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Taking Bullets: Terrorism and Black Life in Twenty-first Century America Confronting White Nationalism, Supremacy, Privilege, Plutocracy and Oligarchy
Taking Bullets: Black Boys and Men in Twenty-First Century America Fighting Terrorism, Stopping Violence, and Seeking Healing starts a national debate on Black male empowerment with an urgency for the survival of a generation of Black men and boys who are confronted with disparity and adversity on the streets of every city in America. Haki Madhubuti speaks directly to these young men with an empathic understanding of their plight, yet he sees hope and a vision for their future. In Taking Bullets, he challenges community leaders, educators, and all of those individuals who directly impact the lives of our young men to develop sustained strategies to confront and challenge the systematic problems of police violence, mass incarceration and economic disparity.
200 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 9, 2020
Rounded up from a 3.5. I wish Madhubuti had expanded on some of his observations more. Great list of resources and further reading in the appendix, though.
January 3, 2020
Madhubuti is an incredibly important figure in Black history, and after hearing and reading about him, I am grateful I got the opportunity to read him firsthand.
His writing style in Taking Bullets can be peculiar at times, and conversational, which I enjoyed. It made the reading more personal, even though there were moments where I had to reread to grasp what he was telling me.
I particularly enjoyed his focus on Black American issues. Though he focuses particularly on Black boys and men, he also made a few clear calls to the specific injustices Black women and queer people face in this country. As I look over my notes, a favorite passage of mine dealt with the “war between Black and white men” in America. Madhubuti writes that this confrontation is “not only racial and cultural, it is also a serious question of what group of men is going to ‘rule.’” He says that because “men run the world” and “men fight men (and women) to maintain control over ‘their’ part of the world,” Black men often fight “the wrong war — that is, many are fighting to get a ‘piece of the pie.’” I took that to mean that, rather than re-envisioning what male/female power dynamics look like within the Black community, many of us men are just fighting for control over “our” women in the same way white men control “their” women and Black people as a whole.
Also, Madhubuti offers many many book titles and authors in his work that sound informative and engaging. I took down names for books on topics of Jewish life in America, the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and the inner workings of the US (global) elite class, among others. I am thankful for his lists!
Problems I have with this book:
- Madhubuti is too into Obama. I understand this, given that he is an older Black man who thought he would never even see a Black President. But, while there are mentions of the president’s shortcomings, the text lacks a true analysis of Obama’s failures. As someone who views Obama in the same way I view all American presidents (terrorists and pawns of the monied elite), I was disappointed.
- In relation to my precvious point, it seems Madhubuti straddles the worldview of a neoliberal at times (though I know him to be a Black leftist). At one point in the book, he lists names of people who he believes are changing the world for the better. Within that list, he mentions Hillary Clinton, the woman partly responsible for racist 3-Strike policies that jailed Black and Brown Americans at incredible and terrible rates, and the woman behind numerous acts of imperialism abroad. He also mentions billionaires Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, which is laughable. Unless billionaires start funding global climate reform ($300 billion) or start seriously redistributing their wealth, they’re not doin much!!
- He hates way too hard on rap. I understand, there is misogyny and negative themes/people within the culture, but the culture itself is not the issue (to me). He contrasts it to the purity and empowering nature of soul music. I love soul... but you know not everyone in soul was great? Al Green was out here beating on his wife and all that! I say that to say, hip-hop is as important as any black artistic tradition in that it tells the story of our condition and allows us to express ourselves constructively. We can criticize it’s participants, criticize some themes, but we must also acknowledge all the good actors within it too.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, and I recommend it to anyone interested in Black issues/Black life in America. The truly special part of this book, for me, was the bibliography.
His writing style in Taking Bullets can be peculiar at times, and conversational, which I enjoyed. It made the reading more personal, even though there were moments where I had to reread to grasp what he was telling me.
I particularly enjoyed his focus on Black American issues. Though he focuses particularly on Black boys and men, he also made a few clear calls to the specific injustices Black women and queer people face in this country. As I look over my notes, a favorite passage of mine dealt with the “war between Black and white men” in America. Madhubuti writes that this confrontation is “not only racial and cultural, it is also a serious question of what group of men is going to ‘rule.’” He says that because “men run the world” and “men fight men (and women) to maintain control over ‘their’ part of the world,” Black men often fight “the wrong war — that is, many are fighting to get a ‘piece of the pie.’” I took that to mean that, rather than re-envisioning what male/female power dynamics look like within the Black community, many of us men are just fighting for control over “our” women in the same way white men control “their” women and Black people as a whole.
Also, Madhubuti offers many many book titles and authors in his work that sound informative and engaging. I took down names for books on topics of Jewish life in America, the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and the inner workings of the US (global) elite class, among others. I am thankful for his lists!
Problems I have with this book:
- Madhubuti is too into Obama. I understand this, given that he is an older Black man who thought he would never even see a Black President. But, while there are mentions of the president’s shortcomings, the text lacks a true analysis of Obama’s failures. As someone who views Obama in the same way I view all American presidents (terrorists and pawns of the monied elite), I was disappointed.
- In relation to my precvious point, it seems Madhubuti straddles the worldview of a neoliberal at times (though I know him to be a Black leftist). At one point in the book, he lists names of people who he believes are changing the world for the better. Within that list, he mentions Hillary Clinton, the woman partly responsible for racist 3-Strike policies that jailed Black and Brown Americans at incredible and terrible rates, and the woman behind numerous acts of imperialism abroad. He also mentions billionaires Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, which is laughable. Unless billionaires start funding global climate reform ($300 billion) or start seriously redistributing their wealth, they’re not doin much!!
- He hates way too hard on rap. I understand, there is misogyny and negative themes/people within the culture, but the culture itself is not the issue (to me). He contrasts it to the purity and empowering nature of soul music. I love soul... but you know not everyone in soul was great? Al Green was out here beating on his wife and all that! I say that to say, hip-hop is as important as any black artistic tradition in that it tells the story of our condition and allows us to express ourselves constructively. We can criticize it’s participants, criticize some themes, but we must also acknowledge all the good actors within it too.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, and I recommend it to anyone interested in Black issues/Black life in America. The truly special part of this book, for me, was the bibliography.
September 30, 2017
Through fifty years of prose and poetry, Haki has always shown a deep love for Black people and this love shines through his writing. Always imploring us to be our best selves, to commit to serious study and reading of good literature for this “self-knowledge leads to self-definition, which is hopefully grounded in a healthy worldview, as well as an understanding of and acknowledgement of the human, economic, political, educational, and cultural positions of Black people in America in relation to non-Blacks.“ Haki is always clear in this slim volume of essays, asking and answering the tough questions.
He has essays on Whiteness, saluting white scholars who have transformed white studies into something meaningful and noteworthy. There is an essay on The Police and Prison Industrial Complexes, as well as a very informative essay on Capitalism:Gladiator Culture which raises enough issues that you’ll be putting some of the suggested texts on your ready to read list. In fact, the bibliography alone makes this book worth the price and is extensive, but by no means complete.
The reader comes away from this book, inspired to want to do more, be more, make substantive change in critical areas of one’s life, from diet, to economics, politics and family dynamics. Haki offers the reason for these essays: “This is my response to an unevenly shared planet, where one fights daily for the right to be recognized as a full person, viewed in the light of real possibilities in an impossible world.“
The book leaves you wanting more from this long time committed poet activist, but this is enough to jump start the brain activity and as previously mentioned the bibliography provides some great reading choices as we patiently await the next Haki Madhubuti offering.
He has essays on Whiteness, saluting white scholars who have transformed white studies into something meaningful and noteworthy. There is an essay on The Police and Prison Industrial Complexes, as well as a very informative essay on Capitalism:Gladiator Culture which raises enough issues that you’ll be putting some of the suggested texts on your ready to read list. In fact, the bibliography alone makes this book worth the price and is extensive, but by no means complete.
The reader comes away from this book, inspired to want to do more, be more, make substantive change in critical areas of one’s life, from diet, to economics, politics and family dynamics. Haki offers the reason for these essays: “This is my response to an unevenly shared planet, where one fights daily for the right to be recognized as a full person, viewed in the light of real possibilities in an impossible world.“
The book leaves you wanting more from this long time committed poet activist, but this is enough to jump start the brain activity and as previously mentioned the bibliography provides some great reading choices as we patiently await the next Haki Madhubuti offering.
February 15, 2017
This is a well thought out and executed work regarding African Americans and politics in general in the United States and around the world. Towards the end is a list of ten things sent to former President Obama as ideas in 2009. It works as a summation for the book as well. The very end of the book is the U.S. Constitution, amendments to the constitution and U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
June 10, 2016
A very good read, I would love to see something flushed out in greater detail but this is a great book that will open the doors for discussion.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews