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makealongstorycourt's review
4.0
4.5 stars. The addendum at the end pulled the entire book together. Obviously since it is a book compiled of letters written over the years, it gets redundant towards the last third of the book. However, I really did enjoy looking up several historical moments and cultural references that I had missed back in high school when politics/social justice wasn't on my radar yet. Would highly recommend, but only after you read Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me. (Maybe even read this before BTWAM for historical context, since Coates' uses more convoluted language and Abu-Jamal is much more accessible language-wise).
schmidtat's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
4.5
gnatie's review against another edition
4.75
Oh my god. Very rarely does a book ever make me mad enough to want to do something about it, but this book did. This is a very important topic and a book I think everyone needs to read. The author writes very well, in a way that makes you want to keep reading, even though this is shitty news. Love this book, hate the police system, black lives do matter, but those in power certainly dont think so.
blackedaix's review
5.0
Mumia Abu Jamal wrote a powerful criticism of the police and the injustice system of the United States. He brings to attention the many failures and downright offensive and war-like actions of the police force against American Black citizens.
annathompson1010's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
bookstobechill's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
FREE MUMIA
elizabethlk's review against another edition
4.0
Have Black Lives Ever Mattered? is a vital read for anyone who isn't really sure they have a great picture of the history of police brutality and white supremacy. This is a great introduction, through brief essays, to actual events of brutality and historical references that give a starting point of how those brutal actions came to be accepted reality.
I want to learn more after reading this, and I want to read more of Mumia Abu-Jamal's work, but I think this is a really solid starting point. I am personally 25 years old, white, and Canadian, so many of the incidents in this book are not things I remember (and some I would never have heard of). I know I didn't take notice of anything in this vein until Trayvon Martin. I've tried to stay informed since the, but it always feels so woefully inadequate. This is the kind of book that sets a person in the right direction.
I want to learn more after reading this, and I want to read more of Mumia Abu-Jamal's work, but I think this is a really solid starting point. I am personally 25 years old, white, and Canadian, so many of the incidents in this book are not things I remember (and some I would never have heard of). I know I didn't take notice of anything in this vein until Trayvon Martin. I've tried to stay informed since the, but it always feels so woefully inadequate. This is the kind of book that sets a person in the right direction.