3 lessons of revolutionary love in a time of rage

We are working on a book, conference, educational curricula, films, TV moments, and mass mobilizations all rooted in love as a public ethic. Check in here for the latest!

This is the seminal work on love as a public ethic. bell hooks declares that “all spheres of American life — politics, religion, the workplace, domestic households, intimate relations — should and could have as their foundation a love ethic.” Because love is more than a feeling — love is sweet labor that can be modeled, taught, and practiced.

If you order one book, let this one be it. It’s a breathtaking tapestry of the prophetic voices of our time and includes mentors who have advanced my understanding of love and wisdom — Eve Ensler, Parker Palmer, Brian McLaren, Rabbi Sharon Brous, and Sister Simone Campbell, among others. Reading this book is a meditation.

This is my go-to encyclopedia! A dazzling history of the science behind our worst human impulses and our best human behaviors that equip us to love in revolutionary ways. The studies in this book allow us to ground practices of the love ethic in the latest research in biology and neuroscience.

I have carried this book in my bag for more than a decade. It is my favorite compilation of devotional poems from the Sikh faith that call us to a vision of Oneness, Ik Onkar. These teachings inspired my own understanding of a fierce, embodied, warrior love. My copy is worn from multiple readings!

This is the must-read book on the social justice struggles of Sikh, Muslim, Arab, and South Asian Americans since 9/11. Our sister and veteran activist Deepa Iyer tells the stories America has yet to hear and presents a pragmatic blueprint for how we can shift culture and policy. My lessons in love in a time of rage were forged in the shared history she chronicles here.

It’s time to remember and reclaim the King who opposed war and named the triple evils of racism, poverty, and militarism. It’s also time to advance his vision for a new time. Check out this book and then come to the Revolutionary Love Conference: Complete the Dream hosted by the Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis to explore how love can end the triple evils and a fourth evil, sexism.

So what in the world does love look like in politics? Our brother and co-conspirator Van Jones shows us in this book, part-manifesto, part-tough love letter to Americans at a time of escalation nationalism, polarization, and hate. This is a book for here and now — and just might inspire you to join us in the #LoveArmy.