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

Description

Following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, three women - Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Khan-Cullors - came together to form an active response to the systemic racism causing the deaths of so many African-Americans. They simply said: Black Lives Matter; and for that, they were labelled terrorists. In this empowering account of survival, strength and resilience, Patrisse Khan-Cullors and award-winning author and journalist asha bandele recount the personal story that led Patrisse to become a founder of Black Lives Matter, seeking to end the culture that declares Black life expendable. Like the era-defining movement she helped create, this rallying cry demands you do not look away. With foreword by Angela Davis.

Patrisse Khan-Cullors is an artist, organizer, and freedom fighter from Los Angeles, CA. Co-founder of Black Lives Matter, she is also a performance artist, Fulbright scholar, popular public speaker, and an NAACP History Maker. asha bandele, author of the bestselling memoir, The Prisoner's Wife, has been honoured for her work in journalism, fiction, poetry, and activism. A mother and a former senior editor at Essence magazine, asha serves as a senior director at the Drug Policy Alliance.

A lyrical demand for justice that has become increasingly resonant . . . incredible . . . this book is proof that change can come through the individual * * Stylist * * An empowering account of strength, resilience and bravery * * Elle magazine * * Tackling the whole gamut (racism, economics, freedom, sexuality, mental health, familial love, sisterhood and beyond), this is the portrait of modern America we should all be buying * * Emerald Street * * Khan-Cullors is careful to hold herself to account . . . This humility, alongside her exceptional commitment to social justice, provides the greatest cause for optimism in this harrowing and yet uplifting account -- Musa Okwonga * * New Statesman * * A stunning memoir but also a beautifully articulated letter of protest and outrage. I couldn't recommend it more highly -- Shirley Manson * * Independent * * There are some who believe it is possible to infuse empathy into the heart of America. This is Patrisse Khan-Cullors' magnificent accomplishment with When They Call You a Terrorist . . . Her concise narrative is as unapologetic as the famous hashtag she coined, and offers at once cadenced poetry, intellectual analysis, determined polemic and imagery as unflinching as photography * * Times Literary Supplement * * A powerful, self-critical, and intimate portrait of how organising for social change can look in the twenty-first century * * gal-dem * * Not only a memoir, but a vital piece of education and an emphatic call to arms to fight against police brutality, institutionalized racism and anti-blackness at all costs * * The List * * Patrisse Khan-Cullors is a leading visionary and activist, feminist, civil rights leader who has literally changed the trajectory of politics and resistance in America -- EVE ENSLER A story of perseverance from a woman who found her voice in a world that often tried to shut her out. When They Call You a Terrorist is more than just a reflection on the American criminal justice system. It's a call to action for readers to change a culture that allows for violence against people of colour * * TIME * *