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Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race by Jesmyn Ward
4 reviews
savvylit's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Published in 2016, The Fire This Time features a veritable who's who of talented modern Black writers. Contributors include Kiese Laymon, Claudia Rankine, Jesmyn Ward, Honoree Jeffers, Edwidge Danticat, Isabel Wilkerson, and more. Each piece in this collection is full of heartfelt recognition of Black American identity and calls to persist in the ongoing fight against racial injustices in the U.S. Overall, The Fire This Time is an excellent reflection on the ways that American society both has and hasn't changed since Baldwin wrote The Fire Next Time in the 1960s.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, and Hate crime
heathergudaz95's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Slavery, Gun violence, Police brutality, Murder, Racism, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Grief, and Death
booksandbrews's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Racism
Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Slavery, and Violence
rorikae's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
fast-paced
4.5
'The Fire This Time' is an excellent collection of essays on race in America. Split into three sections, one that centers on the past, one on the present, and one on the future, Jesmyn Ward has curated an excellent group of essays, poetry, and memoir pieces that speak to what it is like to be Black in America. Each discusses a truth through personal experience, such as what it is like to walk around a city as a Black man and the conversations that Black parents have to have with their children about living in America as a Black child. Many of these pieces touch on the Charleston Church shooting in 2015 and the death of Michael Brown.
I think one of the most heartbreaking parts about this book is how relevant it still is while also feeling dated because of how much has happened in the last year. I think an updated edition would definitely talk about George Floyd and Breonna Taylor's murders and I wonder if we will see a second edition that includes even more pieces. I highly recommend this collection, particularly the audiobook as the narrators help bring these pieces to life. I think this is essential reading.
I think one of the most heartbreaking parts about this book is how relevant it still is while also feeling dated because of how much has happened in the last year. I think an updated edition would definitely talk about George Floyd and Breonna Taylor's murders and I wonder if we will see a second edition that includes even more pieces. I highly recommend this collection, particularly the audiobook as the narrators help bring these pieces to life. I think this is essential reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, and Racial slurs
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