BLM Book Fairies: a Book Review of When they call you a terrorist

Our 12th title for BLM Book Fairies is by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s a powerful memoir.

“What is the impact of not being valued? How do you measure the loss of what a human being does not receive?”

Our 12th title and #BLMBookFairies giveaway is the Black Lives Matter memoir, When they call you a terrorist, written by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele. This powerful book doesn’t shy away from challenging the status quo, sewing a seed in readers who will likely go on to investigate more about the specific events and subjects covered.

A book fairy review:

To put it plainly, this is an essential read. I started this book thinking that I was fairly educated about the Black Lives Matter movement and the history behind it, but I was wrong. The stories detailed in this memoir are heartbreaking, shocking and yet so absolutely contemporary.

The book strikes a balance between Patrisse’s own life experience and a broader look at police brutality and the suffering of much of the Black community in the US. We learn the names of victims, we learn their stories in detail and at times feel defeated by what looks to be a broken system for much of the American population. In this way, we join Patrisse on her journey to creating the Black Lives Matter movement.

This is a serious memoir, and yet it’s to be devoured in just a few sittings. While a quick read, this book will stay with you for quite some time. It led me to do further research afterwards, and this to me is a sign of a book to recommend.

About the book:

A poetic and powerful memoir about what it means to be a Black woman in America—and the co-founding of a movement that demands justice for all in the land of the free.

Raised by a single mother in an impoverished neighbourhood in Los Angeles, Patrisse Khan-Cullors experienced firsthand the prejudice and persecution Black Americans endure at the hands of law enforcement. For Patrisse, the most vulnerable people in the country are Black people. Deliberately and ruthlessly targeted by a criminal justice system serving a white privilege agenda, Black people are subjected to unjustifiable racial profiling and police brutality. In 2013, when Trayvon Martin’s killer went free, Patrisse’s outrage led her to co-found Black Lives Matter with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi.

Condemned as terrorists and as a threat to America, these loving women founded a hashtag that birthed the movement to demand accountability from the authorities who continually turn a blind eye to the injustices inflicted upon people of Black and Brown skin.

Championing human rights in the face of violent racism, Patrisse is a survivor. She transformed her personal pain into political power, giving voice to a people suffering inequality and a movement fuelled by her strength and love to tell the country—and the world—that Black Lives Matter.

When They Call You a Terrorist is Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele’s reflection on humanity. It is an empowering account of survival, strength and resilience and a call to action to change the culture that declares innocent Black life expendable.

Get your copy of the book:

Did you know you can order books through your local book shop, even if they don’t have it in stock? Also you can find When they call you a terrorist here on Hive Books.

The Book Fairy Box!

This book, along with twenty others, feature on our reading list for our Sept/Oct 2020 Book Fairy Box. Grab your box today to get TWO brand new books from the list, and other goodies related to BLM Book Fairies!