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The Beast Side: Living and Dying While Black in America
To many, the past 8 years under President Obama were meant to usher in a new post-racial American political era, dissolving the divisions of the past. However, when seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot by a wannabe cop in Florida; and then Ferguson, Missouri, happened; and then South Carolina hit the headlines; and then Baltimore blew up, it was hard to find any evidence of a new post-racial order. Suddenly the entire country seemed to be awakened to a stark fact: African American men are in danger in America. This has only become clearer as groups like Black Lives Matter continue to draw attention to this reality daily not only online but also in the streets of our nation’s embattled cities.
Now one of our country’s quintessential urban war zones is brought powerfully to life by a rising young literary talent, D. Watkins. The author fought his way up on the eastside (the “beastside”) of Baltimore, Maryland—or “Bodymore, Murderland,” as his friends call it. He writes openly and unapologetically about what it took to survive life on the streets while the casualties piled up around him, including his own brother. Watkins pushed drugs to pay his way through school, staying one step ahead of murderous business rivals and equally predatory lawmen. When black residents of Baltimore finally decided they had had enough—after the brutal killing of twenty-five-year-old Freddie Gray while in police custody—Watkins was on the streets as the city erupted. He writes about his bleeding city with the razor-sharp insights of someone who bleeds along with it. Here are true dispatches from the other side of America.
In this new paperback edition, the author has also added new material responding to the rising tide of racial resentment and hate embodied by political figures like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, and the impact this has had on issues of race in America. This book is essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of the chaos of our current political moment.
Now one of our country’s quintessential urban war zones is brought powerfully to life by a rising young literary talent, D. Watkins. The author fought his way up on the eastside (the “beastside”) of Baltimore, Maryland—or “Bodymore, Murderland,” as his friends call it. He writes openly and unapologetically about what it took to survive life on the streets while the casualties piled up around him, including his own brother. Watkins pushed drugs to pay his way through school, staying one step ahead of murderous business rivals and equally predatory lawmen. When black residents of Baltimore finally decided they had had enough—after the brutal killing of twenty-five-year-old Freddie Gray while in police custody—Watkins was on the streets as the city erupted. He writes about his bleeding city with the razor-sharp insights of someone who bleeds along with it. Here are true dispatches from the other side of America.
In this new paperback edition, the author has also added new material responding to the rising tide of racial resentment and hate embodied by political figures like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, and the impact this has had on issues of race in America. This book is essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of the chaos of our current political moment.
208 pages, Paperback
First published September 8, 2015
230 people are currently reading
2698 people want to read
About the author
D. Watkins
17 books130 followersD. Watkins is Editor at Large for Salon. His work has been published in the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, and other publications. He holds a Master's in Education from Johns Hopkins University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Baltimore.
He is a college lecturer at the University of Baltimore and founder of the BMORE Writers Project, and has also been the recipient of numerous awards including the BMe Genius Grant, and the Ford's Men of Courage. Watkins was also a finalist for the Hurston Wright Legacy Award and Books for A Better Life. He has lectured at countless universities, and events, around the world. Watkins has been featured as a guest and commentator on NBC's Meet the Press, CNN's The Erin Burnett Show, Democracy Now and NPR's Monday Morning, among other shows.
He is a college lecturer at the University of Baltimore and founder of the BMORE Writers Project, and has also been the recipient of numerous awards including the BMe Genius Grant, and the Ford's Men of Courage. Watkins was also a finalist for the Hurston Wright Legacy Award and Books for A Better Life. He has lectured at countless universities, and events, around the world. Watkins has been featured as a guest and commentator on NBC's Meet the Press, CNN's The Erin Burnett Show, Democracy Now and NPR's Monday Morning, among other shows.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 176 reviews
February 9, 2017
I live in Baltimore, but I can't say I'm present here. I go to school and I've been part of #BlackLivesMatter protests, but I interact with the black community fleetingly. I'm afraid to walk four blocks east and five blocks south, but my fear is nothing compared to the constant struggle to stay alive that black people in Baltimore fight with every day. They can't afford food, medical care, decent education, and homes, yet they're expected to pick themselves up from the dirt poor floor and become millionaires. I don't know what it's like to go to a middle school where the stairways smell like piss and are littered with condoms and spilled weed. I was devastated to learn that only 7% of black boys in 8th grade can read at grade level in Baltimore.
My roommate, a black man from Connecticut, told me recently that Ben Carson was his idol when he was a kid. If Carson could become a doctor, he could too. His dream was shattered when he uncovered Carson's beliefs, his belittling of his own people, his characterization of struggling black people as lazy, welfare-sucking thugs.
One day, my three roommates and I were chilling in our room, and suddenly we hear a cacophony of sirens on St. Paul Street. Three of us, two white suburbanites and one half-Mexican, half-white guy from rural Texas, rushed to the window to see what was up. My black roommate started shaking his head. "Only white people would look out of the window when they hear sirens," he said with a smile.
I love my roommate. I don't want anything bad to happen to him, ever. He's gonna be a kickass doctor and save the lives of countless sick people. My nightmare is that he's leaving the hospital in Baltimore where he works, and he's not wearing his scrubs, and he doesn't have his ID, and he's walked one block "too far," and a cop comes up to him and demands his ID, and my roommate says he left it at home, and he puts his hand in his pocket to look one last time, and the cop thinks my roommate's getting ready to pull, and my roommate is brutally murdered, and the cop gets off with no punishment because that's the way the system has always worked. That would end me. But I know it could happen, and the dread is overpowering. For D. Watkins, the police are "the biggest gang in the city."
These are the kind of horrifying images that D. Watkins' book gets you to think about. What if one of your best friends gets shot, and the killer gets away? What if he's walking down the wrong street at the wrong time because his car broke down, and he needs help, and the cops think he's a threat just because he's black? I'm trying to wrap my head around how it feels to be black and always under attack, which I know is impossible, but even if 1% makes it through, it'll be worth it. Death, drugs, swagger, brutality, brotherhood, love, friendship, imperialism, slavery, colonialism–D. Watkins teaches, and we should all listen.
My roommate, a black man from Connecticut, told me recently that Ben Carson was his idol when he was a kid. If Carson could become a doctor, he could too. His dream was shattered when he uncovered Carson's beliefs, his belittling of his own people, his characterization of struggling black people as lazy, welfare-sucking thugs.
One day, my three roommates and I were chilling in our room, and suddenly we hear a cacophony of sirens on St. Paul Street. Three of us, two white suburbanites and one half-Mexican, half-white guy from rural Texas, rushed to the window to see what was up. My black roommate started shaking his head. "Only white people would look out of the window when they hear sirens," he said with a smile.
I love my roommate. I don't want anything bad to happen to him, ever. He's gonna be a kickass doctor and save the lives of countless sick people. My nightmare is that he's leaving the hospital in Baltimore where he works, and he's not wearing his scrubs, and he doesn't have his ID, and he's walked one block "too far," and a cop comes up to him and demands his ID, and my roommate says he left it at home, and he puts his hand in his pocket to look one last time, and the cop thinks my roommate's getting ready to pull, and my roommate is brutally murdered, and the cop gets off with no punishment because that's the way the system has always worked. That would end me. But I know it could happen, and the dread is overpowering. For D. Watkins, the police are "the biggest gang in the city."
These are the kind of horrifying images that D. Watkins' book gets you to think about. What if one of your best friends gets shot, and the killer gets away? What if he's walking down the wrong street at the wrong time because his car broke down, and he needs help, and the cops think he's a threat just because he's black? I'm trying to wrap my head around how it feels to be black and always under attack, which I know is impossible, but even if 1% makes it through, it'll be worth it. Death, drugs, swagger, brutality, brotherhood, love, friendship, imperialism, slavery, colonialism–D. Watkins teaches, and we should all listen.
December 22, 2016
“D. Watkins is a very sharp young talent who transformed himself from a dealer on the streets to an adjunct professor, and most important, to a leading voice of his generation who is determined to see justice for the black community. The Beast Side is raw, intelligent, and at times humorous—and a necessary narrative in these challenging times!” —Michael Eric Dyson, author of The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race In America
The jarring, sometimes depressing, often enlightening narrative that encompasses the 208 pages of “The Beast Side” is one of a troubled America (through the eyes of Baltimore), left to grapple with unresolved and newly developed issues. We are touched by the narrative; all of us, whether Black, White, Native American, Latino, Asian, or a combination thereof. We are this narrative; the outline that provided a perfect landscape for D. Watkins to masterfully and horrifically connect the dots.
More than I can personally recall, we have become wholly desensitized to the cruel and barbaric nature of our burgeoning society. We have learned to turn a blind eye to a reality that is continually festering and rearing an ugliness many are simply hoping would, one day, fade away, perhaps into the same abyss as Beowulf’s monster, Grendel; and return reborn, renewed, hopeful. We have become an ensemble of wishers and waiters, certain that if we wait and wish long enough a brighter day is just over the horizon, while we wallow in the muck of a suffocating darkness. We are the old man and the depth of his misery:
It was like the misery felt by an old man
who has lived to see his son’s body
swing on the gallows. He begins to keen
and weep for his boy, watching the raven
gloat where he hangs: he can be of no help.
The wisdom of age is worthless to him
Morning after morning, he wakes to remember
that his child has gone; he has no interest
in living on until another heir
is born in the hall… –Beowulf
D. Watkins delivers this message, effortlessly. Revealing that the hell that strikes consternation in the hearts of many is pulchritudinous to others and that we are now living in a poorly composed polyphony. The truly brutal truth that we, of every race, do not want to admit exists. He invites us to peer through a peephole that reveals an almost unconscionable reality: that people do live in the imperfections of a world that they did not create but were relegated to reside inside of until madness or death took them to the edge of and over that horizon. He reminds us that the levels of unfeelingness is not only alive but is procreating and regenerating into unidentifiable high-tolerance formations that eat at our flesh and gnaw, ad infinitum, on our skeletal remains.
In the opening passages, Watkins writes:
“… I participated in a peaceful protest near downtown Baltimore. My fellow protesters and I were standing in solidarity with the citizens of Ferguson, Missouri, over the murder of Mike Brown — an innocent African-American teen, who was on his way to college when he was cut down by a policeman’s bullets. It felt good to unite with so many different people for the same cause — a diverse group with handmade signs and a shared sense of outrage. But even as we shouted for justice, I knew it wasn’t enough from my experiences in rallying for the Jena Six and Trayvon Martin. I do have an immense amount of respect for protestors, marchers, and organizers — but in the end, after all that chanting, marching, and lying down in traffic, Darren Wilson, the cop, who murdered Brown, still went free, and cops in America still feel comfortable killing innocent black people."
Watkins writes from where his bucket was cast; delivering unapologetic prose that undeniably was intended (at least, I hope) to make as many people as uncomfortable as possible. If this was not his purpose, it perhaps should have been; he does it magnificently. He is a Baltimorean, a Native, from the (B)Eastside of this apoplectic metropolis, wearing the city like a pair of comfortable shoes. Watkins’ voice is the voice of the many children and residents I have heard speaking their complex language during the 23 years that I have resided in Baltimore. It is a voice that roars without echo. Throughout the book, Watkins takes us on a journey through the gritty, and often dismal straits of a beautiful wonderland. It is easy to become enveloped by the stories and easier to embrace the cast of characters that invisibly occupy seventy percent of the crowded Charm City streets. His childhood friends, money making comrades, food providing saints and blood-thirsty enemies, give color and illumination to what could easily become defined as a symphony of urban sorrow.
The Beast Side is a reminder, a wake-up call, a prosaic tour of a world we know so well, and others view in awe. It awakens the selectively blind to the countless injustices that have become our miserable expectation. It explains why we cannot lay aside our warrior selves; preparing our sword, our words, our hearts, and our souls for what our 400 years of intuitive DNA reveal to us.The battle continues. The war of race, face and inequality rages on. The emergence of another enemy, lurking in waiting, in the shadows for their opportunity to leap, is absolute. The difference is that the 18th-century mentalities are not yet aware that they are fighting against a 21ST CENTURY ARMY.
D. Watkins has composed a thinkers book in The Beast Side. There is the desire to pause, in contemplation and reflection after each chapter. And like the calm after a Tsunami, or the annihilation of Grendel by a chirping bird’s song, Watkins ends with:
"Yes, it was the image of a Black man in the White House that maybe has made it a little easier for us to make our way through the day, or at least to get a ride. But Uber has probably changed the racial dynamic in the cab industry more than Obama has. Because of Uber, cabs can’t afford to discriminate against me any longer. The cab industry had no choice but to change.
America needs a game-changing Uber shift in the political arena–a massive influx of minority activists, politicians, educators, and history makers. One Black man cannot bring about that change, but an army of people committed to making opportunity available for everybody can and will."
Yeah… it’s that simple.
The jarring, sometimes depressing, often enlightening narrative that encompasses the 208 pages of “The Beast Side” is one of a troubled America (through the eyes of Baltimore), left to grapple with unresolved and newly developed issues. We are touched by the narrative; all of us, whether Black, White, Native American, Latino, Asian, or a combination thereof. We are this narrative; the outline that provided a perfect landscape for D. Watkins to masterfully and horrifically connect the dots.
More than I can personally recall, we have become wholly desensitized to the cruel and barbaric nature of our burgeoning society. We have learned to turn a blind eye to a reality that is continually festering and rearing an ugliness many are simply hoping would, one day, fade away, perhaps into the same abyss as Beowulf’s monster, Grendel; and return reborn, renewed, hopeful. We have become an ensemble of wishers and waiters, certain that if we wait and wish long enough a brighter day is just over the horizon, while we wallow in the muck of a suffocating darkness. We are the old man and the depth of his misery:
It was like the misery felt by an old man
who has lived to see his son’s body
swing on the gallows. He begins to keen
and weep for his boy, watching the raven
gloat where he hangs: he can be of no help.
The wisdom of age is worthless to him
Morning after morning, he wakes to remember
that his child has gone; he has no interest
in living on until another heir
is born in the hall… –Beowulf
D. Watkins delivers this message, effortlessly. Revealing that the hell that strikes consternation in the hearts of many is pulchritudinous to others and that we are now living in a poorly composed polyphony. The truly brutal truth that we, of every race, do not want to admit exists. He invites us to peer through a peephole that reveals an almost unconscionable reality: that people do live in the imperfections of a world that they did not create but were relegated to reside inside of until madness or death took them to the edge of and over that horizon. He reminds us that the levels of unfeelingness is not only alive but is procreating and regenerating into unidentifiable high-tolerance formations that eat at our flesh and gnaw, ad infinitum, on our skeletal remains.
In the opening passages, Watkins writes:
“… I participated in a peaceful protest near downtown Baltimore. My fellow protesters and I were standing in solidarity with the citizens of Ferguson, Missouri, over the murder of Mike Brown — an innocent African-American teen, who was on his way to college when he was cut down by a policeman’s bullets. It felt good to unite with so many different people for the same cause — a diverse group with handmade signs and a shared sense of outrage. But even as we shouted for justice, I knew it wasn’t enough from my experiences in rallying for the Jena Six and Trayvon Martin. I do have an immense amount of respect for protestors, marchers, and organizers — but in the end, after all that chanting, marching, and lying down in traffic, Darren Wilson, the cop, who murdered Brown, still went free, and cops in America still feel comfortable killing innocent black people."
Watkins writes from where his bucket was cast; delivering unapologetic prose that undeniably was intended (at least, I hope) to make as many people as uncomfortable as possible. If this was not his purpose, it perhaps should have been; he does it magnificently. He is a Baltimorean, a Native, from the (B)Eastside of this apoplectic metropolis, wearing the city like a pair of comfortable shoes. Watkins’ voice is the voice of the many children and residents I have heard speaking their complex language during the 23 years that I have resided in Baltimore. It is a voice that roars without echo. Throughout the book, Watkins takes us on a journey through the gritty, and often dismal straits of a beautiful wonderland. It is easy to become enveloped by the stories and easier to embrace the cast of characters that invisibly occupy seventy percent of the crowded Charm City streets. His childhood friends, money making comrades, food providing saints and blood-thirsty enemies, give color and illumination to what could easily become defined as a symphony of urban sorrow.
The Beast Side is a reminder, a wake-up call, a prosaic tour of a world we know so well, and others view in awe. It awakens the selectively blind to the countless injustices that have become our miserable expectation. It explains why we cannot lay aside our warrior selves; preparing our sword, our words, our hearts, and our souls for what our 400 years of intuitive DNA reveal to us.The battle continues. The war of race, face and inequality rages on. The emergence of another enemy, lurking in waiting, in the shadows for their opportunity to leap, is absolute. The difference is that the 18th-century mentalities are not yet aware that they are fighting against a 21ST CENTURY ARMY.
D. Watkins has composed a thinkers book in The Beast Side. There is the desire to pause, in contemplation and reflection after each chapter. And like the calm after a Tsunami, or the annihilation of Grendel by a chirping bird’s song, Watkins ends with:
"Yes, it was the image of a Black man in the White House that maybe has made it a little easier for us to make our way through the day, or at least to get a ride. But Uber has probably changed the racial dynamic in the cab industry more than Obama has. Because of Uber, cabs can’t afford to discriminate against me any longer. The cab industry had no choice but to change.
America needs a game-changing Uber shift in the political arena–a massive influx of minority activists, politicians, educators, and history makers. One Black man cannot bring about that change, but an army of people committed to making opportunity available for everybody can and will."
Yeah… it’s that simple.
June 22, 2018
I hope African American men keep speaking their truth. Our truth. To not only teach about our past but our present as well. You can read the anger, sadness, and knowledge in Watkins words. He points out what is wrong with America but he also confesses to his wrongdoings that have contributed to society. How his means to survive may have shattered other African American lives. The only thing is, his wrongs could not come close to what has been done by white people and cops.
“In a perfect world, innocent people should not have to run or protect themselves from the people responsible for protecting us. However, America is far from perfect, and African Americans are about as safe as a chunk of steak in a den full of starving lions. It doesn’t matter if you stay or fight back or run, because either way, they’ll murder you”.
My heart hurt as he educated his nieces and nephews on the rules for survival when dealing with cops. I know not all cops are out to overpower African American people, but we must wake up and be conscious and D. Watkins points out so much in the world that we need to educate ourselves on.
What is very important throughout this book is that even though he states that numerous black people are suffering and being harmed, he mentions the roles we play as well. For example, he talks about eating healthy and exercising. How we were introduced to junk food and how we are uneducated with the information needed to give our body the right nutrients. How we are suffering from diabetes, heart attacks, kidney failure, high blood pressure, and much more. There is not just blame written in these pages, but an understanding of how/why things work and the role African American people play. How we as African Americans can start to slowly make steps in the right direction to better ourselves.
this book is necessary.
“In a perfect world, innocent people should not have to run or protect themselves from the people responsible for protecting us. However, America is far from perfect, and African Americans are about as safe as a chunk of steak in a den full of starving lions. It doesn’t matter if you stay or fight back or run, because either way, they’ll murder you”.
My heart hurt as he educated his nieces and nephews on the rules for survival when dealing with cops. I know not all cops are out to overpower African American people, but we must wake up and be conscious and D. Watkins points out so much in the world that we need to educate ourselves on.
What is very important throughout this book is that even though he states that numerous black people are suffering and being harmed, he mentions the roles we play as well. For example, he talks about eating healthy and exercising. How we were introduced to junk food and how we are uneducated with the information needed to give our body the right nutrients. How we are suffering from diabetes, heart attacks, kidney failure, high blood pressure, and much more. There is not just blame written in these pages, but an understanding of how/why things work and the role African American people play. How we as African Americans can start to slowly make steps in the right direction to better ourselves.
this book is necessary.
November 20, 2020
This was a really interesting and educational read for me. I suppose understanding comes from a first hand perception and that is what D. Watkins provides.
The book is set up like a record album (you know...the vinyl type) with a series of tracks on each side. Actually it reminded me more of a 45 rpm record...because the first part of the book is referred to as Side A.. which is often the side that gets the most play and the folks are therefore most familiar with. Side B being the lesser popular side of the record. Interestingly, in the book the “tracks” on Side B were many of the instances the stories of events that prompted the Black Lives Matters movement and as such it was the more familiar side, to me.
But Side A was filled with the author’s personal anecdotes of growing up in east side of Baltimore and the systemic racism he experienced in schools, housing, community, health and of course the justice system. He provided historical references and facts for how and why such racism exists and continues to exist. He also provided his successful path to breaking out of the system to become a well educated, well respected author. But he doesn’t stop there. He suggests that education followed by communication is the key to battling racism and that mentoring (which can be provided by the privileged), is the best delivery method. His arguments are very compelling.
Side B, referencing the BLM events was written in an entirely different tone. The frustration and anger was vividly depicted and the violence portrayed was clearly evident in the writing.
The author writes in a clear and concise manner. His emphasis is strategically placed as is his use of words, phrases, and colloquialisms. Events, both historical and personal are effectively described and explained.
The book is a few years old now and so the author has added “Bonus Tracks” at the end with updates in both events and politics.
This collection of stories and events provides the reader an opportunity to better understand the political climate in America and the perspective of those in the midst of events.
The book is set up like a record album (you know...the vinyl type) with a series of tracks on each side. Actually it reminded me more of a 45 rpm record...because the first part of the book is referred to as Side A.. which is often the side that gets the most play and the folks are therefore most familiar with. Side B being the lesser popular side of the record. Interestingly, in the book the “tracks” on Side B were many of the instances the stories of events that prompted the Black Lives Matters movement and as such it was the more familiar side, to me.
But Side A was filled with the author’s personal anecdotes of growing up in east side of Baltimore and the systemic racism he experienced in schools, housing, community, health and of course the justice system. He provided historical references and facts for how and why such racism exists and continues to exist. He also provided his successful path to breaking out of the system to become a well educated, well respected author. But he doesn’t stop there. He suggests that education followed by communication is the key to battling racism and that mentoring (which can be provided by the privileged), is the best delivery method. His arguments are very compelling.
Side B, referencing the BLM events was written in an entirely different tone. The frustration and anger was vividly depicted and the violence portrayed was clearly evident in the writing.
The author writes in a clear and concise manner. His emphasis is strategically placed as is his use of words, phrases, and colloquialisms. Events, both historical and personal are effectively described and explained.
The book is a few years old now and so the author has added “Bonus Tracks” at the end with updates in both events and politics.
This collection of stories and events provides the reader an opportunity to better understand the political climate in America and the perspective of those in the midst of events.
June 22, 2020
"Fuck a pointless statement from some politician and double-fuck anyone who would ever fire a rubber bullet at a peaceful protestor."
I first heard of D. Watkins through his involvement with Undisclosed Podcast's series on The Killing of Freddie Gray, and I've had this book on my TBR shelf for way too long. I'm glad that I picked it up this month. I get nervous about non-fiction since I sometimes have trouble focusing on it, but this book leaned more toward a memoir / personal essay style than educational text, and it was a good read. It's a blend of stories, interviews, and factual information.
The Beast Side covers a lot of different topics like reading, teaching, social media, police violence, eating habits, and more. I appreciate that D told stories to go with each chapter, and also interviewed people who had experiences with the topics. There's a lot of coverage about what it's like to be a Black man in Baltimore before and after gentrification, and before and after Freddie Gray's murder. If you're looking for a memoir to read, this is definitely a good one to pick up.
I first heard of D. Watkins through his involvement with Undisclosed Podcast's series on The Killing of Freddie Gray, and I've had this book on my TBR shelf for way too long. I'm glad that I picked it up this month. I get nervous about non-fiction since I sometimes have trouble focusing on it, but this book leaned more toward a memoir / personal essay style than educational text, and it was a good read. It's a blend of stories, interviews, and factual information.
The Beast Side covers a lot of different topics like reading, teaching, social media, police violence, eating habits, and more. I appreciate that D told stories to go with each chapter, and also interviewed people who had experiences with the topics. There's a lot of coverage about what it's like to be a Black man in Baltimore before and after gentrification, and before and after Freddie Gray's murder. If you're looking for a memoir to read, this is definitely a good one to pick up.
November 7, 2015
Now that I work at a library, I see all kinds of books come across my desk. This book did so, and immediately caught my eye. On the heels of protests in Baltimore, Ferguson, and around the country, in the context of #Black Lives Matters and the countless inexplicable, wasteful deaths of black Americans all around the United States, this book couldn't be more relevant. And even better, instead of being written by a sympathetic white liberal, this was written by a young African American male from the bad part of Baltimore, a little richer in education, but still aware of what is going on in the eye of the storm. So of course I had to read this.
It is a short read, but I wouldn't say an easy one. There's too much to understand, to digest. To fully grasp the levels of deprivation and poverty inherent in the Baltimore neighborhoods where Watkins grew up. The enormous death toll of violence and poverty, poor diets, poor medical care availability, and poor opportunities to better themselves and escape the hells he described. I think this small but powerful collection of Watkin's writing (most, if not all, is available online, I believe, where Watkins writes for publications like Salon.) is most important because it is so in your face. It makes you think about poverty and prejudice and rigged systems and hopelessness and anger, and really face the issues at stake here. It feels real. It's not perfect, and Watkin's (understandable) palpable rage can make for uncomfortable reading. But it's important. So important to understand what life is like for so many citizens of this country, and why something needs to be done to give them an equal chance at the life to which mainstream white Americans claim entitlement.
Read this book. Please. It's short, and you may not love it. It may make you angry. It should make you sad and uncomfortable. I hope it makes you willing to listen and ready to act. Because it's time people stand up behind voices like Watkins and help us all enact the change we need in our country today.
It is a short read, but I wouldn't say an easy one. There's too much to understand, to digest. To fully grasp the levels of deprivation and poverty inherent in the Baltimore neighborhoods where Watkins grew up. The enormous death toll of violence and poverty, poor diets, poor medical care availability, and poor opportunities to better themselves and escape the hells he described. I think this small but powerful collection of Watkin's writing (most, if not all, is available online, I believe, where Watkins writes for publications like Salon.) is most important because it is so in your face. It makes you think about poverty and prejudice and rigged systems and hopelessness and anger, and really face the issues at stake here. It feels real. It's not perfect, and Watkin's (understandable) palpable rage can make for uncomfortable reading. But it's important. So important to understand what life is like for so many citizens of this country, and why something needs to be done to give them an equal chance at the life to which mainstream white Americans claim entitlement.
Read this book. Please. It's short, and you may not love it. It may make you angry. It should make you sad and uncomfortable. I hope it makes you willing to listen and ready to act. Because it's time people stand up behind voices like Watkins and help us all enact the change we need in our country today.
June 18, 2016
The Beast Side is an amazingly fresh and honest look at black culture in East Baltimore from an ex-drug dealer turned Hopkins grad and now English professor. Where Ta Nehisi Coates fails to blame anyone but white people for the poverty and problems of poor black neighborhoods, Watkins provides a critical assessment of his own culture. He takes a hard, raw look at the drug culture, poor inner city schools and bad policing. He decries problems inherent to his culture such as rap artists glorifying gang life, and the ill-treatment of women. Watkins takes more responsibility than any other writer I have read for the problems in his neighborhood while still honestly talking about the effects of white culture and racism. His discussion of the failing Baltimore city schools that serve as a funnel into the prisons and the allure of selling crack in communities that are jobless and isolated are especially informative. Overall, Watkins is saying the things I wish more journalists would say about inner city communities as he exposes the problems but doesn't place the blame solely on white privilege.
November 24, 2017
I am glad I read this. It makes a good piece to read along side the work of David Simon and Jill Leovy. D. Watkins writes with anger but also with a desire to spend knowledge, and he doesn't present himself as holier than thou. Is it truly investigative reporting? No, but we should know how people live because that is one of the things that needs to be changed.
Oh, and this is what the Black Lives Matter movement is about as opposed to all that stuff racist people spew about it.
Oh, and this is what the Black Lives Matter movement is about as opposed to all that stuff racist people spew about it.
January 11, 2017
My first read of 2017. Good and necessary essays..... more to come. Here is the more. Ok, a lot of the territory covered by D. Watkins has been written about in other recent books, and even his own book has a bit of redundancy because it is a book of essays written at different periods so there are times when reading you will cover the same area previously written about. However, there are times he writes with a sense of humor and such clarity that it is a book worth adding to your bookshelf, just for the moments when you want to say to someone, "here,read this please!"
One of those moments comes in the introduction when D. Watkins writes, referencing recent shootings at the hands of the police, "Talking about white privilege and its role in these shootings always makes white people uneasy-probably because no one wants to feel like they have an unfair advantage over another person solely based on skin color. However, if you are white in America, you have an unfair advantage solely based on skin color. So deal with it. You'll probably go to a better school, have a more high-paying job, live in a safer neighborhood, never be profiled by police officers, get lower interest rates, and always have the luxury of walking around stores in peace."What fair minded person can dismiss this. All the numbers bear witness to this truth.
He frames the race issue in America as one of communication. Being able to communicate with one another, D. Watkins suggests will go a long way towards the change we seek. His inability to communicate effectively is what motivated him to give up the streets and hustling to educate himself ultimately earning an advanced degree. He intimates that reading literally saved his life and wants to write stories that encourage others like him to read and write their own stories that raise awareness about the "ills" we all face.
Readers will be familiar with the content in the essays, because many have probably had some version of the conversations contained within. Exchanges about the industriousness of inner city residents, working all day with three, four different hustles, and having society label them as lazy. Debates about alcohol vs. marijuana. The lack of effective schools and options for poor Black children.
You can harvest some gems from this collection and for that reason the book is worth a purchase. " Being smart and developing complex thoughts without reading is like trying to get Schwarzenegger muscles without working out."
Amen!
One of those moments comes in the introduction when D. Watkins writes, referencing recent shootings at the hands of the police, "Talking about white privilege and its role in these shootings always makes white people uneasy-probably because no one wants to feel like they have an unfair advantage over another person solely based on skin color. However, if you are white in America, you have an unfair advantage solely based on skin color. So deal with it. You'll probably go to a better school, have a more high-paying job, live in a safer neighborhood, never be profiled by police officers, get lower interest rates, and always have the luxury of walking around stores in peace."What fair minded person can dismiss this. All the numbers bear witness to this truth.
He frames the race issue in America as one of communication. Being able to communicate with one another, D. Watkins suggests will go a long way towards the change we seek. His inability to communicate effectively is what motivated him to give up the streets and hustling to educate himself ultimately earning an advanced degree. He intimates that reading literally saved his life and wants to write stories that encourage others like him to read and write their own stories that raise awareness about the "ills" we all face.
Readers will be familiar with the content in the essays, because many have probably had some version of the conversations contained within. Exchanges about the industriousness of inner city residents, working all day with three, four different hustles, and having society label them as lazy. Debates about alcohol vs. marijuana. The lack of effective schools and options for poor Black children.
You can harvest some gems from this collection and for that reason the book is worth a purchase. " Being smart and developing complex thoughts without reading is like trying to get Schwarzenegger muscles without working out."
Amen!
June 17, 2016
The Beast Side: Living (and Dying) While Black in America by D. Watkins
“The Beast Side” is an eye-opening expose of what it’s like to be black in America. Professor and columnist for Salon, D. Watkins, shares his personal experiences of growing up black on the east side of Baltimore. This raw and gritty 176-page book includes essays broken out by Side One and Two.
Positives:
1. Well written with a raw and gritty style.
2. A very important topic, growing up black in a major city.
3. The book is a social study of the black life from someone who has lived it and has the talent to share it in a captivating and honest manner.
4. The book is composed of a series of essays that capture the black experience from a wide spectrum of topics.
5. Eye-opening facts spruced throughout the book, “San Francisco police arrest blacks at more than seven times the rate of white people—even though African Americans represent just six percent of the city’s population and are being rapidly driven out by San Francisco’s exploding wealth gap.”
6. An excellent introduction that sets the tone for the rest of the book. “However, America is far from perfect, and African Americans are about as safe as a chunk of steak in a den full of starving lions. It doesn’t matter if you stay or fight back or run, because either way they’ll murder you.”
7. Shares his main life goals. “As a result, I decided to shift my mission toward literacy, broadly defined. Poverty, injustice, and reading comprehension issues go hand in hand, like white cops and innocent verdicts.”
8. Provides a brief history of Baltimore.
9. The sad reality of growing up black. “African American males are being hunted from multiple directions. We kill each other, we are killed by sociopaths like George Zimmerman, Dylann Roof, and Michael Dunn, and then there’s the cops.”
10. Misogyny in the black community. “Remaining silent and following suit is how our misogynistic culture sustains for generations.”
11. An interesting look at the drug culture.
12. The issue of education. “Blacks have been in America since 1619 and received virtually no schooling until after President Abraham Lincoln decreed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. That is a 244-year head start given to whites—244 years of exposure to scientific reasoning and philosophical thought, hundreds of years to discover the power of books and reading and to shape dreams into reality.”
13. Provides some insights on what needs to change. “For me, if we really want to solve education, we need to decide to solve issues in poverty, all of the associated health problems, and employment challenges.”
14. For the love of reading. “I’m responsible for sharing the power of reading with as many low-income people as I can reach. Not being able to reach everyone does not exempt me from making a conscious effort to push literacy every day in the streets, online, and in the schools.”
15. A look at poor nutrition.
16. A series of provocative essays in side two of this book.
17. Policing in the black community. “To us, the Baltimore Police Department is a group of terrorists, funded by our tax dollars, who beat on people in our community daily, almost never having to explain or pay for their actions. It’s gotten to the point that we don’t call cops unless we need a police report for an insurance claim.”
18. Obama’s presidency. “As for the pro-Obama camp, we were naive to view President Obama as our black savior. Hope can be inspiring, and we all need more of it—but it was never realistic to think that his eight years in the White House could erase five-hundred-plus years of structural racism.”
Negatives:
1. People who would benefit the most in reading this book (the privileged class) probably won’t.
2. Lacks supplementary material that would have complemented the excellent narrative. Timelines, photos, maps, sketches, etc...
3. No links or notes.
4. This book as most books of this ilk, does a better job of describing the issues than providing answers.
5. I was surprised that the issue of mass incarceration and its impact in the black community did not play a bigger role. Michelle Alexander’s excellent book was mentioned but little more.
In summary, Professor Watkins succeeds in not only sharing and educating those of us who live with privilege but provides stories that get nontraditional readers excited about reading. “The Beast Side tries to shed light on all of the factors that negatively affect our communities and the many ways that society tries to bury us—not realizing that we are seeds, growing into the change that has been forcing our nation to reform.” I recommend it!
Further recommendations: “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander, “Evicted” by Mathew Desmond, “White Like Me” by Tim Wise, “The Working Poor” by David K. Shipler, “The Other America: Poverty in the United States” by Michael Harrington, “Runaway Inequality: An Activist’s Guide to Economic Justice” by Les Leopold, “Divided: The Perils of Our Growing Inequality“ by David Cay Johnston, and “The Price of Inequality” by Joseph E. Stiglitz.
“The Beast Side” is an eye-opening expose of what it’s like to be black in America. Professor and columnist for Salon, D. Watkins, shares his personal experiences of growing up black on the east side of Baltimore. This raw and gritty 176-page book includes essays broken out by Side One and Two.
Positives:
1. Well written with a raw and gritty style.
2. A very important topic, growing up black in a major city.
3. The book is a social study of the black life from someone who has lived it and has the talent to share it in a captivating and honest manner.
4. The book is composed of a series of essays that capture the black experience from a wide spectrum of topics.
5. Eye-opening facts spruced throughout the book, “San Francisco police arrest blacks at more than seven times the rate of white people—even though African Americans represent just six percent of the city’s population and are being rapidly driven out by San Francisco’s exploding wealth gap.”
6. An excellent introduction that sets the tone for the rest of the book. “However, America is far from perfect, and African Americans are about as safe as a chunk of steak in a den full of starving lions. It doesn’t matter if you stay or fight back or run, because either way they’ll murder you.”
7. Shares his main life goals. “As a result, I decided to shift my mission toward literacy, broadly defined. Poverty, injustice, and reading comprehension issues go hand in hand, like white cops and innocent verdicts.”
8. Provides a brief history of Baltimore.
9. The sad reality of growing up black. “African American males are being hunted from multiple directions. We kill each other, we are killed by sociopaths like George Zimmerman, Dylann Roof, and Michael Dunn, and then there’s the cops.”
10. Misogyny in the black community. “Remaining silent and following suit is how our misogynistic culture sustains for generations.”
11. An interesting look at the drug culture.
12. The issue of education. “Blacks have been in America since 1619 and received virtually no schooling until after President Abraham Lincoln decreed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. That is a 244-year head start given to whites—244 years of exposure to scientific reasoning and philosophical thought, hundreds of years to discover the power of books and reading and to shape dreams into reality.”
13. Provides some insights on what needs to change. “For me, if we really want to solve education, we need to decide to solve issues in poverty, all of the associated health problems, and employment challenges.”
14. For the love of reading. “I’m responsible for sharing the power of reading with as many low-income people as I can reach. Not being able to reach everyone does not exempt me from making a conscious effort to push literacy every day in the streets, online, and in the schools.”
15. A look at poor nutrition.
16. A series of provocative essays in side two of this book.
17. Policing in the black community. “To us, the Baltimore Police Department is a group of terrorists, funded by our tax dollars, who beat on people in our community daily, almost never having to explain or pay for their actions. It’s gotten to the point that we don’t call cops unless we need a police report for an insurance claim.”
18. Obama’s presidency. “As for the pro-Obama camp, we were naive to view President Obama as our black savior. Hope can be inspiring, and we all need more of it—but it was never realistic to think that his eight years in the White House could erase five-hundred-plus years of structural racism.”
Negatives:
1. People who would benefit the most in reading this book (the privileged class) probably won’t.
2. Lacks supplementary material that would have complemented the excellent narrative. Timelines, photos, maps, sketches, etc...
3. No links or notes.
4. This book as most books of this ilk, does a better job of describing the issues than providing answers.
5. I was surprised that the issue of mass incarceration and its impact in the black community did not play a bigger role. Michelle Alexander’s excellent book was mentioned but little more.
In summary, Professor Watkins succeeds in not only sharing and educating those of us who live with privilege but provides stories that get nontraditional readers excited about reading. “The Beast Side tries to shed light on all of the factors that negatively affect our communities and the many ways that society tries to bury us—not realizing that we are seeds, growing into the change that has been forcing our nation to reform.” I recommend it!
Further recommendations: “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander, “Evicted” by Mathew Desmond, “White Like Me” by Tim Wise, “The Working Poor” by David K. Shipler, “The Other America: Poverty in the United States” by Michael Harrington, “Runaway Inequality: An Activist’s Guide to Economic Justice” by Les Leopold, “Divided: The Perils of Our Growing Inequality“ by David Cay Johnston, and “The Price of Inequality” by Joseph E. Stiglitz.
August 3, 2016
While I appreciated the raw and blunt language,this book was not memorable. Although the initial pages were mesmerizing,the remaining pages left me bewildered and empty. I am not ignorant to what is going on in America:police brutality,racism,white supremacy,etc. Yet I was looking for a solution. Not any rehearsed dialouge of the problems.
I felt this book was more about being raised in gang violence,but did no provide any additional info about what inspired the author to go to college. What persuaded him to make a difference? These and other questions.
Very disappointed with how it ended,it failed to motivate me to make a difference.
I felt this book was more about being raised in gang violence,but did no provide any additional info about what inspired the author to go to college. What persuaded him to make a difference? These and other questions.
Very disappointed with how it ended,it failed to motivate me to make a difference.
January 18, 2022
Everyone needs to read this book. I’ve lived in Maryland most of my life. Baltimore has always been made out to me as the murder capital and an unsafe place you shouldn’t go. But that’s more ignorance than truth.
D. Watkins details his experiences growing up and living in the East Side of Baltimore. I know the Harbor, Canton, Fells Point…the “safe” side. Watkins gives a real breakdown of the city and why things are still so divided.
Those who aren’t oppressed always ask the oppressed to teach them or tell them how they can help. But if you care you’d do some learning on your own and take some accountability.
A must on everyone’s book shelf. And hopefully it doesn’t stop there. Support and take action.
D. Watkins details his experiences growing up and living in the East Side of Baltimore. I know the Harbor, Canton, Fells Point…the “safe” side. Watkins gives a real breakdown of the city and why things are still so divided.
Those who aren’t oppressed always ask the oppressed to teach them or tell them how they can help. But if you care you’d do some learning on your own and take some accountability.
A must on everyone’s book shelf. And hopefully it doesn’t stop there. Support and take action.
July 12, 2020
“That leaves us with two groups who can’t communicate, so they clash and it ends in death. Putting out The Beast Side is my first contribution toward combating this national crisis. Telling our stories and educating people are the best things we can do, if we hope to pull ourselves out of this bloody mess.”
This book offers an authentic voice about growing up Black in Baltimore city. It is just one personal voice, but it gives a platform to a generation and a city. It is an important voice and life story to hear.
Watkins is open about his life experiences, resulting in a raw and keenly observed book of writing. He makes excellent points about race in America, such as the “privilege of anger”. I look forward to reading more of his words in the future. ((I also love that he went to my alma matter, University of Baltimore.))
This book offers an authentic voice about growing up Black in Baltimore city. It is just one personal voice, but it gives a platform to a generation and a city. It is an important voice and life story to hear.
Watkins is open about his life experiences, resulting in a raw and keenly observed book of writing. He makes excellent points about race in America, such as the “privilege of anger”. I look forward to reading more of his words in the future. ((I also love that he went to my alma matter, University of Baltimore.))
Read
October 11, 2015Worth the read
While he certainly doesn't - and cannot - speak for every urban black male, he tells stories that need to be told and that white people need to read.
While he certainly doesn't - and cannot - speak for every urban black male, he tells stories that need to be told and that white people need to read.
March 22, 2025
Real. Raw. Gritty. Straightforward. And just straight up sad.
Dwight Watkins held nothing back. And being from Baltimore, it feels familiar and liberating to see some of my daily thoughts so plainly put in a book like this. Watkins, reflecting on adolescence and adulthood in East Baltimore, powerfully expands on the hate our nation has for Black people and its sworn mission to kill us at every turn. Reading his story, living in the pictures he painted was beyond sobering. So much to the point that I had to take breaks because I found myself becoming angry at how— with all of the “progress” we’ve seemingly made— we’ve gone nowhere at all. Drugs. Violence. Illiteracy. Police Brutality. Discrimination. Death. What’s changed? Nothing. Who will change? Not the ones who need to (YT PEOPLE). What’s the point of living when every force around you is vying for the spoils of your death?
Powerful read. But oh, so poignant. But I guess there’s power in acknowledging that.
Dwight Watkins held nothing back. And being from Baltimore, it feels familiar and liberating to see some of my daily thoughts so plainly put in a book like this. Watkins, reflecting on adolescence and adulthood in East Baltimore, powerfully expands on the hate our nation has for Black people and its sworn mission to kill us at every turn. Reading his story, living in the pictures he painted was beyond sobering. So much to the point that I had to take breaks because I found myself becoming angry at how— with all of the “progress” we’ve seemingly made— we’ve gone nowhere at all. Drugs. Violence. Illiteracy. Police Brutality. Discrimination. Death. What’s changed? Nothing. Who will change? Not the ones who need to (YT PEOPLE). What’s the point of living when every force around you is vying for the spoils of your death?
Powerful read. But oh, so poignant. But I guess there’s power in acknowledging that.
July 13, 2020
so Watkins its telling us the story of his youth in Baltimore and what life is like in that city as a young black man.
The main focus is on the murder of his friends and family by the Baltimore police and members of the community.
What sets this book apart from other like it is the authors belief that literacy and reading are important to alleviating the issues that he and others like him face. He says that communication is the biggest issue- communication between cops and black men as well as communication amongst black men.
He also tackles the other issues that are killing black people- namely the lack of healthy food.
I think this was an interesting account of being Black in Baltimore- a city that I am not familiar with, and as a reader I can definitely appreciate his strong belief in education for all the youth in his neighborhood.
The main focus is on the murder of his friends and family by the Baltimore police and members of the community.
What sets this book apart from other like it is the authors belief that literacy and reading are important to alleviating the issues that he and others like him face. He says that communication is the biggest issue- communication between cops and black men as well as communication amongst black men.
He also tackles the other issues that are killing black people- namely the lack of healthy food.
I think this was an interesting account of being Black in Baltimore- a city that I am not familiar with, and as a reader I can definitely appreciate his strong belief in education for all the youth in his neighborhood.
July 2, 2020
This book was not quite what I expected, but that made it better. I live in Baltimore and have for the past ~20 years. The Freddy Gray case brought a lot of what was happening in the city to my eyes, but this book brings even more. I’m glad that it’s out there, that this book can educate people like me and bring to light what we can do to help - push for more literacy in schools, particularly for black boys, allocate more money for schools as opposed to making it based on property taxes, educate ourselves, and vote for politicians that will hold the police accountable. I think that there are a lot of really good ideas in this book and I look forward to learning more about D. Watkins and getting more involved in my community’s efforts to end racial injustice.
June 17, 2020
As someone from Baltimore, I felt like this was incredibly eye-opening. Given that I have never been to the east side of the city, i have no idea what it is like, nor do i know what it is like to be black. Watkins displays systemic and institutionalized racism through personal stories, providing facts from credible sources to show how real these struggles are. I loved how brutally honest he was, and i liked having the chance to see Baltimore as something other than the murder capital. Although it was written 5 years ago, the realities of the book are far too real and accurate still. A great read and a great way of gaining understanding.
April 20, 2017
This is a super short read and probably because it is mostly just anecdotes and offers very little in the way of solutions. I do like what the author had to say about literacy as well as the culture of retaliation. The chapter on black women was my favorite and I found to be very thought-provoking. The chapter about eating habits reminded me of similar storylines in Hillbilly Elegy, by JD Vance, which is a commentary on poor white Americans. The 2nd part of this book just seemed angry and filled with filthy language and hatred rather than offering any solutions. The book started off compelling but tapered off and was really lacking in content. That being said it is only 176 pages. There are better books out there on this topic but this is a good one if you don't have a lot of time.
November 21, 2020
Just like We Speak for Ourselves, this was an eye opening read for me. The tone was different and it was interesting to see how D. Watkins has evolved between the two. I would like to read a biography of his life that is chronological (maybe that exists already...).
I had trouble with the essay about prison rape. It definitely crossed a line for me. That’s never ok. That said, reading it forced me consider the kind of trauma that would lead to such inconsolable rage.
I had trouble with the essay about prison rape. It definitely crossed a line for me. That’s never ok. That said, reading it forced me consider the kind of trauma that would lead to such inconsolable rage.
July 7, 2020
This is a super quick read- I actually finished it in one day when normally my attention span for reading has been so limited. As someone who lives in Baltimore, someone who works with young black children in Baltimore City Public Schools, D. Watkin’s voice is so needed, cherished and important. If you can, read this book.
June 22, 2020
I am listening and I am learning and I hope the world is too….
July 9, 2024
this has been on my list for years and i'm bummed i didn't read it closer to when it came out
April 7, 2017
I strongly recommend this book, especially to all my caucasian friends. It really casts a light on how privileged we are as compared to our black brothers and sisters. The author grew up on the east side of Baltimore (the Beast side), and despite being entrenched in that culture, he managed to get a college education and masters degree, with close friends and family dying around him through his life from gun violence and drugs. He is now a college professor, and a strong eloquent voice for the black community in Baltimore. I learned a lot reading this book, especially about the systematic racism that must be dismantled in this country. We have SO MUCH work to do.
July 11, 2020
https://delusionaut.wordpress.com/202...
This past month, Amazon has been pushing White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo and How to Be an Antiracist by Ibraham X. Kendi.
I tend towards cheap & don't buy things unless I expect them to be good. I expect those two books to be popular, which is not the same. So I read their first chapters with Amazon's "Look Inside!" & wasn't persuaded to spend money.
I already pay for Kindle Unlimited. However there's not much available for black studies. It isn't even a sub-genre there. They have "Women's Studies" so why not others? Lack of demand? Or maybe my view on organization is out of date? Considering I've had a Kindle for a decade, read a wide range of subjects, & just now noticed that there isn't "Black Studies" or "African American Studies" section, it suggests that even diverse readers weren't clamoring for the category.
Anyways, I digress. This is a review of one book I did find on Kindle Unlimited -- The Beast Side: Living (and Dying) While Black in America by D. Watkins. It's not a white lady trying to explain racism, coming across as an out-of-touch intellectual. It's not a black man trying to promote the high-minded idea of antiracism, redefining "antiracist" each chapter, yet still leaning on the standard language used to discuss race.
No, The Beast Side was written by a Baltimore drug dealer turned college student turned teacher. It's an autobiography, a memoir, not a lecture. Imagine a drug dealer from The Wire getting out without getting killed & then trying to spread literacy throughout his home neighborhood. The language reads raw & the ideas conveyed are solid, not wishy-washy rhetoric.
D covered his culture growing up, guns, drug money, awful food, & worse schools. He addressed his view of patriotism & nationalism, the role of police, the black "crisis clergy" who show up whenever the cameras are rolling, and the '08 Obama feeling that faded as reality sank in. Many of those topics I know nothing about first-hand. I don't share his opinions on much but one point where we do agree is literacy. Communication.
So if you want timely book on race, then check it out. You might not agree on everything he writes either. But how can we ever understand each other if we never even try to communicate?
This past month, Amazon has been pushing White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo and How to Be an Antiracist by Ibraham X. Kendi.
I tend towards cheap & don't buy things unless I expect them to be good. I expect those two books to be popular, which is not the same. So I read their first chapters with Amazon's "Look Inside!" & wasn't persuaded to spend money.
I already pay for Kindle Unlimited. However there's not much available for black studies. It isn't even a sub-genre there. They have "Women's Studies" so why not others? Lack of demand? Or maybe my view on organization is out of date? Considering I've had a Kindle for a decade, read a wide range of subjects, & just now noticed that there isn't "Black Studies" or "African American Studies" section, it suggests that even diverse readers weren't clamoring for the category.
Anyways, I digress. This is a review of one book I did find on Kindle Unlimited -- The Beast Side: Living (and Dying) While Black in America by D. Watkins. It's not a white lady trying to explain racism, coming across as an out-of-touch intellectual. It's not a black man trying to promote the high-minded idea of antiracism, redefining "antiracist" each chapter, yet still leaning on the standard language used to discuss race.
No, The Beast Side was written by a Baltimore drug dealer turned college student turned teacher. It's an autobiography, a memoir, not a lecture. Imagine a drug dealer from The Wire getting out without getting killed & then trying to spread literacy throughout his home neighborhood. The language reads raw & the ideas conveyed are solid, not wishy-washy rhetoric.
D covered his culture growing up, guns, drug money, awful food, & worse schools. He addressed his view of patriotism & nationalism, the role of police, the black "crisis clergy" who show up whenever the cameras are rolling, and the '08 Obama feeling that faded as reality sank in. Many of those topics I know nothing about first-hand. I don't share his opinions on much but one point where we do agree is literacy. Communication.
So if you want timely book on race, then check it out. You might not agree on everything he writes either. But how can we ever understand each other if we never even try to communicate?
June 9, 2016
The Beast Side: Living (and Dying) While Black in America by D. Watkins is an outstanding collection of essays that speaks upon the current climate of our American society while also providing vivid observations and insights to how we wound up where we are. Watkins' writing is prolific as he effortlessly moves in between the first person, chronicling bits and pieces of his formative years and those closest to him while also keeping a perspective that articulates the many issues of black civilians. From reading, it is apparent that the author, (born and raised in Baltimore's east side) is passionate about his environment and the city in general. Some of the topics Watkins touches upon are the Public Education System, Systemic Racism, Government Policy, Police Brutality, Mass Incarceration, Poverty, Drug Dealing, Gentrification, White Supremacy and the 08' Obama Campaign that promised change for all in America. What really makes this a compelling read, is Watkins' balance to speak a language that every and anyone who picks up the book can understand. As a result, anyone looking to delve into it will really feel apart of it and the many lessons that he as a writer and educator teaches due to accessibility through language. At the end of Chapter 8, "My City Is Gone" Watkins sits with privileged business folks (white men) on how to bring about a bigger and better Baltimore, one that speaks to a town of their liking and he responds by saying that his city is gone and that he no longer knows if it exists. The chapter closes with, "A wiry kid ran up to my window waving a squeegee stick just like my friends and I used to do back in the day. I rejected the wash, gave him $5 and said, "Ay Shorty, keep pushing, this will all make sense some day." He thanked me and nodded in agreement. I wasn't sure if I was talking to him or myself" (Watkins 63). Watkins expresses how we as American minorities have been feeling from the moment we arrived in the New World via slave ships. Maybe it will make sense, we just have to keep pushing to find out for ourselves.
April 13, 2016
Watkins does a superb job here providing a ground-level perspective on poverty, crime, race, police brutality, and the power of education in desperate times. His prose is enjoyable -- as much as that word can be used when describing essays about friends living among cockroaches who are too poor to be familiar with the term "selfie" -- and he carefully balances his simmering rage with a deep love for his community (and, one feels, despite everything [which is remarkable, to me], humanity as a whole).
This book is painful but necessary. It's one thing to read newspaper headlines or watch YouTube clips about protests and uprisings after the murder of Freddie Gray. Those will never provide more than a cursory glance at the problems in places like East Baltimore. Reading books like this will only provide a smaller glimpse, but it's a vital perspective that American -- especially white America -- desperately needs to hear.
Highly recommended.
This book is painful but necessary. It's one thing to read newspaper headlines or watch YouTube clips about protests and uprisings after the murder of Freddie Gray. Those will never provide more than a cursory glance at the problems in places like East Baltimore. Reading books like this will only provide a smaller glimpse, but it's a vital perspective that American -- especially white America -- desperately needs to hear.
Highly recommended.
September 17, 2019
i might have given this five stars had it not been for the prison rape fantasy. I commend Watkins for addressing misogyny in a previous essay, but I think he needs to recognize that discussions of rape should not be trivialized. Rape is often used politically and correctively against oppressed groups and that includes sanctioned abuses in prisons. So wishing for a cop to get that from a black man in prison is really very antithetical to every other thing in these essays. I wouldn't be surprised if Watkins has already come to this understanding, considering this book was published and 2015.
I think the essays do a great job of covering a wide range of issues in a passionate and personal way. it succeeds at what it is, but if you are looking for something more research based, I would recommend "superior" by Angela Saini.
I think the essays do a great job of covering a wide range of issues in a passionate and personal way. it succeeds at what it is, but if you are looking for something more research based, I would recommend "superior" by Angela Saini.
April 7, 2016
I thought D Watkins provided a thoughtful, candid, and vivid depiction of life as a black man growing up and living in East Baltimore. I appreciated the insight and am left with a desire to engage more deeply with my neighbors who have varying degrees of similar experiences. It was hard to read some of his chapters on police relations, particularly his unfiltered hatred and desire for vengeance. I was able to identify with his desire for justice and was challenged by the reality of his perspective. I know there are many voices on these issues and I am glad to have read D Watkins'. I see the need for the gospel on all sides of this issue and have much to pray about.
December 7, 2015
This book was good . . . until it wasn't. Nutrition? Really? I was all about the problem of drugs, reading, schooling, etc. However, at some point, I felt, you can't fight everything. When he got into nutrition, it began to feel he is complaining on and on. I do think the issues in here need to be addressed and are a problem in America, but the writing wasn't that great and I lost my passion as it ended.
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