We Refuse to Be Silent: Women’s Voices on Justice for Black Men

by Angela P. Dodson (editor)

The women have something to say. Are you listening? In this powerful and needed collection, editor Angela P. Dodson brings together the voices of more than thirty-five accomplished women writers on the topic of violence and injustice against Black men. These writers are journalists, authors, scholars, ministers, psychologists, counselors, and other experts. They are also wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, aunties, and friends. Each lends her voice to shine a new light on the injustices and dangers Black men face daily, and how women feel about the vulnerability of our sons, husbands, brothers, fathers, uncles, friends, and other males we care about as they navigate a world that often stereotypes and targets them. Contributors -Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, poet, and author of The Light of the World -Brenda M. Greene, founder and executive director of the Center for Black Literature, director of the National Black Writers Conference, and professor of English at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York -Goldie Taylor, former US Marine, MSNBC contributor, author, and an editor at large of The Daily Beast -Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer Prize winner, National Humanities Medal recipient, and author of Caste and The Warmth of Other Suns -Charisse Jones, award-winning journalist and coauthor of eight books, including The Double Lives of Black Women in America and the New York Times bestselling memoir of Misty Copeland, Life in An Unlikely Ballerina -Audrey Edwards, former executive editor of Essence magazine and the author of seven books, including the award-winning American Black and Free in Paris in the Trump Years -Michelle Duster, author, public historian, and great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells -Sonya Ross, managing editor of Inside Climate News , founder of Black Women Unmuted , AP's first Black woman White House reporter, and first Black woman elected to the board of the White House Correspondents Association -Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, contributing writer at The New Yorker , Leon Forrest Professor of African American Studies at Northwestern University, author of Race for Profit , and editor of How We Get Free -Donna Brazile, endowed chair of the Gwendolyn and Colbert King public policy lecture series at Howard University, member of USA Today 's Board of Contributors, Fox News contributor, and author of The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House -Darnella Frazier, citizen journalist awarded a Pulitzer citation for her role filming the murder of George Floyd The catalyst for a national conversation, this collection offers historical context that is often missing from public discussions and media coverage, while demonstrating an ongoing pattern of demonizing Black men that is rooted deep in the history of our nation. The essays in this book engage with the emotional toll anti-Black violence takes on women in particular and cast a vision for future activism.

Genres: Nonfiction

350 pages, Hardcover

Published April 30, 2024

Reviews

[samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This collection of stories ranged from devastating personal anecdotes of police violence to deeply thoughtful analysis of systemic racism in this country and everything in between. Balanced with hard data and just plain sad stories. Both will radicalize you! And you should be radicalized! First half was a bit repetitive but honestly this should be a must-read for anyone in America. Need more of this in my life.

[yolanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brought out all the emotions - sadness, madness- tears definitely flowed. It was a rollercoaster of feelings. The topic matter may be heavy, but the book is worth the read.

[Sequella Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting, engaging, painful but good truths!

[Tai Temitope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I was not prepared for the depth and layers of this book, We Refuse to Be Silent. There were moments where I had to stop reading and calm myself. The truths that are shared by each female contributor touches one in the most empathetically humane way. The struggles we see our black boys/men constantly deal with, how we as a community and as individuals cope, the disappointments and unnecessary violence, and how we are made uncomfortable in our every day lives at different moments. The rage, anger, sadness, hope, joy and sense of community within the pages of this book are laid bare. It was all the things and none of the things all at once. Without true justice, we have no peace. Systemic racism is pervasive , it bleeds through every system that was created by the forefathers. These writings were everything and this is a must read for all, but especially those who can’t find their way to empathize with what a disproportionately huge number of our American population deals with on a daily basis. Thank you all for allowing me to read this book. Heavy, but necessary.

[Cassandra M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so helpful in not only educating me, but also my teenage son, about racism and how very much alive it still is today. Ignorance is not an option. These are very powerful words that were written here and also crushing. I wish I could take it all away. All the pain, all the fear, all the horrible racism that had existed and still exists to this day.

[Sage · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was painful and just didn't work for me. as a philosopher I am looking for more than humanistic stories of tragedy, statistic and policies I am looking at the intersectionality between sociology the various politics and the broader dynamics at play this just didn't go deep enough for me. personally its 2 stars but I had to add an extra as this in important subject matter.