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A review by sallysimply
We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance by Kellie Carter Jackson
5.0
What a fantastic book this is! The writing is clear and compelling, the book is thought-provoking and confronting, and I have not been able to stop thinking about it since I finished it a couple of weeks ago.
We continue to be fed the lie that the only correct type of resistance is non-violent, and then the state gets to define what is and is not violence. I loved the author's approach to resistance and the many forms it can take. By focusing specifically on forms of Black resistance, the scope is narrow enough to dig into concrete examples, which I really appreciated. The stories of real-life women resisting in so many different ways was inspiring and motivating. And while I don't want to take away from that focus on Black resistance, there is also a lot here we can apply to other movements and other injustices worth resisting. (For instance, I could not stop thinking about Palestine as I read this.)
I took my time with this book, which I don't often do. Because of that, my reading helped support me through the election, the continued genocide in Gaza, the Luigi of it all, and the host of other devastations we are currently living through. Perhaps hope isn't quite the right word for how I felt while reading this, but there was a certain resolve and determination I got as I read -- a sense that what we are fighting can be defeated, even if it seems massive and unmovable. In a time when hope is hard to come by, I can easily recommend this book on that feeling alone.
I will say that my physical reading experience was far better than the audio. I could not tell if it was the narration or the editing or both, but the audiobook felt stilted. Taking that away, though, this is an easy 5-star read for me.
We continue to be fed the lie that the only correct type of resistance is non-violent, and then the state gets to define what is and is not violence. I loved the author's approach to resistance and the many forms it can take. By focusing specifically on forms of Black resistance, the scope is narrow enough to dig into concrete examples, which I really appreciated. The stories of real-life women resisting in so many different ways was inspiring and motivating. And while I don't want to take away from that focus on Black resistance, there is also a lot here we can apply to other movements and other injustices worth resisting. (For instance, I could not stop thinking about Palestine as I read this.)
I took my time with this book, which I don't often do. Because of that, my reading helped support me through the election, the continued genocide in Gaza, the Luigi of it all, and the host of other devastations we are currently living through. Perhaps hope isn't quite the right word for how I felt while reading this, but there was a certain resolve and determination I got as I read -- a sense that what we are fighting can be defeated, even if it seems massive and unmovable. In a time when hope is hard to come by, I can easily recommend this book on that feeling alone.
I will say that my physical reading experience was far better than the audio. I could not tell if it was the narration or the editing or both, but the audiobook felt stilted. Taking that away, though, this is an easy 5-star read for me.