If They Come in the Morning: Voices of Resistance was published by Third Press in 1971, while Davis was in prison awaiting trial. The anthology was co-edited by Davis and includes contributions from George Jackson, the Soledad Brothers, Ruchell Magee, Bobby Seale, Ericka Huggins, and other political prisoners, as well as James Baldwin’s open letter to Davis (“Dear Sister”) and essays by legal scholars and activists.
The book’s argument is that the category of “political prisoner” is not limited to the obvious cases (people imprisoned for their political beliefs or activities) but includes the vast majority of incarcerated Americans, whose imprisonment is the product of political decisions about which behaviors to criminalize, which populations to police, and which communities to designate as dangerous. The criminal justice system, Davis and her co-contributors argue, is not a neutral arbiter of law but an instrument of political repression — specifically, the repression of Black liberation movements, the left, and the poor.
The anthology is a document of its historical moment: the early 1970s, when the Black Panther Party, the Soledad Brothers, and other radical groups were under intense government surveillance and prosecution, and when the line between criminal justice and political repression was openly contested. Baldwin’s contribution — passionate, personal, and written with the urgency of a man who sees his community under siege — is the collection’s most enduring piece.
Collecting If They Come in the Morning
First edition (Third Press, New York, 1971): Hardcover with dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $100–$300
- Very good: $40–$100