Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People

by Ben Crump

Genocide—the intent to destroy in whole or in part, a group of people.

In Open Season, award-winning attorney Ben Crump exposes a heinous truth: Whether with a bullet or a lengthy prison sentence, America is killing black people and justifying it legally. While some deaths make headlines, most are personal tragedies suffered within families and communities. Worse, these killings are done one person at a time, so as not to raise alarm. While it is much more difficult to justify killing many people at once, in dramatic fashion, the result is the same—genocide.

Taking on such high-profile cases as Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and a host of others, Crump witnessed the disparities within the American legal system firsthand and learned it is dangerous to be a black man in America—and that the justice system indeed only protects wealthy white men.

In this enlightening and enthralling work, he shows that there is a persistent, prevailing, and destructive mindset regarding colored people that is rooted in our history as a slaveowning nation. This biased attitude has given rise to mass incarceration, voter disenfranchisement, unequal educational opportunities, disparate health care practices, job and housing discrimination, police brutality, and an unequal justice system. And all mask the silent and ongoing systematic killing of people of color.

Open Season is more than Crump’s incredible mission to preserve justice, it is a call to action for Americans to begin living up to the promise to protect the rights of its citizens equally and without question.

 

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Race, Audiobook, Social Justice, Politics, Anti Racist

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2019

About the author

Library of Congress Authorities:
Crump, Benjamin, 1969-

Reviews

[Natalie Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend Open Season for anyone who really wants to know what the cry "Black Lives Matter" is all about. This book is a detailed narration of, not just past racial injustices in the justice system, but of the current injustices in the headlines today. Open Season is an important chronicle of the state of POC and poor whites in the American Justice system. After listening to this book, I'm convinced more than ever that the word "genocide" is not an overstatement or exaggeration when it comes to the state of black people in America.

The author, Benjamin Crump, is probably the most well-known civil rights attorney in America today and, in this book, he makes a riveting and persuasive argument that a silent genocide is being waged on "colored" people in America. Even though Mr. Crump uses the word "colored people" in his title, after listening to this book, I convinced more than ever that the word genocide is not an overstatement or exaggeration when it comes to the state of black people in America.

What really makes "Open Season" stand out and apart from many other important books about the conditions of POC in the American justice system is Crump's storytelling ability and the fact that he's been involved, as legal counsel, in most of the high-profile cases that he writes about. From Trayvon Martin to Marissa Alexander to Philando Castille (and many others profiled in this book), Crump is able to humanize the most complex legal cases and make a convincing argument of the role that racial biases played in their outcomes, in such a way, that even a child could understand and see the racial injustices. This book was a fascinating and fast read. I listened to the entire book in one night.

While this book should be mandatory reading for law students, lawyers, and judges, I also highly recommend to anyone who has ever questioned if we are living in a post-racial America or why, in 2013 and beyond, we still have to remind some people that BLACK LIVES MATTER!!

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the narrator.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump discusses historical context, legislation, and specific legal cases to illustrate gross inequities where death of certain citizens is deemed not only permissible but part of quantifiable patterns.

The topics are broad, including more obvious issues like deadly police encounters with unarmed citizens, inequitable enforcement of stand your ground laws, and issues we may not normally add to the conversation like environmental protections and policies.

I have reservations because a few sections take leaps that ignore some significant factual distinctions and context.

But none of that negates the core message that systematic inequities, cultural norms, and legislation have and continue to create a country where mistreatment, condemnation, abuse, restriction of human rights, and even murder of certain people is part of the status quo.

It’s worth the time.

Books like Just Mercy, The New Jim Crow, American Prison by Shane Bauer, An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States (REVISIONING HISTORY), and Allow Me to Retort are a few well researched works which expand the conversation.

I’m always looking for additional insights and welcome recommendations.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breaks down the way systematic racism in the U - especially its legal system - works in an extremely concise, well-written, and accessible manner. If you're from the USA, this should be required reading for you.

[KC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attorney Ben Crump exposes the monstrous reality about racial and discriminatory genocide. This is a must read for those who need a further understanding of how systemic racism/discrimination has brutalized the BIPOC community for countless years and where we all stand today.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A confronting and important read. A good first step in educating yourself on these issues and #BlackLivesMatter written by someone in the forefront of the movement.

[Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a hard audiobook but so important for the fight against social injustice. Very difficult to remember all the lives lost to police brutality in recent years.

[Kassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an important read! Ben Crump is extremely thorough and goes through many cases that both he himself has represented as well as others that show the continued systematic oppression of Black and brown individuals. I highly recommend as both an educational resource and to get you fired up when it's put right in front of your face that this fight is far from over.

My one star knock is due to some editing issues. There were a couple paragraphs repeated word for word as well as quite a few words dropped grammatically, etc.

[Kayri · Rating 3 out of 5]

An informative read/good introduction to what people of color have been saying for, like, ever, and why we've been saying these things. The book had more grammatical–or just not-proofreeding–errors which were saddening and a little upsetting. Also, Crump says that he thinks the US's legal system is one of the best in the world and that the US is a great country but doesn't offer any justification, so the statements feel like they were written to appease someone else and not the truest sentiments. Lastly, Crump's solutions to the problems addressed in his book feel weak. Some of them are good short-term solutions, but most of them argue for change within the system right after he says the foundation is discriminatory and biased; we've been trying to change things from within the system for around 300 years to no avail, so why would that be a long-term solution, especially when the foundation is flawed?

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

FABULOUS! informative, heart wrenching, yet hopeful.
Things WE each can do:
"1. admit the problem
2. call out injustice
3. hold the powerful accountable
4. share information
5. change focus from criminal justice reform to criminal justice transformed
6. see that our communities are represented in the structures governing them
7. rethink incarceration
8. change the mission of policing
9. amend 'stand your ground'
10. end voter suppression
11. end environmental racism
12. make access to critical financial support a priority"
"True peace is not merely the absence of tension -- it is the presence of justice."
~ Martin Luther King, Jr

[Tiff (fictionaltiff) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Constitution and Bill of Rights provide the backbone of American greatness, but we still have to recognize and root out fundamentally racist beliefs and discriminatory laws that have contaminated and corrupted American greatness from our nation’s birth.”
Ben Crump’s Open Season is a perfect starting point for those who want a better understanding of systemic racism and the specific ways Black people are still experiencing racism in America on a daily basis. Attorney Ben Crump, the attorney who has represented high-profile cases, such as Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, works through explaining the justice system, voter suppression, environmental racism, and more — he breaks down each flaw in our country’s history and present day that we’ve yet to overcome. It’s not only about white people being racist. Our country doesn’t have a strong support system for people of color and there are many remedies to be made that everyone must understand.
I would challenge everyone to read this book and see that it has the power to change your mind on some things or give you a better understanding of the people around you.
Before reading this book I thought I had a decent knowledge of the judicial process and its effects on all people; but having Crump lay it all out for me with specific examples and personal stories, I feel as if he removed some blind spots I was unaware of.
I’m extremely thankful for this book and the way it has changed my point of view.

[Traci Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really string overview of the many kinds of racism Black people face in America. Crump lays out his thesis and uses a ton of examples to drive the points home. Not a lot of this book felt new to me, but a refresher is always nice. The cases he uses as examples are the standouts in the book.

I listened in audio and the narrator is very solid.

[Mat Wuebben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely had solid content that gave me plenty to think about as a White man. I rated this three stars due to its constant jumping from story to story without transitions or lead-ins. The reading structure in this regard made it difficult to follow the thread of what the main point was.

[Jen Corona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben Crump masterfully intertwines narratives with statistics. A must read for anyone interested in systemic racism.

[Kristiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben Crump is the attorney representing the Blake family, along with the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. He has previously represented the families of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown.

Crump combines American history and current events to make his case that America has legalized the genocide of people of color. Heart-wrenching topics include: the preschool to prison pipeline, voter suppression, redlining, the Tulsa race massacre, environmental racism, to name a few. The book concludes with 20 pages of reference notes siting his source materials.

The discussion about the abolition of slavery and its elimination of a free workforce for slave owners helped me understand how ingrained our nation's problems are. Slave owners did a lot to recoup the free labor they lost and they built systems toward that goal. Our current systems start from a broken place. It makes total sense, and my naivety and lack of education just wouldn't make those connections before.

Crump's conclusions are based in action and hope for our country. Open Season calls its readers to do something, to "speak truth to power." It is a hard to read book, but an important book to read.

[Christy Martinez Quintana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such an eye opener. Ben Crump talks about genocide happening to the browns and blacks in America. Crump brings to light all the injustices in police brutality, the innocent, lending, education, etc. etc. I would welcome all my friends to read this book. Educate yourself. When you know better you do better!

[Christy Rand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Packed full of evidence of severe systemic racism in America. This book is a glaring look at racism in every aspect of our society. Sometimes hard to stomach how bad things really are, but that's the point. He proved his case. Let's do something about it.

[Bruin Mccon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book packs a punch, for good reason. A sobering look at a problem that has only gotten worse. He makes a compelling case for the book’s title.

[Megan Bowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required reading for anyone who responds to the Black Lives Matter movement with "all lives matter."

[Serge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy my some of my students had a chance to hear Ben Crump speak at the Wright Museum. Here are my notes on the book
Open Season by Ben Crump

p.ix As I said in te 2022 Netflix documentary Civil, which chronicled my life for one year after George Floyd was killed, “ We have to fight to raise the value of Black life so that it becomes a financial impediment to kill Black people unjustly.”

P. x “ I am firm in my belief that America is a great nation. It is a flawed naton, but not one without hope, promise, and the capacity for positive change. That change won’t come willingly. Major change seldom does… When cities can no longer afford to pay out historic settlements because of the gross misconduct of law enforcement, they will take it upon themselves to enforce that change.

P.4 Most of the population may find my claim bold– that the legal system and nearly every other institution formed in the United States is out to eliminate Black and brown people, but most colored folks certainly believe it is true.

P.5 The act of genocide occurs when the laws of this country ad their enforcement and adjudication are used to cut into the heart and soul of colored people.

In other words, there are many ways to kill a race of people. You can take away their hope for a better life. You can deny them access to quality food and health care. You can flood their community with drugs. You can take away safe and decent housing. You can lock them up for crimes they did not commit. In short, you can kill their spirit so they become the walking dead.

P.12 According to a report by the University of Michigan’s National Registry of Exonerations, African Americans are disproportionately more likely to be convicted of crimes they did not commit. These cases represent justice gone awry, show egregious abuse by the polie, and sometimes even mean death for those wrongfully convicted.

Police are only a small part of the justice system. State executives, legislatures, and supreme courts are all involved in deciding what is justified, and so legal, in many cases.

P..13 Women in prison have been on the forefront of the fight for reproductive rights from the very beginning. Legalized genocide takes many forms, including systematically eliminating the ability of a group of people to bring forth life and have a family.

P.45 We hear many officers claim in court, “I felt in fear of my life. I was in fear for my life. That’s why I shot.” Where does the fear originate? In a study by psychologist john Paul Wilson published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Black people were perceived as stronger, more muscular, and more physically formidable than white people, when in fact there was on difference. Study participants judged Black subjects as more likely to produce harm and therefore more likely to require force to subdue.

P.46 Remember, no moral society will accept horrific killings of innocent people unless it is somehow justified as rational. This is why the powers that be constantly portray minorities as uncivilized, dangerous savages who are not deserving of the equal respect and consideration that law-enforcement officers must extend to white citizens.

P.50 According to the US Supreme Court, fear can exonerate cops no matter how egregious or unreasonable their use of force.

P.54The 1989 Supreme Court decision in the case of Graham v. Connor established the standard to be used by judges and juries when weighing whether an officer’s use of force was reasonable given what the officer knew at that moment. In other words, officers simply have to state that they feared for their lives or believed that the suspect posed a threat of serious physical harm, either to the officer or the public. Even in the face of video evidence or other proof that clearly contradicts what officers say, the court will take the officers at their word. Judges routinely tell juries that police officers are allowed to use dealy force based on fear or their belief in a perceived threat.

P.58 Stand Your Ground (SYG) laws are shoot-first legislation shielding the shooter under an expanded justification of self-defense. These laws essentially absolve private citizens of any responsibility for killing people they find suspicious.

P.63 A Texas A&M University study also found that when whites use the Stand Your Ground “...defense against Black attackers, they are more successful than when Blacks use the defense against white attackers.”

P.64 [Goetz] Claiming his actions were driven by a previous mugging in 1981 and by the high crime rates in New York City, Gietz was labeled by some as a vigilante, even a hero, and earned the nickname the Subway Vigilante. However, when Goetz’s interviews with the police became public, the truth was revealed. Goetz later admitted that his fear was heightened because the four young men were Black.
In the criminal trial in 1987, Goetz was acquitted by an all-white jury of attempted murder, but he was found guilty of illegal firearms possession count, for which he served less tha a year. . He has since been famously quoted as saying, “ I would, without any hesitation, shoot a violent criminal again. “

P.90 [1994 Crime Bill] The bill’s clear intent was to get tough on crime, and it included a $9 billion provision for prison construction and an expansion of the federal death penalty. Instead of stemming the rate of incarceration, the new crime bill legislation contributed to it. Between 1994, when the bill was introduced, to 2009 the rate of imprisonment doubled. The bill banned nineteen types of semiautomatic weapons, authorized the death penalty for dozens of exiting and new federal crimes, and put into place a “three strikes and you’re out” federal provision.

The new legislation disproportionately affected Black and brown people. According to the article, the crime bill influenced states to increase their prison populations. “The bill granted states $12.5 billion to build prisons if they passed “truth-in-sentencing” (TIS) laws, which required inmates to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences.

P.119 Wrongly accused Black and brown people are then wrongly convicted, because they are cajoled into entering into plea deals for shorter jail time even though they are innocent. Those accused may have been racially profiled or pressured during interrogation without a lawyer present…They may be represented by an overworked public defender, because they do not have the resources to hire a lawyer who can fully commit to the case . Those wrongly accused young persons of color, confused by the legal process or pressured during interrogation, who pleaded guilty to a felony charge and six months in jail … will bear this burden for the rest of their lives. The felony conviction now means they can’t vote in some states , serve on a jury, or join the military.

P.123 Outmoded and outdated, mandatory minimum sentencing stretches back to early English common law, which required that the death penalty be administered to anyone convicted of a felony. In the United States, some degree of federal minimum sentencing was introduced around 1790, but in most jurisdictions, legislatures and judges created systems that offered a wide range of latitude when it came to sentences. During the mid-1970s, for instance, offenders often received a minimum or maximum sentence or something in between, and a parole board determined the date of release. Under this undefined sentencing, discretion was shared between judges, correctional officials, and the parole board; subsequently there was little understanding or predictability as to who would be imprisoned and for how long.

P.196 While generating an estimated $2 billion in annual revenue for federal, state, and local governments and private contractors, inmates receive an average wage for an entire day’s work that equals less than what a minimum-wage earner receives for one hour of work.

P.197 Not only do the courts treat prisoners as chattel property, as slaves with no choice but to work, but in Minecci v Pollard the Supreme Court ruled in 2011 that not only are prisoners slaves of the state , but they have no (civil) rights when held in private for-profit prison systems.

P.202 The nation’s first “eugenics” law was passed in Indiana in 1907, permitting the sterilization of “confirmed criminals,” “idiots,” “imbeciles,” and “rapists.” Eventually, thirty-one states pased eugenics laws, resulting in the sterilization of nearly 65,000 Americans, mostly women of color.

P.203 “Because U.S. courts have held that reproductive rights are extinguished by incarceration, most of the 2.2 million individuals who are confined in U.S. jails and prisons cannot have children (at least for the duration of their sentences.)

P.223 In 2015 the Miami Herald did a series of articles “Beyond Punishment,” in which it alleged that there are too few cameras, intolerable abuse, and the pressure from guards to have sex for the most basic of necessities like soap. Being sentenced to prison should not be a death sentence, but for many minorities, that’s what it has become.

[sheri_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

In OpenSeason Ben Crump uses cases he’s worked to bring awareness to this legalized genocide that is happening to People of Color. And he does not shy away from going into full detail, which was often hard to read. What I love about this book though is that yes, he talks mainly about Black people but he also makes it very clear that for him, People of Color includes Black, brown, Indigenous, Immigrants, the LGBTQIA+ community, and all the communities that have been marginalized for far too long. He gives us ways in which we can continue to move forward this revolution of social justice.

[Csimplot Simplot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!!!!

[Scott Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A warning. I would not recommend reading this book before going to be, as it will anger you enough to disrupt your sleep patterns, which is perhaps the point. Written by a long time African American attorney, this work takes perhaps the darkest take I have ever read about the American legal and political system, especially when it comes to treatment of African Americans. From the police/legal system to environmental considerations, African Americans (and other non-white minorities within the country borders), the proverbial deck is significantly stacked against them, and there are seemingly few recourses for true justices. The combinations of physical, direct violence and indirect actions (poor education, increased incarceration, environmental and (while not emphasized, but medical issues) fit, at least in the author’s purview, fall under the definition of sanctioned genocide.

The genocide thesis is a controversial thesis to say the least. Then again, the definition of genocide is always a controversial thing. What constitutes actual genocide is very difficult to define, and given the legal and moral requirements that declaring genocide entail, it is unlikely that the US government will take the actions needed to counter it (especially if the US government is the primary culprit of the genocide). Granted, Crump does not always tie his argument back to the genocide declarations, but does so enough to try to make the case. Perhaps it would help to compare responses and actions of other genocides and international responses to strengthen that particular part of the argument. Would make the thesis a bit more stronger.

That being said, there is a lot to take from this work. It is mostly a dark recounting of American history and current events, and even seemingly justified victories trend towards Pyrrhic wins. There are some solutions at the end of the book, and the author still holds out hope for America and a way ahead (not surprisingly, several of the options presented as solutions to the problems are linked to initiatives and websites run by the author and his foundations).

With recent events and the subsequent rioting, the issues discussed and described in this book are as relevant as ever. There are even signs that some of the suggestions in the conclusion are being done (even if it was not a direct result of reading this book). However, in the matter of true equality, of a land where African-Americans and other non-whites can live their lives like white people without the added fear of a system out to get them, the issues discussed in Crump’s work will continue to haunt the nation writ large. Even if it is not a work that you will read repeatedly, this is one of those that should be read at least once. Agree or disagree with the overall thesis, the facts and stories presented here should make any red-blooded American’s blood boil and soul hurt.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Infuriating. That's my reaction to the book, not the tone of the book.

Crump's writing is trenchant and yet not polemical - he consistently takes a high moral tone:

"America isn't a story of them, it's a story of us. It's who we are."

Well I am certainly comfortable with that. Given the litany of injustice documented in the book, including some directly personal experiences, it's remarkable that Crump is.

I am much more personally familiar with white complacency and the softer forms of racism, than I am with the lived experience of Blacks and people of color. (Presumably as a way of broadening his message, Crump defines "of color" as a category that includes not only brown people but also LGBTQ and even women generally. However, the issues discussed in the book are the injustices experienced by the black and brown.)

When (armed mass-murderer) Dylan Roof was arrested, he complained he was hungry and they took him to Burger King. (my reaction - fu*king Burger King!) When the Chicago PD rolled up on Tamir Rice (apparently armed kid), they shot him on sight.

It's not just the shooting. It's the whole justice system: who gets stopped by police, who gets charged, what they get charged with, how long they get sentenced for. None of the disparities described in the book are news, if one has been paying attention (and not discounting the MSM as somehow false), but it is daunting to read through it all in one place.

Then there is political intimidation. I was astonished to read of the voter-fraud charges brought against nine Florida women - in 2012! What brought on their charges was their being effective at getting out the vote through the use of absentee ballots. Nothing illegal - everyone who voted, was entitled to vote, and voted for who they wanted to vote for - the state adduced no evidence to the contrary. The underlying problem the state had was that "a lot of people voted, who otherwise would not have voted." Ultimately, after a two-year struggle, during which they lost their jobs and had to face down a plea deal, facing felony conviction, the charges were dismissed. Again - this isn't the early 1960s. This was 2012!

And the school-to-prison pipeline. The for-profit system of incarceration whereby America has 25% of the World's prisoners. The disproportionate rate of wrong convictions. Even environmental racism, although this is harder to disentangle from pure economic rapaciousness.

This edition of the book contains some editing problems that I assume will be corrected in subsequent editions. "Yolk" used instead of "yoke", for instance. Not important.

Crump has a significant public profile: The Benjamin Crump Social Justice Institute; www.BCSJI.com.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book.

Ben Crump was the attorney for Trayvon Martin’s family, for Michael Brown’s family. He’s currently the attorney for George Floyd’s family & Jacob Blake’s family.

He has seen some fucking shit.

Have you heard of Howard Morgan, a 53-year old Black off-duty cop who was shot by white policemen for HAVING HIS HEADLIGHTS OFF? What about Victor White III, a Black man who allegedly committed suicide while in HANDCUFFS in the back of a police car? Or Barbara Dawson, a Black woman who died in a hospital parking lot after doctors discharged her and forcibly removed her from the ER, claiming she was faking her pain? I hadn’t either, and there are SO many more we don’t hear about.

Crump walks through the injustices the Black community faces every single day, including the school-to-prison pipeline. A vicious cycle that starts with local tax revenues being the main source of public school budgets, leaving poor and BIPOC children trapped in impoverished towns with underfunded schools. Did you know that kids who don’t receive quality PRESCHOOL are 5x more likely to be chronic law breakers by age 27 and 7x more likely to have served jail time by age 40. What. The. Fuck.

Crump gives us a step-by-step guide to stopping these injustices:

1. Admit the problem. (Ahem, Trump voters. All lives can’t matter until Black lives matter.)
2. Call out injustice.
3. Hold the powerful accountable.
4. Share information.
5. Change the focus from criminal justice reform to criminal justice transformed.
6. See that Black communities are represented in the structures governing them.
7. Rethink incarceration.
8. Change the mission of policing.
9. Amend Stand Your Ground laws.
10. End voter suppression.
11. End environmental racism.
12. Make access to critical financial support a priority.

“Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them.” - Frederick Douglass

“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” - Angela Davis

White people, please read this.

CW: racism, extreme police violence, gun violence

[Norwegian_Writer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll start with the disclaimer that I don't really rate non-fiction books, because I feel weird about rating and reviewing facts. So this review will mainly be based on writing and how well it brings its message across. When it comes to the facts and statistics, I have no other qualifications than 1) some of them I've heard before and 2) the rest does (unfortunately) sound like they're right as well. I say unfortunately as it all surrounds rather depressing statistics and facts around racism and oppression.

Now, going into this book I was worried I would end up having to sit with the dictionary open next to me while reading, since the book is written by an attorney and they often use rather complicated language. Turns out I had nothing to worry about. The entire book is written using easy to understand language, everything is supported by stories or examples to explain the situation and the tone itself is really engaging. It doesn't feel like I'm reading a non-fiction book, in many way it has the same flow as storytelling, because there are many stories and situations used to tell things, rather than dry facts. Because of this I feel like this will be easy to understand by pretty much everyone, you don't need to know much about the American Legal System going in, it gives you a good introduction to afrocan american history (introduction, I know it's barely touching the surface) and you never get bored.

All the chapters are nicely put together, following one theme each, with some red threads moving among them, before everything is collected in the last chapter, followed by steps to how we can all be a part of bettering what has been going on for way too long.
As well as the last few lines of the books leaving you rather inspired to go out and actually do something:
"Truth is light.
Truth is knowledge.
We must speak truth to power.
America, we rise, we rise, we rise."

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this book by a friend who is an African American female in her early 70's. She sent it to me while the riots were still going on in various cities around the country. BLM, Antifa, and the Cancel movement were in full stride. Because of this, our conversations became strained. I wanted to understand my friend's view better but was struggling. She loved me enough and knew my heart enough to share this book signed by the author with me. The note said, "So you might understand me better."

The author, Ben Crump an attorney, does a good job presenting his case. He explains the history of our nation from the constitution, the post-civil war, congress, big business, and the justice system. These are all big and complex systems that got off on the wrong track very early on. Over the years, blacks have been living under these revoked promises and unfair economic laws. This causes all kinds of issues that build on each other decade after decade.

The book helped explain to me where we are today. It didn't show me a way out. He offers a prescription as the last chapter. It is a combination of individual behavior, the legal system, and government agency change.

This book has served as a guide to inform me and make me more aware of what is happening in America. More importantly, it showed me why it is happening. The whole system went off the tracks post civil war. There was a chance to right the ship on equality back than by providing equal economic opportunity to former slaves. It didn't happen. And now the fight continues.

I recommend this book as a primer for those interested in making good on the promise in the Constitution. We are created by God with inalienable rights. And, we are all equal in God's eyes.

Ben's fight is to be sure this becomes a reality in America. I applaud him.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is meticulously researched. Each chapter is filled with lived examples of the legalized genocide of people of color in the United States - and for each topic, he pulls in examples that explore the inequity from every angle, painting the unsettling picture of how speaking out against the ongoing injustices still lands people in terrible situations. This is an incredibly powerful read that's difficult to get through, but critically important. Others noted that there are not considerable transitions between the examples, but that feels intentional. Each chapter rains down the trauma and sacrifices paid by many for this ongoing injustice - adding transitions may make it easier to read, but it would cost the book its momentum and impact.

While it is well researched, it is poorly edited. There are many errors beyond simple typos. One that stood out is pretty early on. In recounting the massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston in 2015, Crump writes "There was nothing out of the ordinary in Charleston, North Carolina..." (p. 34) Of course, Charleston is in South Carolina. The errors are peppered throughout, including errors in direct quotes, like "Voter suppression, not fraud, looks large in US elections." This is the title of a 2016 report from the Brooking Institutes, but Crump paints it as a quote with a typo - as "looks" is actually "looms." (p. 125) This book is so powerful that the inaccuracies do not totally undermine it, but certainly feel unprofessional. The editors really did Crump dirty on this one. Looking at you, Tracy Sherrod.

[Tangled in Text · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband got to hear Ben speak at his company's diversity training workshop last month and absolutely loved his message, so much so that we reserved his book at the library the next day.

We listened to this book over a long road trip and had to pause it multiple times because we couldn't help but discuss certain topics. Crump started off citing cases. He both explains how they were handled poorly then compares them to others that involved different races to show how significantly race plays a factor in justice.

I learned a lot, but the excuses used to legalize the genocide of colored people were what really pissed me off. "According to the US Supreme Court, fear can exonerate cops no matter how egregious or unreasonable their use of force." "Fear" and Stand Your Ground are the most common used defenses and it really makes my blood boil hearing how blindly those defenses can excuse a murder.

I loved his overviews on different topics showing the prejudices happening in education, funding, where environmental waste is disposed of, deciding who can vote, and so many more avenues. He explains the history of the prejudices, what has changed in each area, and what still needs to change. The last piece of his book is how the reader can help with those changes and that was the resource I was looking for.

Overall an outstanding and powerful introduction to why things need to change. He most certainly has a way with words and certain phrases will stay with me for a long time.

[BookishBoricua · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book Crump, a civil rights attorney, posits that people of color, primarily blacks are being literally, and symbolically killed off by an unjust legal, educational and governmental system. He absolutely proves that theory.

This was an incredibly sad and frustrating book to read. Crump touches on everything from voter suppression to wrongful incarceration to the school to prison pipeline which starts as early as pre-school.

This has been compared to "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson and I think that does this book a disservice. Stevenson is also a civil rights attorney, but he is an exceptionally gifted writer and his book is incredibly emotive and follows specific people who you grow to love. In short, it is a very unique and special reading experience.

Crump, an exceptional attorney, takes an academic approach. The book reads more like a thesis with each chapter including some horrifying historical facts along with examples of real people dealing with the aftermath of systematic racism. It's a different approach, but this book is filled with valuable information and it's definitely worth your time.

[J Katz]

Ben Crump needed a better editor. Typos like the same sentence twice in a paragraph and saying San Francisco is east of Richmond when it is really southwest. That said the content is really compelling and shocking. Sure I had heard almost all of it before over the years but his thesis that there is a genocide of Black people really pushes the problems forward. No isolated events that are just too bad and could be solved if we trained police better, improved economic status, no, this is about a systemic and institutionalized racism that seeks to destroy. This pan US historical view makes the point. Not good. Worth reading and easy to read maybe because it is not a scholarly work but as noted a rehash that gives a clear perspective of someone who has spent many years advocating for people who seem doomed from the start. He was Trayvon Martin's family lawyer for instance- look what happened there.