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frmvivian's review
5.0
Intimate, poetic, critical, reflextive, and so much more
Coates does an amazing job weaving the development of his political consciousness - this book differs a lot in tonality compared to his journalism work
Minor: Police brutality and Death
sepitz's review
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Death and Gun violence
anger566's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Death, Police brutality, and Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Gun violence, Death, and Violence
Minor: Child death
thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Death, Slavery, and Police brutality
Minor: Rape
charleshasalibrary's review
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Trafficking, Murder, Rape, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Death
brookey8888's review
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
jcstokes95's review against another edition
4.5
Coates writes in such a lyrical, captivating way that it's hard to imagine anyone could come away from this without having a visceral reaction. It is often heartbreaking, but in that specific way where it feels like a train keeps rolling its cars over you, again and again. Because so much of this is exactly what you would expect, just drawn more cruelly than you may have put together before. At times, Coates can come across as defeatist, but his picture of America makes you wonder how anyone could feel any other way. I feel this captures the uneasy footing that living in constant survival mode creates; And then Coates tries to pull himself out of that fight for survival and into a new world for his son's sake.
Whenever I write reviews of books about White supremacy, I like to note where I find myself feeling resistance. I find it troubling, often, to face head on inadequacies of schooling in this country and all they ways it can solidify boundaries of race. When I was an educator, I did it because I believed that education (while not a silver bullet) could be the beginning of equalizing our society. I knew while the system of my public school had failed me (in a poor, mainly minority district) that many of my teachers had poured their whole selves into our education in an attempt to save us from that very system. It's hard to hear that's not the experience of every person, even though I know on a logical level that it must be true. I saw its effect on my students but it's a hard job to do without allowing a little bit of a "dream" of a better world. I am curious to read more work on how Coates (or others) think the work of change can be approached when so much feels set against it.
All in all, there is so much to think about and face after reading this. It is a short read but will make you face the largest, most difficult conversation in our country today.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, and Slavery
ariam's review
4.5
Graphic: Police brutality, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Child death and Hate crime
nav26's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Child death, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Racism
Minor: Rape