Beyond Charlottesville : taking a stand against white nationalism

Beyond Charlottesville Taking a stand against white nationalism

Terry McAuliffe

Book - 2019

The former governor of Virginia tells the behind-the-scenes story of the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville--and shows how we can prevent other Charlottesvilles from happening. When Governor Terry McAuliffe hung up the phone on the afternoon of the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, he was sure Donald Trump would do the right thing as president: condemn the white supremacists who'd descended on the college town and who'd caused McAuliffe to declare a state of emergency that morning. He didn't. Instead Trump declared there was hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides. Trump was condemned from many sides himself, even by many Republicans, but the damage was done. He'd excused and thus egged o...n the terrorists at the moment when he could have stopped them in their tracks. In Beyond Charlottesville, McAuliffe looks at the forces and events that led to the tragedy in Charlottesville, including the vicious murder of Heather Heyer and the death of two state troopers in a helicopter accident. He doesn't whitewash Virginia history and discusses a KKK protest over the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. He takes a hard real-time behind-the-scenes look at the actions of everyone on that fateful August 12, including himself, to see what could have been done. He lays out what was done afterwards to prevent future Charlottesvilles--and what still needs to be done as America in general and Virginia in particular continue to grapple with their history of racism. Beyond Charlottesville will be the definitive account of an infamous chapter in our history, seared indelibly into memory, sure to be cited for years as a crucial reference point in the long struggle to fight racism, extremism and hate.

Saved in:
Place a Hold Save to List Email this

2nd Floor Show me where

320.533/McAuliffe
1 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor 320.533/McAuliffe Checked In
Subjects
Demonstrations > Virginia > Charlottesville.
White supremacy movements > United States > History > 21st century.
Charlottesville (Va.) > Race relations.
Virginia > Race relations.
Published
New York : Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press 2019.
Language
English
Main Author
Terry McAuliffe (author)
Edition
First edition
Item Description
Includes index.
Physical Description
xiv, 177 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 22 cm
ISBN
9781250245885
  • Foreword
  • Flashback: Saturday Afternoon, August 12, 2017
  • Chapter 1. A Virginian by Choice
  • Chapter 2. Voting Rights
  • Chapter 3. A New President
  • Chapter 4. The Robert E. Lee Statue
  • Chapter 5. Preparing for Trouble
  • Chapter 6. Friday, August 11
  • Chapter 7. Saturday Morning, August 12
  • Chapter 8. Saturday Afternoon, August 12
  • Chapter 9. Sunday, August 13
  • Chapter 10. Immediate Fallout
  • Chapter 11. Practical Lessons Learned
  • Chapter 12. Rallying Cry
  • Epilogue: A Time for Action
  • Acknowledgments
  • Index
Review by Kirkus Book Review

The former Virginia governor looks back at the tragedy in Charlottesville in August 2017, which showed that "we are a divided nation today stuck in the past."McAuliffe (What a Party! My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators and Other Wild Animals, 2007) briefly recounts his time as the chair of the Democratic National Committee before devoting most of the book to his term as governor and especially the events in Charlottesville. A native of upstate New York, the author struggled to win election in a tradition-bound Southern state. After winning the governorship, he acted quickly to enhance democracy by resisting a Republican-dominated legislature and a state Supreme Court dominated by justices seeking to maintain the status quo. McAuliffe's most substantive early accomplishment involved restoring voting rights to more than 200,000 felons, many of them people of color, who had completed their prison sentences. The governor's determination to remove statues honoring leaders of the Confederacy played a role in white nationalist demonstrations that threatened to turn into race-based violence. During the most publicized of these demonstrations, on August 11-12, 2017, in Charlottesville, McAuliffe had hoped that officials in the iconic college town would listen to advice from the governor's security experts about minimizing violence. However, local police tactics proved ineffective, resulting in a death and many injuries. The author offers a detailed account of what went wrong during those two days, and he provides additional perspective on what he considers a shameful response by Donald Trump, in which the president once again relied on "his all-sides-are-to-blame nonsense." Until Trump ran for president as a Republican, McAuliffe had always known him as a Democrat. As the narrative progresses, the author's lack of respect for Trump becomes abundantly clear. After Trump fanned hatred following Charlottesville, McAuliffe spoke forcefully and repeatedly about the cancer of white nationalismand continues to do so.A straightforward mix of inspiration and concrete action items for fighting white supremacy. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Similar Items