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When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir

Patrisse Khan-Cullors,

Asha Bandele

Start date: November 1, 2019

Finish date: November 29, 2019

Discussion: Monthly Group Reads

Why we're reading this: The diversity topic we will cover in November is Autobiography/biography.

When They call You a Terrorist
[close] The diversity topic we will cover in November is Autobiography/biography.

When They call You a Terrorist

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What Members Thought

Jun 26, 2018 Katrisa rated it really liked it

There was more about Cullors life before BLM than I expected. It is a powerful book. The story of her brother is especially hard to hear, but the tragedy is that her and her family's experiences are not isolated. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Jun 09, 2018 Christina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, social-movements-social-justice, autobiography-memoir, race, memoirs, cultural-african-american, lauryn-s-future-reading-list, books-i-would-read-over-and-over, politics, goodreads-giveaways

I felt this book in my soul.

Although I am not queer, lesbian, gay, trans, I was still able to relate and connect to the fear, the helplessness a person feels in the face of injustice, the black experience, and the sheer brutality of police brutality that destroys our communities and lives as a collective people.

I am black.
I am a cisgender woman.
I am heterosexual.
I am married to a black man.
I have a child who is a black female.
I have a black family.

This memoir allows you to see behind the I felt this book in my soul.

Although I am not queer, lesbian, gay, trans, I was still able to relate and connect to the fear, the helplessness a person feels in the face of injustice, the black experience, and the sheer brutality of police brutality that destroys our communities and lives as a collective people.

I am black.
I am a cisgender woman.
I am heterosexual.
I am married to a black man.
I have a child who is a black female.
I have a black family.

This memoir allows you to see behind the scenes of where and how the Black Lives Matter movement was birthed through the life of Patrisse Khans-Cullors. It allows you to feel the pain and anguish people of color and all forms of minorities suffer in the hands of police brutality and injustice for our civil rights.

Co-authored by asha bandele, who is one of my FAVORITE authors, this memoir allows you to read this book with a novel like feel and flow. I read this book within a 24 hour time period because you are gripped and shook with emotion by what is happening to our community. The narrative allows you to understand, first-hand, how the killing of unarmed black people is basically a slow genocide of all black lives... and this is why the movement was birthed... to awaken and be woke, to use your voices and bodies and minds to stop and cease all forms of police, political, racist brutality in the nation and entire world. This book is a call to action! The civil unrest people of color and other minorities suffer is unreal and has not ceased from the days of slavery. Patrisse Khans-Cullors exhibits all of that in her writing of this memoir. We see her life through her eyes and how it not only affected her, but those around her, and people that look like her, and shows you how that feels.

We, us, black people, have been treated as less of a human being since our forced existence in this country before the writing of the constitution... and today we are still treated as something other than human... and most often treated as monsters and criminals just based on the color of our skin and sexual orientation.

I was riveted and shook... pained and appalled... emotionally distraught... PTSD triggered and depressed... ripped from my comfort zone... and wakened into action. We cannot turn our backs on our brothers and sisters! We have to come together for change! We cannot stop no matter how often we get beaten down by policy and legislation we have to change the future! We can use our voices and votes to get people into positions that will help everyone! If Black Lives Matter, than all Lives Matter as a direct result.

What I didn't know was that the founders had based this movement from the collective voice of the LGBTQ community. I do see where the perspective has come from, but that was a learning moment for me. I definitely appreciate Patrisse Khan-Cullors sharing her background and story with the readers to get an insight on where she came from and how her experience shaped and molded her into being a co-founder of this movement and way of life.

I highly recommend this book to everyone! And to all of my white friends, this should be required reading.
...more

4 likes · Like · see review