016 as the faculty adviser to Jewish Voice for Peace.) She also highlights creative figures who were personally “far from saints” but made significant political contributions, like Jean Genet and his early advocacy for Palestine. This glut of examples can be whiplash-inducing, with big leaps between topics, time spent on pettier frustrations like dealing with small-minded theatrical producers, and such contextless inclusions as an extended transcript of a group conversation. Such twists and turns are nonetheless worth sticking out for what is otherwise a powerful resource for activists. (Apr.)