We speak for ourselves A word from forgotten black America

D. Watkins

eAudio - 2019

From the row houses of Baltimore to the stoops of Brooklyn, the New York Times bestselling author of The Cook Up lays bare the voices of the most vulnerable and allows their stories to uncover the systematic injustice threaded within our society. Honest and eye-opening, the pages of We Speak for Ourselves "are abundant with wisdom and wit; integrity and love, not to mention enough laughs for a stand-up comedy routine" (Mitchell S. Jackson, author of Survival Math). Watkins introduces you to Down Bottom, the storied community of East Baltimore that holds a mirror to America's poor black neighborhoods-"hoods" that could just as easily be in Chicago, Detroit, Oakland, or Atlanta. As Watkins sees it, the perspective of... people who live in economically disadvantaged black communities is largely absent from the commentary of many top intellectuals who speak and write about race. Unapologetic and sharp-witted, D. Watkins is here to tell the truth as he has seen it. We Speak for Ourselves offers an in-depth analysis of inner-city hurdles and honors the stories therein. We sit in underfunded schools, walk the blocks burdened with police corruption, stand within an audience of Make America Great Again hats, journey from trap house to university lecture, and rally in neglected streets. And we listen. "Watkins has come to remind us, everyone deserves the opportunity to speak for themselves" (Jason Reynolds, New York Times bestselling author) and serves hope to fellow Americans who are too often ignored and calling on others to examine what it means to be a model activist in today's world. We Speak for Ourselves is a must-read for all who are committed to social change.

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Subjects
Published
[United States] : Simon & Schuster Audio 2019.
Language
English
Corporate Author
hoopla digital
Main Author
D. Watkins (author, -)
Corporate Author
hoopla digital (-)
Edition
Unabridged
Online Access
Instantly available on hoopla.
Cover image
Physical Description
1 online resource (1 audio file (360 min.)) : digital
Format
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
ISBN
9781508285670
Access
AVAILABLE FOR USE ONLY BY IOWA CITY AND RESIDENTS OF THE CONTRACTING GOVERNMENTS OF JOHNSON COUNTY, UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, HILLS, AND LONE TREE (IA).
Contents unavailable.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In this thoughtful and humorous take on race in America, Watkins (The Beast Side), an essayist and professor, argues that experts who have "strangely no connection to the black people they claim they are fighting for" often overshadow those of "people from the street." The book includes Watkins's recollections of growing up in eastern Baltimore (playing basketball with friends, nightly gunfire, murdered peers, selling drugs, and hustling for money) and of his professional rise, kick-started by a 2014 essay in Salon about class-based limitations on access to information. Speaking more systemically, Watkins outlines the hurdles facing black Americans-underfunded schools, racist police, corrupt housing practices, high interest rates from banks-with facts, figures where relevant, and examples from news stories. He decries performatively "woke" activists who may participate in a protest or show up for a photo, but don't do what would really help: staying in a community, getting to know its residents, and contributing by, for example, teaching marketable skills or serving as role models. Watkins's appealingly conversational prose and insight about current events keep the pages turning. This excellent exploration will appeal to anyone interested in race in America. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Watkins (The Cook Up: A Crack Rock Memoir, 2016, etc.) anchors his new collection of essays in the voices, language, everyday realities, and dreams of black citizens of his home East Baltimore neighborhood."In the midst of all the black narratives stacked on bookshelves, we have a problema major problem," writes the author. "People from the street are absent from them." As an emergent writer with a background in the streets, he found himself a piece of "celebrity" after landing a viral essay with Salon. The author continues to offer deep critiques of the elitism and respectability that directly and indirectly censor voices of the multitudes of black experience, and he explores what it means to be accountable to his people in his writings. While these communities are overtly susceptible to the imposed hurdles of systemic racism, their experiences and worldviews don't easily conform to the #StayWoke packaging of mainstream black-led protest movements. As such, Watkins stresses the importance of letting more people speak for themselves and combining voice with action on a wide variety of institutional and structural forces that impede black progress. He touches on topics such as education, policing, food deserts, poor housing, drug markets, structural poverty, and more. "The days of one black savior are over," he writes. "Most of the people who identify as black leaders in the mainstream are too famous to directly interact with the people who need them the most. I learned to rethink what a leader is, what a mentor is, and how to be a valuable ally." Ultimately, being driven by "a whole lot of love" has allowed him to realize that the greatest rewards lie within the work. As he writes, he is "blessed in being able to try" as he continues to bring East Baltimore to the world.A strong offering that brings nuance and multiplicity to readers attempting to decipher the black male urban experience while uplifting the stories, visions, and love that incubated a rising star. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.