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A review by readthesparrow
We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance by Kellie Carter Jackson
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This review is based on a digital ARC provided by the publisher.
Review
I love nonfiction books that blend autobiographical elements with the subject matter. In We Refuse, Carter Jackson examines Black resistance through historical figures and events (especially those which popular history has forgotten, with a particular focus on Black women) as well as from her own family, such as her brother and her great-grandmother.
Some nonfiction books struggle with dry or unengaging prose, which is certainly not an issue in We Refuse. Reading it feels like a conversation, not a textbook, so if you tend to avoid nonfiction because you find it "boring," that will not be a problem with We Refuse. Carter Jackson's prose is vibrant, emotional, funny, and fundamentally alive.
Carter Jackson examines, with nuance and care, the many ways in which Black people have resisted white supremacy. Her ability to bring historical events and figures to life--even those that little is known of--is fantastic. For example, Carter Jackson's telling of the life and trial of Carrie Johnson was strikingly evocative. She gave new life to life to Carrie's story: a teenage girl who defended her home and her father, leading to her year-and-a-half-long trial which, miraculously, ended with dropped charges after a retrial. I had never heard of Carrie (nor the events of 1919, where white mobs--including, of course, the police--attacked black communities), and I am so, so glad that We Refuse told her story.
As Carter Jackson states, "forgetting is political," and with her focus on figures whose stories have been largely--in some cases, intentionally--forgotten, she fights against racist cultural amnesia.
Some nonfiction books struggle with dry or unengaging prose, which is certainly not an issue in We Refuse. Reading it feels like a conversation, not a textbook, so if you tend to avoid nonfiction because you find it "boring," that will not be a problem with We Refuse. Carter Jackson's prose is vibrant, emotional, funny, and fundamentally alive.
Carter Jackson examines, with nuance and care, the many ways in which Black people have resisted white supremacy. Her ability to bring historical events and figures to life--even those that little is known of--is fantastic. For example, Carter Jackson's telling of the life and trial of Carrie Johnson was strikingly evocative. She gave new life to life to Carrie's story: a teenage girl who defended her home and her father, leading to her year-and-a-half-long trial which, miraculously, ended with dropped charges after a retrial. I had never heard of Carrie (nor the events of 1919, where white mobs--including, of course, the police--attacked black communities), and I am so, so glad that We Refuse told her story.
As Carter Jackson states, "forgetting is political," and with her focus on figures whose stories have been largely--in some cases, intentionally--forgotten, she fights against racist cultural amnesia.
Some Thoughts
That said, there are some noticably unaddressed spots in terms of intersectionality.
The most obvious to me was the lack of discussion of Black LGBTQ+ people in the context of their identities as Black civil rights figures and advocates. For example, while writers like Baldwin and hooks are mentioned, they are mentioned without reference or acknowledgement of their queer identities and queer work, neither of which are seperatable from their Black identities and Black work.
This struck me as strange, as Black queer communities and figures (especially Black queer women!) have a long history of refusing white structures of heterosexuality and gender roles, cultivating and expressing Black joy, and resisting white violence (especially police violence), all of which fit closely alongside the ideas of resistance Carter Jackson discusses.
For example, there was Storme DeLarverie, a Black butch lesbian and drag king called the Cowboy of NYC. She wore a gun on her hip and patrolled the streets to protect members of her community from anti-queer and racist hatred, which she called "ugliness" (https://www.campuspride.org/queer-history-profile-storme-delarverie/; https://www.villagepreservation.org/2022/03/23/storme-delarverie-village-guardian/).
To quote Alvin McEwen from his 2014 opinion piece "The Erasure of 'Gay' From Black History and the Black Community Must Stop" (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-erasure-of-gay-from-b_b_5936568):
The most obvious to me was the lack of discussion of Black LGBTQ+ people in the context of their identities as Black civil rights figures and advocates. For example, while writers like Baldwin and hooks are mentioned, they are mentioned without reference or acknowledgement of their queer identities and queer work, neither of which are seperatable from their Black identities and Black work.
This struck me as strange, as Black queer communities and figures (especially Black queer women!) have a long history of refusing white structures of heterosexuality and gender roles, cultivating and expressing Black joy, and resisting white violence (especially police violence), all of which fit closely alongside the ideas of resistance Carter Jackson discusses.
For example, there was Storme DeLarverie, a Black butch lesbian and drag king called the Cowboy of NYC. She wore a gun on her hip and patrolled the streets to protect members of her community from anti-queer and racist hatred, which she called "ugliness" (https://www.campuspride.org/queer-history-profile-storme-delarverie/; https://www.villagepreservation.org/2022/03/23/storme-delarverie-village-guardian/).
To quote Alvin McEwen from his 2014 opinion piece "The Erasure of 'Gay' From Black History and the Black Community Must Stop" (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-erasure-of-gay-from-b_b_5936568):
... the simple fact never entered my mind that yes, gay people were subjected to slavery, segregation and racism because of our skin. Just as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people of color exist now, we existed back then. Then it suddenly struck me again that I've never recalled any acknowledgement of this fact during the myriad of discussions, I've read, listened to or seen regarding comparisons between the gay and civil rights movements.
And why is that?
There have been numerous debates, articles, columns, movies and documentaries about how the legacy of racism has had a negative effect on so many aspects of African-American community, from our families to the way we interact with each other. It stands to reason that the legacy of racism didn't leave LGBT people of color unscathed. But information about what LGBT people of color did during those awful times in our history or what effect it has had on us is practically nonexistent.
...
There is a pattern of erasure which strips our presence from the majority of black history. And this pattern of erasure bleeds into day-to-day treatment and interactions. Personal biases and prejudices prevent us from being considered as genuine members of the black community and many heterosexual African-Americans conveniently ignore issues and concerns indigenous to us as LGBT people.
Mind, I am not implying nor do I believe that Carter Jackson is ignoring or intentionally excluding Black queer voices and history from We Refuse. I simply noticed queer Black identity as a missing spot of intersectionality which is relevant to Carter Jackson's arguments about Black resistance.
The below is nowhere near comprehensive (I had to stop myself before it got too long), but for those interested about reading about Black queer figures, culture, and history, here are some links to get started.
- Black Queer History & Identity
- https://time.com/6263354/black-lgbtq-history-representation/
- https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/BlackHeroes_13_1.pdf
- https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11830
- https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/harlem-renaissance-black-queer-history
- https://traue.commons.gc.cuny.edu/toward-our-black-queer-joyous-futures-to-achieve1-our-freedom-in-the-academy/
- https://www.newsweek.com/black-queer-studies-left-out-again-opinion-1872144
- https://www.queerportraits.com/bio/rainey
- https://www.bkreader.com/black-history-month/black-history-is-queer-history-and-queer-history-is-black-history-6544418
- https://lowninstitute.org/the-intersection-of-black-history-queer-studies-and-medicine/
- https://www.them.us/story/queer-women-of-color-pride-exclusion
- https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-erasure-of-gay-from-b_b_5936568
- https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/queering-black-history-and-getting-free/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24641077/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/nyregion/storme-delarverie-early-leader-in-the-gay-rights-movement-dies-at-93.html
- Black Queer Joy
- https://www.instagram.com/blackqueerjoy?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==)
- https://www.xonecole.com/lil-nas-x-black-boy-joy-representation/when-he-called-out-double-standards-again-and-again-and-again
- https://www.buzzfeed.com/daily/lil-nas-x-montero-album-queer-black-music
- https://www.gaytimes.com/life/unity-talks-taking-a-moment-to-celebrate-black-queer-joy/
- https://www.outfrontmagazine.com/black-queer-joy-resilient-rejuvenated-and-rested/
- https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2023/08/11507338/caribbean-carnival-black-queer-joy-photo-series
- https://lambdalegal.org/blogs/us_20230616_what-black-queer-joy-and-liberation-mean-this-juneteenth/
- https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/zen-contemplative-practice-and-the-emergence-of-black-queer-joy/
- Ballroom culture
- https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/brief-history-voguing
- https://peabodyballroom.library.jhu.edu/home/ballroom-history/
- https://www.loftgaycenter.org/ballroom_rising
- Stonewall rebellion
- https://guides.loc.gov/lgbtq-studies/stonewall-era
- https://www.prideportland.org/heroes-of-the-stonewall-rebellion
- https://www.ywcaworks.org/blogs/firesteel/tue-06112019-0925/meet-black-lesbian-who-kick-started-gay-liberation-movement
Thank you to the publisher for providing an eARC for review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Racial slurs and Gun violence