Additional Studying After Watching Ava DuVernay’s WHEN THEY SEE US

Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us, now streaming on Netflix, is a brutal and illuminating take a look at the cruel actuality that many black People face when coping with the legal justice system. Centered on the wrongful conviction and compelled testimonies of the Central Park 5, DuVernay’s transferring collection underlines the unlucky circumstances that befall too many individuals of coloration in america.

If what you noticed in When They See Us moved you to know extra about police corruption, brutality, and the jail industrial complicated, then look no additional. (Simply kidding, please look far and large and browse as a lot as you may on such an important matter!) These books are nice for both these simply wading into the subject or seasoned readers searching for extra data.

The Central Park 5: The Untold Story Behind One Of New York Metropolis’s Most Notorious Crimes by Sarah Burns

The very first thing you may need to learn is extra concerning the case itself. Nicely-written and extra in-depth than the Netflix collection, The Central Park 5 delves into the gritty particulars of this horrific injustice. Right here, Sarah Burns indicts the legal justice system with an onslaught of info, proof, and powerful arguments. As well as, her prose and elegance make this a fast-paced learn regardless of the wealth of knowledge.

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

This can be a must-read for anybody trying to be taught extra concerning the jail industrial complicated and the way it connects with policing and institutional racism. Although many could declare america is in a post-racial period, Michelle Alexander proves this gravely incorrect. “We now have not ended racial caste in America; we’ve got merely redesigned it,” she says in The New Jim Crow. Offering statistics, anecdotes, and insider information from her time as a civil rights lawyer, Alexander eloquently and powerfully lays out a damning argument.

Are Prisons Out of date? by Angela Y. Davis

One of many true political leaders of the civil rights motion, Angela Davis stays an mental powerhouse to at the present time. Whereas When They See Us highlights numerous components of the corruption discovered within the legal justice system, Davis places forth a seemingly radical thesis: What if we abolished prisons fully? Don’t fear, I received’t attempt to summarize her good arguments in my very own phrases right here. But it surely’s protected to say that even when she doesn’t persuade you of her platform, she’ll increase some mind-blowing questions that have you ever considering for weeks to return.

Invisible No Extra by Andrea J. Ritchie

It might probably really feel generally that black males are within the highlight of those narratives round unjust policing and brutality. This e-book helps to shake up the customarily male-centered strategy to combating these injustices. As Andrea J. Ritchie uncovers right here, the “twin epidemics” of police violence and mass incarceration have an effect on everybody. After all, it impacts individuals with numerous identities in several kinds. Ritchie explores this nuance by highlighting real-life examples of girls damage by this technique. Highly effective and well-written, I extremely advocate this one for an intersectional strategy to those points. (As well as, the introduction is by Angela Davis so you already know it must be good.)

When They Name You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele

Do you know the Black Lives Matter motion was began by girls? Yup. On this poetic, eloquent memoir by two of these leaders, the story of the BLM motion is advised. Coping with being labeled terrorists and threats to america, this memoir reveals the reality. Patrice and asha are simply girls who love their communities and need to cease the homicide of innocents.

Stamped From the Starting by Ibram X. Kendi

This extremely well-researched textual content is for a broad overview of racism in America. Good creator Ibram X. Kendi begins as early as could be—earlier than america was even based. He traces the creation of racist concepts (like the concept of race itself!) from their inception to their modern-day equivalents. This e-book is endlessly fascinating and heartbreaking, however offers the reader a set of historic instruments to make themselves higher individuals and higher anti-racists.

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