Roots of Resistance: The History of the Arsi Oromo Movement in Building Educational Resistance (1950s–1980s)
BOOK REVIEW
Author: Dr. Gemechu Abraham Kurfessa
Publisher: The Red Sea Press
Publication Year: 2026
Length: 563 pages
Roots of Resistance is one of those rare works that doesn’t simply recount history—it unsettles what you thought you understood. Centering on how the Arsi Oromo people used education as a form of resistance from the 1950s to the 1980s, the book reframes the very meaning of resistance. Instead of focusing solely on protest or armed struggle, it reveals how something as seemingly ordinary as schooling can become a quiet, persistent, and profoundly transformative force.
A central argument in the book is that education is never neutral. It can be a tool of domination or a pathway to empowerment. The author traces how Ethiopia’s education system was originally structured to marginalize the Oromo, limiting access, voice, and opportunity. What makes the Arsi Oromo story so compelling is how they reclaimed that same system and turned it into an instrument of liberation. Education became a means of building identity, cultivating leadership, and challenging injustice. That shift—from control to empowerment—feels like the book’s beating heart.
Another powerful theme is the slow, collective nature of resistance. The Arsi Basic School Movement wasn’t a single moment of defiance; it was a long, patient project built through community, shared purpose, and intergenerational commitment. Much of the movement was driven by young students who saw their own education not as personal advancement but as service to their people. That sense of mission gives the narrative a depth that extends far beyond the historical record—it feels like a blueprint for long‑term social transformation.
On a personal level, the book reshaped how I think about solidarity. As a child in the 1970s, I was taught by Eritrean freedom fighters that oppressed nationalities existed within Ethiopia and that standing with them was natural, strategic, and morally right. I accepted that idea before I understood it. Over time, I grasped it in a general sense, but Roots of Resistance is what finally grounded it for me.
As an Eritrean, born and raised amid our national liberation struggle—and as a survivor of a massacre at the hands of Ethiopian soldiers—sensitivity to injustice and oppression is not an abstract moral stance for me. It is lived experience. It is an integral part of who I am. I have experienced injustice first‑hand, and it is only natural that I empathize with any oppressed or marginalized group, whether in Eritrea or anywhere in the world. This book deepened that instinct, sharpening it with historical clarity and ethical nuance.
The book also pushed me to unlearn and interrogate assumptions I had carried for years. For example, the SmeTir Hamassien are rightly celebrated in Eritrean memory for resisting Italian colonialism. But I had never questioned how they were rewarded afterward. This book forced me to confront the fact that the land they received from the monarchy came at the expense of the Oromo. That realization stayed with me. It reminded me that history is rarely simple—someone’s hero can also be someone else’s source of dispossession.
Unfortunately, Eritrea today is governed by a regime devoid of principle or strategy—one that turns yesterday’s ally into an enemy and yesterday’s enemy into a friend. Amid the shortsightedness of current politics in both Eritrea and Ethiopia, Roots of Resistance offers a grounding reminder: regimes come and go, but our solidarity with oppressed people must never be compromised. Our moral compass cannot be dictated by the whims of those in power.
The book does not shy away from the painful parts of this history. The stories of discrimination and marginalization are heavy, and there are moments when the injustice feels overwhelming. Some sections are dense with historical detail, which can slow the pacing, but even those passages serve a purpose: they reveal the structural depth of the struggle.
Yet the overall message is not despair—it is transformation. One of the most striking aspects of the book is its tracing of long-term impact. The sons and daughters of those early pioneers are now scholars, professionals, business owners, and community leaders. Their success is not accidental; it is the harvest of seeds planted decades earlier. Education proved to be a powerful equalizer, lifting not only individuals but entire communities.
The book gains an added layer of authenticity because the author himself is part of that legacy. As the son of two educators who devoted their lives to teaching and mentoring thousands of young people, he writes not only as a historian but also as a witness. That personal connection gives the narrative a lived texture that research alone cannot provide.
More broadly, Roots of Resistance offers a model of social change that extends far beyond Ethiopia. For activists seeking alternatives to armed struggle—or for those who believe that liberation must be constructive rather than destructive—the book provides a compelling example. As the saying often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi goes, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” The Arsi Oromo movement demonstrates another path: one that builds rather than burns. Through education, they resisted oppression while cultivating opportunity, leadership, and community strength.
In the end, Roots of Resistance is a vital and illuminating work. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the transformative power of education, the resilience of grassroots movements, and the layered complexity of African history. The book deepens our understanding of the Arsi Basic School Movement, but it also offers something larger: a reminder that resistance does not always roar. Sometimes it grows quietly—through knowledge, through community, through persistence—and that is precisely what makes it enduring.
To purchase the book: Red Sea Press or Black Books Wholesale
To reach the author: weriz@yahoo.com
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