A review by readswithnatalieb
American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America's First Paramedics by Kevin Hazzard

5.0

 

I’m always so fond of books that provide an educational component and AMERICAN SIRENS does exactly that. As someone who knows very little about medicine, I didn’t stand a chance in knowing any historical facts. Not only was this such a fascinating read, it read a lot like fiction to where I didn’t feel bogged down by fact after fact. It read so simply and I can’t recommend this one enough. 

 

Even though we learn so much about Freedom House EMS and how a group of Black men became America’s first paramedics, there are a lot of narratives that are woven throughout this book that all come back to one thing; human kindness. We witness how these Black paramedics are looked down upon due to racism and how corrupt this system started. There are so many examples where officials don’t care about the people of their city, they only care about the color of the skin to aid to those in need. Infuriating, right? Sound too familiar to today’s world too? With these angering aspects, the passion and determination of these Freedom House employees really paved the way in how the good can rise above. 

 

With the sad news of the world banning books and stripping Black people of their history without proper recognition, this is a perfect example of how the Black continues to be ignored with how much they contribute to this world. 

 

Highly recommend this one. Thank you Hachette Books for the gifted copy. 

 

Content warnings: racism, medical content, death, sexism, violence, abuse