Review by stevia333k - Assata Taught Me: State Violence, Mass Incarceration, and the Movement for Black Lives

A review by stevia333k
Assata Taught Me: State Violence, Mass Incarceration, and the Movement for Black Lives by Donna Murch

hopeful informative inspiring

4.5

It was informative on how various mainstream histiographies got shit wrong (such as masculinist interpretations & making strawmen out of the activists that emerged out of California colleges), but since I haven't learned about Assata yet I sense there was a lot that was understated.

For example, I learned from "captive genders" that there are Yoruba spiritual practitioners who associate Assata with a warrior god(dess), and while this book mentions that M4BL activists reframe history with new heros like Assata, Davis, etc, rediscovering the MLism of the black panthers, for historical context even though intersectional feminism is now foundational to the movement (though foundational oppression theory is not).

So basically, I liked this book that covers the 1940s-early 2020's, but I feel like I didn't get everything on the first read because I lack context, but I appreciate it to say the least for the Oakland history part as well as how elite capture & black capitalism led to the dissolving of DLC (IDK what that is) because of how the Democrat party had basically taken its role even though Clinton had made democrats celebrate lynchings again.

Content Warnings

A review by stevia333k Assata Taught Me: State Violence, Mass Incarceration, and the Movement for Black Lives by Donna Murch

A review by stevia333k
Assata Taught Me: State Violence, Mass Incarceration, and the Movement for Black Lives by Donna Murch