Policing Black Bodies in America

Petworth Library

Policing Black Bodies in America

Books that Touch on Police Brutality and Black Lives Matter

The protests of 2020 are an opportunity to remember individuals who were stripped of their humanity---Sandra Bland. Eric Garner. Tamir Rice. Dominique Clayton. Michael Brown. Christian Taylor. Alton Sterling. Philando Castile. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd.

These are just 10 of the names that have been unjustly murdered by the police in recent memory. Their stories have gone on to make national headlines, spark outrage, and call attention to police not being held accountable for slaughtering black bodies. The unmistakable optics at play are white male officers using lethal force to fatally kill unarmed black people.

Out of this reality, we are introduced to writers who have captured these moments in time for the purpose of starting a dialogue. The proceeding non-fiction books underscore police brutality, social conditions and the presence of #BlackLivesMatter as an indispensable human rights movement. 

Chokehold : Policing Black Men / by Paul Butler
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Key topics: racism in criminology, racial profiling in law enforcement,  police brutality

Invisible no more: police violence against black women and women of color / by Andrea J. Ritchie
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Key topics: Police violence against black women and women of color, police brutality

Have Black lives ever mattered? / by Mumia Abu-Jamal
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Key topics: police brutality, race relations, social conditions,  civil rights

Unapologetic : a Black, queer, and feminist mandate for radical movements / by Charlene A. Carruthers 
Book Copy, Digital Copy
Key topics: black queer feminism, black power and liberation, Black Lives Matter movement, political activity

Making all Black lives matter: reimagining freedom in the twenty-first century / by Barbara Ransby
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Key topics: Black power, social conditions, Black Lives Matter movement

When they call you a terrorist: a Black Lives Matter memoir / by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele
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Key topics: Origins of Black Lives Matter movement

They can't kill us all: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a new era in America's racial justice movement / by Wesley Lowery
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Key topics: social conditions, police shootings, racial profiling in law enforcement, Black Lives Matter movement
 
Excessive use of force: one mother's struggle against police brutality and misconduct / by Loretta P. Prater
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Key topics: Loss of son to police brutality, discrimination in law enforcement, family healing

The NFL national anthem protests / by Margaret Haerens
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Key topics:  Athletes protesting against police brutality, Colin Kaepernick,social change

The Making of Black Lives Matter: a brief history of an idea / by Christopher J. Lebron
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Key topics: Black Lives Matter movement, social conditions, race relations, equality