James Tracy (activist)

James Richard Tracy (born 1970) is an American author, poet and activist living in Oakland, California. He is the co-author (with Amy Sonnie) of Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels and Black Power: Community Organizing in Radical Times (Melville House Publishers 2012).

Early life
Tracy was born in Oakland, California in 1970. His family moved shortly thereafter to Vallejo, California. His father was a kindergarten teacher in the Richmond Unified School District. His mother worked a variety of jobs in the social work field. Tracy has two younger brothers.

Tracy credits several formative events in shaping his early political outlook. His first job was as a paper delivery person for the Vallejo Independent Press, a worker-owned newspaper founded by striking newspaper workers. This introduced the idea of worker self-management to him. In early 1989, the presence of Neo-Nazi organizers in Vallejo helped him form an anti-racist commitment.

Housing organizing
In 1992, Tracy co-founded the Eviction Defense Network (EDN) an organization which utilized direct action to prevent evictions. The EDN was invited to work alongside public housing residents organizing for the right-of-return in the federal HOPE VI program. Subsequently, he was a member of the Coalition On Homelessness, Mission Agenda, and the Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition.

Teaching
In 2023, Tracy was lecturing at San Francisco University.

Published work

 * The Civil Disobedience Handbook: A Brief History and Practical Guide for the Politically Disenchanted  (Manic D Press, 2001)
 *  The Military Draft Handbook: A Brief History and Practical Guide for the Curious and Confused  (Manic D Press, 2005)
 *  Molotov Mouths Outspoken Word Troupe: Explosive New Writing  (Manic D Press, 2003)
 *  Avanti Popolo: Italian Americans Sail Beyond Columbus  (co-editor) (Manic D Press, 2008)
 *  Sparks and Codes (Civil Defense Poetry, 2007)
 *  Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels and Black Power: Community Organizing in Radical Times  (Melville House Publishers, 2012)
 *  Dispatches Against Displacement: Field Notes From San Francisco's Housing Wars  (AK Press, 2014)
 * No Fascist USA!: The John Brown Anti-Klan Committee and Lessons for Today’s Movements (co-authored with Hilary Moore) (City Lights Publishers, 2020)

Anthologies and encyclopedia entries

 * “A Decade of Displacement,” The Political Edge, City Lights Publishers, 2009.
 * “Rising Up: Poor, White and Angry in the New Left”, The Hidden 1970s, Histories of Radicalism Rutgers Press, 2010.
 * “Henry David Thoreau,” Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice, New York University Press, February 2007.
 * “Housing Movements,” Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice, New York University Press, February 2007.
 * “Young Patriots Organization,” Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice, New York University Press, February 2007.