Abolition School Radio

Class 1: Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 13:50:00 -0500

In the first episode of our 12-part series Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher, we will introduce the book and its contexts.

Readings for Episode 1 are:

“To the Reader”
Ch. 17: “The Propaganda of History,” esp. 721-728

Study Questions for Episode 1 are:

Who does Du Bois write Black Reconstruction for, and who is it not for?
What is propaganda, and is he a propagandist? A historian? A prophet?

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Based in Philadelphia, the Du Bois Movement School provides revolutionary abolitionist, internationalist, intersectional, and participatory political education to a new generation of aspiring organizers and leaders. We believe everyone is an intellectual, and that there can be no abolition of carceral institutions without a broad process of social reconstruction. We study the world to change it!

Haymarket Books is a radical, independent book publisher and political education institution based in Chicago. Visit haymarketbooks.org to find radical books, virtual events, podcasts, and other political education resources, including the other seasons of Abolition School Radio.

Class 2: Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:45:00 -0500

This is the second episode of our 12-part series Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 2 are:

Ch. 1: “The Black Worker” esp. 3-5, 12-13, 15-16
Ch. 2: “The White Worker” esp. 16-20, 25-27, 29-30

Study Questions for Episode 2 are:

Why does Du Bois speak in terms of the Black worker and white worker, and what does he mean by these?
What unites them? What divides them?

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 3: Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:00:00 -0500

This is the third episode of our 12-part series Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 3 are:

Ch. 3: “The Planter” esp. 32-33, 38-40, 47-54.

Study Questions for Episode 3 are:

What was the economic contradiction the southern planter confronted?
What was the 3/5ths compromise?
What did slavery do to the slavemaster psychologically?

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 4: Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:05:00 -0500

This is the fourth episode of our 12-part series Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 4 are:

Ch. 4: “The General Strike” esp. 55-64, 67, 79-83.

Study Questions for Episode 4 are:

Was the Civil War about slavery? If yes, for who? If no, what was it about?
Why does Du Bois speak of a “general strike,” and are you convinced?

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 5: Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:10:00 -0500

This is the fifth episode of our 12-part series Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 5 are:

Ch. 5: “The Coming of the Lord” esp. 84-91, 100-104, top of p. 110, 121-127

Study Questions for Episode 5 are:

What does it mean to fight?
Who was emancipation for?

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 6: Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:15:00 -0500

This is the sixth episode of our 12-part series Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 6 are:

Ch. 6: “Looking Backward” esp. 128-31,145-49, 167-68, 179-80

Study Questions for Episode 6 are:

How was the South looking backward after the war? How was Lincoln?

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 7: Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:20:00 -0500

This is the seventh episode of our 12-part series Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 7 are:

Ch. 7: “Looking Forward” esp. 182-90, 212-27, 235

Study Questions for Episode 7 are:

What is abolition-democracy?
What is industrial autocracy?
How do the two relate?

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 8: Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:25:00 -0500

This is the eighth episode of our 12-part series Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 8 are:

Ch. 8: A Poor White esp. 237-244, bottom 251-254, 259, bottom 319-322.
Ch. 9: “The Price of Disaster” esp. 325-330, 336, 345-347, 352-354, 357-359, 378-379

Study Questions for Episode 8 are:

Why did it matter that Johnson was “a poor white,” and what did it mean to say that he was transformed?
What was the price of disaster? Why did America refuse to pay? Why does Du Bois say the country still suffers from this refusal.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 9: Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:30:00 -0500

This is the ninth episode of our 12-part series Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 9 are:

Ch. 10: “The Black Proletariat in South Carolina” esp. 381-384, 390-391, 396-401, 426-429

Study Questions for Episode 9 are:

Du Bois nearly called this chapter “the dictatorship of the black proletariat.” Why was he tempted to do so, and why did he decide not to?
Who was Reconstruction for?

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 10: Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:35:00 -0500

This is the tenth episode of our 12-part series Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 10 are:

Chs. 11-13: Mississippi and Louisiana; Alabama, Georgia, and Florida; Border and Frontier.
Ch. 11: 431-35, bottom 442-43, 449-56, bottom 470-71, 482-4
Ch. 12: 487-9, 494-5, 506, 511-3,
Ch. 13: 526, 530-2, 535-8, 546-7, 551-3, 557, 561, 571, 575, 577

Study Questions for Episode 10 are:

Look at the chapter titles and summaries: Why does Du Bois group states together for his analysis?
What parameters matter to him?
How did these differences play out in different dynamics?

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 11: Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:45:00 -0500

This is the eleventh episode of our 12-part series Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 11 are:

Ch. 14: “The Counter-Revolution of Property” esp. 580-92, 595-6, 602, bottom 609-11, 618-26, 630-5

Study Questions for Episode 11 are:

Why did Reconstruction die?
Was it doomed from the start?

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 12: Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:50:00 -0500

This is the final episode of our 12-part series Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 12 are:

Ch. 15: “Founding the Public School” skim most but focus on 637-41, 667
Ch. 16: “Back Toward Slavery” esp. 670-4, 678-80, 692-709

Study Questions for Episode 12 are:

Why does Du Bois write an entire chapter on public education?
What does it mean to move “back toward slavery” and how does it complicate our understanding of history?

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 1: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 07:00:00 -0500

In the first episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher, we will introduce the book and author, Trinidadian revolutionary CLR James.

Readings for Episode 1 are:

Appendix: “From Toussaint L’Ouverture to Fidel Castro”
Preface to the Vintage Edition
Additional: “Lectures on The Black Jacobins (1971)

Study Questions for Episode 1 are:

When was Black Jacobins written for? Where was it written for?
What, according to James, is the essence and importance of the Caribbean?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 2: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 07:15:00 -0500

This is the second episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 2 are:

Preface to the First Edition
Prologue
Ch. 1, “The Property”

Study Questions for Episode 2 are:

What happens in a revolution? Who tends to lead a revolution?
Who were the slaves? How does James understand their condition and position in the world?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 3: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 07:30:00 -0500

This is the third episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 3 are:

Ch. 2, “The Owners”

Study Questions for Episode 3 are:

What classes existed in white San Domingo, and how do they diSer from or correspond to the classes in France?
What was the importance of San Domingo for France and the Revolution?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 4: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 07:45:00 -0500

This is the fourth episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 4 are:

Ch. 3, “Parliament and Property”

Study Questions for Episode 4 are:

Who started the French Revolution?
Where was it located, and how was it to be measured?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 5: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0500

This is the fifth episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 5 are:

Ch. 4, “The San Domingo Masses Begin”

Study Questions for Episode 5 are:

Who were the slaves, how did they work, and how did they resist?
Why does James call them “masses”?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 6: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 08:15:00 -0500

This is the sixth episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 6 are:

Ch. 5, “And the Paris Masses Complete”

Study Questions for Episode 6 are:

Who were the French masses, and what was their role in Jacobinism and the Revolution more broadly?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 7: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 08:30:00 -0500

This is the seventh episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 7 are:

Ch. 6, “The Rise of Toussaint”
Ch. 7, “The Mulattoes Try and Fail”

Study Questions for Episode 7 are:

Who was Toussaint, and what made him an eSective leader?
Who were the “mulattoes” and what motivated them?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 8: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 08:45:00 -0500

This is the eighth episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 8 are:

Ch. 8, “The White Slave-Owners Again”

Study Questions for Episode 8 are:

What was Robespierre’s fatal error?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 9: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0500

This is the ninth episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 9 are:

Ch. 9, “The Expulsion of the British”
Ch. 10, “Toussaint Seizes the Power”

Study Questions for Episode 9 are:

What was Toussaint’s “one serious mistake”?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 10: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0500

This is the tenth episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 10 are:

Ch. 11, “The Black Consul”

Study Questions for Episode 10 are:

What did Black workers want, and what did Toussaint want from them?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 11: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0500

This is the eleventh episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 11 are:

Ch. 12, “The Bourgeoisie Prepares to Restore Slavery”

Study Questions for Episode 11 are:

How are sansculottes different from Jacobins?
Why did Toussaint have Moïse shot, and why was it a “tragedy”?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Class 12: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 10:00:00 -0500

This is the final episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher. If you liked this season of Abolition School Radio, tune in to our other seasons on W.E.B. Du Bois’ Black Reconstruction, Frantz Fanon’s works, and more at haymarketbooks.org.

Readings for Episode 12 are:

Ch. 13, “The War of Independence,” especially pp. 289-301, 338-339, 356-362, 370-373.

Study Questions for Episode 11 are:

Was the massacre of the whites a tragedy, and if so, for whom?
Why did Toussaint lose, and why did Dessalines win?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.