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When they call you a terrorist
a Black Lives Matter memoir
304 pages
A deeply personal, fiercely loving testament to survival and the transformative power of collective action in the face of systemic violence.
What it feels like
Reading this memoir feels like sitting with a fiercely loving friend who is telling you the hardest, most necessary truths. It is a steady, emotionally heavy experience that refuses to look away from the devastating impacts of systemic racism, police brutality, and mass incarceration. Yet, beneath the sorrow and righteous anger, the atmosphere is profoundly anchored in love and community. The prose is lyrical but unflinching, guiding you through the suffocating weight of personal trauma into the empowering light of collective resistance. It is not just a recounting of injustice, but a blueprint for survival. This book will deeply resonate with readers who seek the human heartbeat behind the headlines and those who find hope in the relentless pursuit of equity.
- Mood
- heavy
- empowering
- righteous
- sorrowful
- Tone
- urgent
- vulnerable
- defiant
- passionate
- reflective
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- transforming grief into action · systemic injustice · power of community · Black survival and joy · state violence
- The writing
- Lyrical and unflinching, weaving poetic personal reflection with sharp, urgent political critique.
- The arc
- Moves from the suffocating weight of personal and systemic trauma to the fierce, empowering warmth of collective resistance and love.
- Who it's for
- Readers who want to understand the deeply human heartbeat behind political movements and those drawn to memoirs of resilience and social justice.
Content notes
- police brutality
- racism
- incarceration
- systemic oppression
- grief and trauma
About the book
Raised by a single mother in an impoverished neighborhood 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 fueled by her strength and love, to tell the country -- and the world -- that Black Lives Matter.
Description from Open Library.
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