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readingwithcoffee's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Deportation, Classism, Gun violence, Genocide, Death, Hate crime, Torture, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Domestic abuse, and Child death
joemacare's review against another edition
Just one man's opinion but I think this came out pretty well.
clellman's review against another edition
4.0
I especially liked the second half that explored alternatives to policing, and had a chapter on forging allyship between Black and Indigenous people.
grubnubble's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent collection of essays and articles that encourages us to engage with our communities in more meaningful and understanding ways.
veelaughtland's review against another edition
3.0
This was an enlightening and at times very heavy read. I didn't love most of the essays in this collection as I didn't think all of them were particularly brilliantly written, and especially in the first section it just felt like I was reading long lists of statistics rather than a nuanced argument. But there were some real standouts that I felt taught me a lot:
Your Pregnancy May Subject You to Even More Law Enforcement Violence by Victoria Law.
Say Her Name: What It Means to Center Black Women's Experiences of Police Violence by Andrea J. Ritchie.
Black Parenting Matters: Raising Children in a World of Police Terror by Eisa Nefertari Ulen.
Our History and Our Dreams: Building Black and Native Solidarity by Kelly Hayes.
I also found the second section, which focused more on alternatives to modern policing focused around community focused activities and support systems, to be really engaging and uplifting, and it showed me a different side to standard policing that I hadn't really thought about before. Although it has to be noted that this was published in 2016, and we are four years on from the subjects dealt with in the essays collected here. And so at the end I felt both hopeful and a little hopeless at the same time. This collection is probably just as relevant in 2020 as it was when it was first published, and usually I'd say a book's enduring relevance is a good thing but not so much here.
Your Pregnancy May Subject You to Even More Law Enforcement Violence by Victoria Law.
Say Her Name: What It Means to Center Black Women's Experiences of Police Violence by Andrea J. Ritchie.
Black Parenting Matters: Raising Children in a World of Police Terror by Eisa Nefertari Ulen.
Our History and Our Dreams: Building Black and Native Solidarity by Kelly Hayes.
I also found the second section, which focused more on alternatives to modern policing focused around community focused activities and support systems, to be really engaging and uplifting, and it showed me a different side to standard policing that I hadn't really thought about before. Although it has to be noted that this was published in 2016, and we are four years on from the subjects dealt with in the essays collected here. And so at the end I felt both hopeful and a little hopeless at the same time. This collection is probably just as relevant in 2020 as it was when it was first published, and usually I'd say a book's enduring relevance is a good thing but not so much here.
micaelatore's review against another edition
5.0
This is an excellent collection of essays. It's broken into two parts: the first part essentially establishes the racist history of violence within the police system, and the second part focuses on alternatives to policing, as well as the work that is being done by activist organizations.
ambersiple's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. These essays were incredible to read. Not only were they so obviously well-researched, organized, and passionately delivered, but also eye-opening. There were so many issues that as a white woman, I was never taught in school and have been privileged enough to avoid through my lifetime. However, the history of police violence in America and how it impacts minorities today is something we should all be educated on and willing to work on fixing, no matter what background we come from. This collection is a perfect start towards educating yourself on topics that have been shoved under the rug to protect America's image.
erinstewart's review against another edition
5.0
Haymarket is generously offering this title in ebook format for free. As someone who isn't from the US and who has largely gleaned information about police and carceral violence against Black people in America via social media, this book helpfully contextualises and thematically organises the information. Some of it was new to me, some of it wasn't, but either way it's valuable that it's comprehensive, clear, and multi-vocal (the book is a collection of essays written by several authors). Reading it, it really occured to me how limited it is to try and understand a social movement as complex as BLM on platforms like Twitter (not that Twitter commentary isn't valuable, of course). It's a book that's been relevant for the years since its publication, offering detail on what's going on right now and what has been going on since the beginning of the slave trade. It also offers ways forward and important hope.