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

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.

Synopsis - 

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.

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.

Review - 

This was an emotionally hard book to read. I had to take in in smaller chunks. And the review was equally hard to write. After reaching the end, I came to feel it should be required reading in every high school and required again for those who enter higher education. The message is powerful and honest, written in a way that is painfully clear, and backed up by case after case of wrongful death.  It is heartbreaking.

In this book we follow Patrisse from her early years being show the world she grew up in, through her experiences fighting for social justice. We see the brutality and no-win situations those trapped in poverty live with every day.  There is no safety net and there is little hope. It is a war against our most vulnerable that most don't acknowledge. While I didn't grow up with much money, the vision I was presented included things like shelter, food and a job. That so many aren't given even that small crumb is unconscionable. 

I am committed to reading from a wide variety of authors, and choose to live in a diverse environment - culturally, racially, and gender fluid. These voices sharing their honest stories help open my eyes to the world outside my limited view.  I have read several book on racism before this one, but the sheer number of senseless murders and violent acts by police shared within these pages helped me gain a much deeper understand of #BlackLive Matters.

I stand as an ally, but know I need to continually work to understand what is needed of me - listening, reading and embracing the words of those who speak their truth. 

Buy the book: Amazon.com ~ Amazon.ca

Meet the Authors - 

Patrisse Cullors - Artist, organizer, educator, and popular public speaker, Patrisse Cullors is a Los Angeles native and Co-Founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network and Founder of grassroots Los Angeles based organization Dignity and Power Now.

In 2013, Patrisse co-founded the global movement with the viral twitter hashtag #BlackLivesMatter which has since grown to an international organization with dozens of chapters around the world fighting anti-Black racism. In January 2018 Patrisse Cullors published her memoir, “When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir.” Her memoir became an instant New York Times Bestseller.
Patrisse has been honored with various awards including: The Sydney Peace Prize Award (2017), Black Woman of the Year Award (2015) from The National Congress of Black Women, Civil Rights Leader for the 21st Century Award (2015) from the Los Angeles Times, Community Change Agent Award (2016) from BLACK GIRLS ROCK!, Inc., Women of the Year Award for the Justice Seekers Award (2016) from Glamour, and ESSENCE’ first-ever Woke Award.

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asha bandele - Asha Bandele is the coauthor of the 2018 New York Times-bestselling memoir When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir, with Patrisse Cullors. Ms. Bandele first attained recognition when she penned her 1999 debut, the award-winning The Prisoner’s Wife—a powerful, lyrical memoir about a young black woman’s romance and marriage with a man who was serving a 20-to-life sentence in prison. She is a journalist who has published pieces in The New York Times, Vibe, and Ebony, a former features editor for Essence magazine, and the author of two collections of poems, the memoir Something Like Beautiful, and the novel Daughter. Ms. Bandele is a senior director at the Drug Policy Alliance. She is also the author of two collections of poems and the novel, Daughter. She lives in Brooklyn with her daughter, Nisa.

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