Ivory Perry and his life in the struggle

            In “A life in the struggle,” George Lipsitz tells the story of an eminent, revolutionary figure, Ivory Perry. Ivory Perry was a civil rights activist in St. Louis. He was a passionate man, who was driven by the needs of the people and the repression that they had to live through. He was known for his radical methods of protests, like lying down on the streets to stop traffic in order to call attention. He was an audacious man willing to do anything to stop injustice.

            Perry was extremely dedicated to his role as an activist, which brought him to experience economic and social difficulties. He lost his family and many different jobs because of his devoted passion to social activism. He was in jailed in many occasions for civil disobedience. This did not stop him from expressing his long yearn desire to stop police brutality and fix housing issues in the black community. Perry worked for the Nineteen Ward Improvement Association, where he was fired, because of his “lack of propriety” (120). He also worked for the Human Development Corporation. He was an important par of the HDC. According to Perry, recognition, of any kind, was not important for him and working for these entities was “useful… but not essential” (120).

            Lipsitz, describes Ivory Perry as an “organic intellectual” (9), which means that Perry lacked the intellectual knowledge of society (he had no formal education) but, he had great “ideas and aspirations” which were all he needed to reach his goals. “Organic intellectuals learn about the world by trying to change it, and they change the world by learning about it from the perspective of the needs and aspirations of their social group” (10). Perry was, without a doubt, an “organic intellectual.”

            Perry was a fascinating man, full of courage and passion. His efforts to reach an egalitarian society were immense. Nevertheless, I am not sure if his extreme misconduct and radical ideologies where efficient, more than they were agitations or plain disturbances.

            

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Struggle-Ivory-Culture-Opposition/dp/1566393213

M.A.