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The Briar Patch: The People of the State of New York v. Lumumba Shakur et al
American justice...and the violent fears that underscore it...is the theme of Murray Kempton's brilliant examination of the landmark trial of a group of young men and women who came to be called the Panther 21.
At five o'clock in the morning of April 2, 1969, approximately 100 members of the Special Services Division of the New York City Police Dept. were dispatched to capture 19 of the 21 persons,' many of them Black Panthers,' who had been indicted for arson, conspiracy and attempted murder.
The narrative of 'The Briar Patch' explores both the mechanics of the police undercover operations that brought the Panthers to the bar, and those of their highly publicized trial. What especially distinguishes this book is the way Kempton illustrates each of the contending forces...prosecution, defense, member of the jury...acting out this great human drama from their own angle of alienation.
As Mr. Kempton states, 'A man's spirit can be marked most clearly in its passage from the reform to the revolutionary impulse at the moment when he decides that his enemy will no longer write his history.' The furious heroics and posturings of the defendants in this extraordinary trial grew out of one such moment of self-determination. That moment, a watershed of American history, is recorded in 'The Briar Patch.'
At five o'clock in the morning of April 2, 1969, approximately 100 members of the Special Services Division of the New York City Police Dept. were dispatched to capture 19 of the 21 persons,' many of them Black Panthers,' who had been indicted for arson, conspiracy and attempted murder.
The narrative of 'The Briar Patch' explores both the mechanics of the police undercover operations that brought the Panthers to the bar, and those of their highly publicized trial. What especially distinguishes this book is the way Kempton illustrates each of the contending forces...prosecution, defense, member of the jury...acting out this great human drama from their own angle of alienation.
As Mr. Kempton states, 'A man's spirit can be marked most clearly in its passage from the reform to the revolutionary impulse at the moment when he decides that his enemy will no longer write his history.' The furious heroics and posturings of the defendants in this extraordinary trial grew out of one such moment of self-determination. That moment, a watershed of American history, is recorded in 'The Briar Patch.'
- GenresNonfictionHistory
282 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 17, 2018
2018 Reading Challenge - True crime
This book is terrible. I would never read it unless you are trying to gain a full picture of the political climate surrounding the trial of the New York 21 Black Panthers. The author calls himself a journalist, but seems to lack any research skills, and has no problem letting his blatant bias, bigotry and racism shape this entire work. He never sites interviews or primary sources, but presumes to know the interworking of minds of people he has no respect for. It seems unlikely these same people would have divulged their thoughts to him, so one can only conclude he is speculating, at best. Kempton falls into tired tropes of racism, referring to Black men and women with racial slurs, and framing people as primitive, unsophisticated and unable to understand the political world or implications of it. Kempton portrays himself as all knowing and able to see the "bigger" picture in a way the judge, prosecutor, defenders, and defendants are unable to. In short, he is arrogant, bigoted, and unable to admit that he is not objective and this taints everything.
This book is terrible. I would never read it unless you are trying to gain a full picture of the political climate surrounding the trial of the New York 21 Black Panthers. The author calls himself a journalist, but seems to lack any research skills, and has no problem letting his blatant bias, bigotry and racism shape this entire work. He never sites interviews or primary sources, but presumes to know the interworking of minds of people he has no respect for. It seems unlikely these same people would have divulged their thoughts to him, so one can only conclude he is speculating, at best. Kempton falls into tired tropes of racism, referring to Black men and women with racial slurs, and framing people as primitive, unsophisticated and unable to understand the political world or implications of it. Kempton portrays himself as all knowing and able to see the "bigger" picture in a way the judge, prosecutor, defenders, and defendants are unable to. In short, he is arrogant, bigoted, and unable to admit that he is not objective and this taints everything.
February 3, 2023
This book is the most accurate account from this particular trial to be found anywhere in the world. It was recommended to me by a man with a PhD. in sociology.
Murray Kempton was a long-time writer for the New York Post before Murdoch bought it out and made it very biased. I believe this book is actually a collection of columns that were in the New Republic. However, I may be mistaken. Kempton did cover the trial in person from the start to finish. His strengths as a journalist include the ability to vividly describe the people that he covered without inserting himself into the story in any facet.
This is collegiate level reading and is better served being savored over the course of time as opposed to being crammed as quickly as possible.
The downside to this book is that it is from 1973, so many of the people covered here went on to other things over the years.
It is a mandatory book if you want an accurate description of a very messy Black Panther trial.
Murray Kempton was a long-time writer for the New York Post before Murdoch bought it out and made it very biased. I believe this book is actually a collection of columns that were in the New Republic. However, I may be mistaken. Kempton did cover the trial in person from the start to finish. His strengths as a journalist include the ability to vividly describe the people that he covered without inserting himself into the story in any facet.
This is collegiate level reading and is better served being savored over the course of time as opposed to being crammed as quickly as possible.
The downside to this book is that it is from 1973, so many of the people covered here went on to other things over the years.
It is a mandatory book if you want an accurate description of a very messy Black Panther trial.
May 7, 2022
DNF. I was very interested in reading this story, and I'm positive it's an important and fascinating one. But Kempton writes in a quasi-passive voice in run-on sentences that are nearly impossible to parse. He seems more interested in showing how good a stylist he is than actually communicating.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews