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270 reviews for:
Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements
Charlene Carruthers
4.25 AVERAGE
270 reviews for:
Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements
Charlene Carruthers
4.25 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
This was an interesting book, and I learned a lot about the history of various Black radical traditions and recent activism in Chicago. Those sections were really interesting. I also liked her chapter about building relationships that can withstand criticism in movement spaces instead of endlessly calling each other out on social media. I think that someone who is just getting started with community organizing could benefit from the sections about the basics of community organizing.
This is a really short book, and I think that is both a strength and a weakness. It's a strength because not everyone has the time or energy to read a 400 page book densely packed with theory and history. I think this book has the potential to reach people who wouldn't read something longer. She is clear that this is meant to be a starting point, not a definitive text. I do think that some parts are lacking necessary detail. I understand using this book as a jumping off point to do your own research, but I really think she should have expanded on some of the history and theory. There were bits where she quickly referenced an event or some aspect of leftist discourse and then quickly moved on without unpacking or expanding that. I think the most egregious instance of this was her discussion of the negative points of liberalism. She quickly defines it as "a general philosophy in which liberty and equality are inherent" (p. 79), but then starts talking about how it doesn't foster community, solidarity, or accountability. I'm a leftist, and I'm very familiar with this discourse. I agree with her. But she didn't elaborate on the tenets of liberalism and never discussed why these problems are inherent in the ideology. This book seems geared towards people who are new to leftism, and those people aren't going to understand what she's talking about. She spent a page on this, and I really think that needed to be a larger section. This is a larger issue in leftist spaces: there is a tendency to use jargon or discourse in a way that assumes that your audience is intimately familiar with the topic. Sometimes this is appropriate (like in a book on advanced theory), but sometimes this is just alienating to people who might want to join us.
I do have one other critique. At one point, she said that both Christians and Jews benefit from the way that US society is set up. A lot of Jewish people in the US are white, so we have access to white privilege, but we don't have privilege on the basis of being Jewish. This way of thinking relies on an image of the Jewish community as white and class privileged, thus erasing the experiences of Jewish people of color and working class Jews. It also downplays the existence of antisemitism, which is not great in the current political climate.
This is a really short book, and I think that is both a strength and a weakness. It's a strength because not everyone has the time or energy to read a 400 page book densely packed with theory and history. I think this book has the potential to reach people who wouldn't read something longer. She is clear that this is meant to be a starting point, not a definitive text. I do think that some parts are lacking necessary detail. I understand using this book as a jumping off point to do your own research, but I really think she should have expanded on some of the history and theory. There were bits where she quickly referenced an event or some aspect of leftist discourse and then quickly moved on without unpacking or expanding that. I think the most egregious instance of this was her discussion of the negative points of liberalism. She quickly defines it as "a general philosophy in which liberty and equality are inherent" (p. 79), but then starts talking about how it doesn't foster community, solidarity, or accountability. I'm a leftist, and I'm very familiar with this discourse. I agree with her. But she didn't elaborate on the tenets of liberalism and never discussed why these problems are inherent in the ideology. This book seems geared towards people who are new to leftism, and those people aren't going to understand what she's talking about. She spent a page on this, and I really think that needed to be a larger section. This is a larger issue in leftist spaces: there is a tendency to use jargon or discourse in a way that assumes that your audience is intimately familiar with the topic. Sometimes this is appropriate (like in a book on advanced theory), but sometimes this is just alienating to people who might want to join us.
I do have one other critique. At one point, she said that both Christians and Jews benefit from the way that US society is set up. A lot of Jewish people in the US are white, so we have access to white privilege, but we don't have privilege on the basis of being Jewish. This way of thinking relies on an image of the Jewish community as white and class privileged, thus erasing the experiences of Jewish people of color and working class Jews. It also downplays the existence of antisemitism, which is not great in the current political climate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Sexual assault
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
I loved this book and it gave me a better picture of what movement building should look like, but it also assumes a lot of prior knowledge. She prefaces the book with that fact and includes a short glossary in the beginning and also endnotes, but there were definitely things I just needed to know more about before reading this. I look forward to coming back to it at some point!
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
I really enjoyed Carruther’s perspective and the energy of her writing. I learned a lot, especially about community organizing, and felt inspired throughout this book. This is a must read.
“From the days of extermination campaigns and the forced removal of Native peoples to rural and urban economically depressed communities, the US empire has been run by corporate interests and based upon state-sanctioned violence. Still, people resist. In taking decolonization into our work, we do not ignore the need to dismantle white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism. We see a bigger picture, one including all oppressed peoples. We believe in the real possibility of abolition and building a better world. We believe that an economy that is generative, not extractive, is possible and necessary.”
“From the days of extermination campaigns and the forced removal of Native peoples to rural and urban economically depressed communities, the US empire has been run by corporate interests and based upon state-sanctioned violence. Still, people resist. In taking decolonization into our work, we do not ignore the need to dismantle white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism. We see a bigger picture, one including all oppressed peoples. We believe in the real possibility of abolition and building a better world. We believe that an economy that is generative, not extractive, is possible and necessary.”
This ish right here is the LITERAL capital T.
That is my review.
Also, it’s the most relevant book you will ever read. It MUST be read and it’s messages implemented IMMEDIATELY.
Also: I’m mad/disheartened there aren’t more reviews of this book and more ratings.
Finally: Black queer feminism for lyfe!!!!
That is my review.
Also, it’s the most relevant book you will ever read. It MUST be read and it’s messages implemented IMMEDIATELY.
Also: I’m mad/disheartened there aren’t more reviews of this book and more ratings.
Finally: Black queer feminism for lyfe!!!!
Unfortunately the audiobook for this wasn't very good. The audio varied in volume, making it tricky to listen to.
informative
reflective
fast-paced
I really appreciate the labor of love in this book, part history lesson, part theory, part memoir. I wish there were a way to ensure my rating were weighted differently because in many ways, it was not written for me, as I’m a white person raised within judeocristian systems. On the other hand, I’m a queer non-binary person with multiple other marginalized identities that I found reflected and upheld in the radical theoretical framework and discussion of movement building that was so profoundly poignant (& useful) to me in thinking about how I show up in activism. I would recommend this book to anyone who is willing to do a deeper dive to decolonise their activism. If you’re someone who gets defensive when examining your own activism, maybe go read something else first and then come back to this. There are folx who have done the labor of making reading lists based on identity development. Seek out one of those. Please don’t eschew this book if you just weren’t ready to read it yet.
That said, there was one teensy moment that didn’t feel great for me in reading this, that I think may have been more about diction than intent, but it may be worth mentioning. Suggesting that Jews experience just as much privilege as Christians is a conflation of religion with whiteness. For sure, Jewish people experience more privilege than other non dominant religious groups in the US, but unfair to make it an “oppression Olympics” as the author so aptly referenced earlier in the book. I think it’s more accurate to say that bc the vast majority of Jews in the Us are white, that complexion begets privilege. Some of us are brown, some of us are Black. I’m reluctant to stand by that likely unintentional erasure of intersectionality. Alternately, if what was meant was that the SES 1% of evangelicals uphold the interests of Israelis, then 100% accurate. Just say that, know what I mean? Anyway, just a thought I’m hoping to make clear. Please spend more time thinking on the first part of my review and all of the incredible accomplishments of this book. Incredibly powerful. If this awesome author ends up writing a second edition covering more recent events too, I’ll be all over that one as well, regardless of whether it was written for me. I will benefit from deep listening. I hope others will too.
That said, there was one teensy moment that didn’t feel great for me in reading this, that I think may have been more about diction than intent, but it may be worth mentioning. Suggesting that Jews experience just as much privilege as Christians is a conflation of religion with whiteness. For sure, Jewish people experience more privilege than other non dominant religious groups in the US, but unfair to make it an “oppression Olympics” as the author so aptly referenced earlier in the book. I think it’s more accurate to say that bc the vast majority of Jews in the Us are white, that complexion begets privilege. Some of us are brown, some of us are Black. I’m reluctant to stand by that likely unintentional erasure of intersectionality. Alternately, if what was meant was that the SES 1% of evangelicals uphold the interests of Israelis, then 100% accurate. Just say that, know what I mean? Anyway, just a thought I’m hoping to make clear. Please spend more time thinking on the first part of my review and all of the incredible accomplishments of this book. Incredibly powerful. If this awesome author ends up writing a second edition covering more recent events too, I’ll be all over that one as well, regardless of whether it was written for me. I will benefit from deep listening. I hope others will too.
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced