Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color is a fantastic non-fiction collection of facts and individual stories of Black, Indigenous, Latinx women and female-identifying individuals and their experiences with the police. This book should have been in conversations last summer when we were talking about Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, the California lynchings, and all the other lives stolen by racism, hate, and unhinged law enforcement. I’m a bit upset that it wasn’t, to be honest. A bit upset that books about racism by white women got many more sales, while Invisible No More was so difficult for me to find.
This book is deceptively short. There is a long introduction, and many, many pages of sources at the end. Yet, it’s not a book to read in a weekend. It’s heavy with stories of violence and sexual assault. Ritchie delivers the stories of the abused and murdered with a calm matter-of-factness that, from a literary sense, makes the book flow together well. From a more personal perspective, the ease with which she is able to fill these pages with harrowing accounts of casual shootings, rapes, threats… it’s heartbreaking. Ritchie is a police misconduct attorney and I’m sure she could easily fill several more books with experiences of her clients and community.
Invisible No More is one of the most intersectional books I’ve ever encountered. Care is made to portray experiences not only of Black women, but also Indigenous and Latinx experiences. And, not only of cisgender women, but transgender, gender non-conforming, and Two Spirit experiences as well. Stories come from heterosexual experiences and the LGBTQIAP+ community. I also appreciate that Ritchie addressed the conversation about intersectionality in our approach to understanding and dismantling systemic racism and police brutality – that shining a spotlight on a range of peoples does not weaken the argument, but strengthens it.
As any book about racism and racist acts… Invisible No More is overflowing with content warnings. Any type of violence – physical, sexual, and emotional – can be found in these pages. It’s an important book for self-education, but like any book that shows racism instead of just talking about it in a vague sense… it could be very triggering. While I recommend this book so highly, be aware of the content.
While, due to the nature of its content, I hesitate to call Invisible No More one of my favorite non-fiction books… it falls into that range of appreciation. Well-researched, well-delivered, and powerful, this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to be an ally to suppressed communities. It explains the laws, how they were developed, how they are acted upon, and the results they have carried. It’s a devastating yet important tool to have in your antiracism toolbox, and I highly recommend picking up a copy.
Graphic: Death, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Deadnaming, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, and Slavery