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A review by smblanc1793
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by asha bandele, Patrisse Khan-Cullors
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
If you are going to read one book this Black History Month, make it this one.
This is a book not only of black history, but of black present and black future. It is at times hopeful, at times heartbreaking, at times seething and screaming as it has every right to be. As reviews have pointed out, it is more the story of a person than the story of a movement, but what is the story of a movement if not the story of every person inside it? Every person forced to fight through tear gas and bullets and stand unflinching in the face of a tank? And in that ocean of stories, why not start with this one, which is written so beautifully that when you squeeze your eyes shut because the words on the page make you sick, you know it is the subject and not the prose that is vile beyond measure.
This is a book not only of black history, but of black present and black future. It is at times hopeful, at times heartbreaking, at times seething and screaming as it has every right to be. As reviews have pointed out, it is more the story of a person than the story of a movement, but what is the story of a movement if not the story of every person inside it? Every person forced to fight through tear gas and bullets and stand unflinching in the face of a tank? And in that ocean of stories, why not start with this one, which is written so beautifully that when you squeeze your eyes shut because the words on the page make you sick, you know it is the subject and not the prose that is vile beyond measure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Physical abuse, Violence, Racial slurs, and Police brutality
Moderate: Transphobia, Drug use, Homophobia, and Sexism