Anarchists Among Us: 5 Anarchists Commonly Read in Schools

Since Occupy Wall Street in 2011, more people than ever have been talking about anarchism as a political philosophy and movement.

While some may think of this as a new movement, this is actually a resurgence of ideas that have been around for centuries. In fact, some widely read and acclaimed writers, scholars and artists have identified with this longstanding tradition!

Here are a few:

Oscar Wilde

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Henry David Thoreau

Kurt Vonnegut

Howard Zinn

Want to know more about anarchism? Read more here

Did you notice that everyone on this list is white and male? We did too!

There are many historical and contemporary figures that identify as anarchists who are not white OR male! Of course, they are not commonly read in schools, colleges and universities in the United States. Perhaps this is due to institutionalized white supremacy and patriarchy or a basic historical bias in favor of ideas and thinkers that hold up the status quo.

Whatever the reason, its important to go deeper and seek out authors and ideas that the establishment would prefer we not know about.

Want to learn more? Check out these historical and contemporary anarchists:

• Emma Goldman
• Lucy Parsons
• Starhawk
• Ashanti Alston
• Harsha Walia