Avant-Garde Journal

"Great be the battle of life, Truth in the end shall win." We are proud to present Issue 4 of Avant-Garde, which we dedicate to Muhammad Ali, World Champion for Peace and the Truth. Published by @FreeSchoolMedia Available online at avantjournal.com

A DECLARATION — In the 250th year of our nation’s birth, the skies above the United States burn red with flashes of anger and blood. The specters of civil war and world war raise their head; so too does the unfulfilled promise of revolutionary democracy. avantjournal.com/2026/03/09/dec…

On this occasion we revisit an essay by Nandita Chaturvedi on King as a revolutionary prophet for the world future: avantjournal.com/2024/04/08/rev…

Today we honor the birth of Martin Luther King Jr., the father of a new American people. We celebrate his revolutionary life and ideas, which lay down an unfinished task that all-humanity must take up to answer the crises of our time.

As our nation faces its 250th year, we return to a 2010 speech by Rev. James Lawson on America's revolutionary calling to remake itself into a new civilization. Just published: 'We Have Not Yet Arrived' avantjournal.com/2026/01/13/rev…

We are sharing an essay by Anthony Monteiro written shortly after the death of Nelson Mandela, shedding light on Mandela's neoliberal turn toward the end of his life and the role of ideology in shaping political leadership. avantjournal.com/2025/11/06/nel…

Today marks the death of John Brown after his raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, on the eve of the Civil War. We remember his martyrdom with an essay by Blaise Laramee written for Issue 4 of our journal. avantjournal.com/2025/07/03/the…

A SHORT HISTORY OF PROPAGANDA by Anthony Monteiro (1998) At the end of the 20th century, Harvard's Cornel West and Temple University's Molefi Asante represented two opposing wings of Black Studies. What united them was their rejection of W.E.B. Du Bois. avantjournal.com/2025/11/06/sho…

Knowledge and Revolution: Collected Writings by Anthony Monteiro Spanning multiple phases of struggle across decades of history — in the great journey of modern humanity's search for freedom Published in @AvantJournal Read online: avantjournal.com/2025/11/06/kno…

We invite you to join us in celebrating our friend, mentor, comrade, and brother Anthony Monteiro on the occasion of his 80th birthday on Oct 31–Nov 1 in Philadelphia. We will address political, ideological, and civilizational questions for our common future. All are welcome.

Featured in Issue 4 of Avant-Garde. Read the full issue at avantjournal.com

'Truth' — A poem by Muhammad Ali The words of Truth are touching, The voice of Truth is deep, The law of Truth is simple: All you sow, you reap. Facts are only its shadow, Truth stands above all sin; Great be the battle of life, Truth in the end shall win.

Featured in Issue 4 of Avant-Garde. Read online at avantjournal.com

'Freedom (for Attica)' — A poem by Muhammad Ali Better far, from all I see To die fighting to be free. What more fitting end could be?

The Soul of John Brown — by Blaise Laramee avantjournal.com/2025/07/03/the… "What could the soul of John Brown mean to the American people today, and especially to the masses of white poor? And could we, in our time of great confusion and moral crisis, see such a spirit live again?"

Three Black Kings: Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Sun Ra (Part One) — by Michelle Lyu avantjournal.com/2025/07/03/thr… "But in America, Black geniuses created great music, so that we may have, renew and create great music again."

China and America: For Men to Know Men — by Alice Li avantjournal.com/2025/07/03/chi… "There is a path for America and China towards peace — that is, through the revolutionary vision and example of Afro-America."

'Freedom Can’t Wait — The Awaited Darker Humanity' by Serafina Harris For Issue 4 of Avant-Garde. See the full issue at avantjournal.com

W.E.B. Du Bois, A Black Swan for This Historic Moment — by Anthony Monteiro avantjournal.com/2025/07/03/du-… "The unprecedented crisis of Western Civilization is of such depth and magnitude that it makes Du Bois more relevant now than at the start of the 20th century."

Ali shows us that to live one’s principles means to be willing to sacrifice everything—wealth, titles, even exposing one’s life to racist attacks. Humanity will prevail when we see ourselves as tied to each other, and are willing to sacrifice accordingly. avantjournal.com/2025/07/03/muh…

If there is one thing that made Muhammad Ali beloved, it was his willingness to sacrifice for the oppressed. Solidarity, a subset of love, is something scarce today. In a time in which superpowers genocide children, at most we utter cautious words of sympathy.