A review by shelley_pearson
We Rise: Speeches by Inspirational Black Women by Barbara Jordan, Fannie Lou Hamer, Mary McLeod Bethune, Amanda Meadows, Condoleezza Rice, Michelle Obama, Rosa Parks, Cynthia McKinney, Shirley Chisholm
4.0
This was a good collection! It had speeches from many different years, and I liked that speeches from the Democratic, Republican and Green Party conventions were all included. I hadn’t heard of Cynthia McKinney before, but I really liked the speech she gave when she was running for president. I have a lot of Feelings about the Green Party, and I definitely thought that the 2016 election was not the time to vote for a 3rd party (especially for Jill Stein). But I might have felt differently in 2008 if I’d been more aware of McKinney. Maybe partially in hindsight, knowing that Obama would have been elected anyway. Maybe every election is so important that it’s never the time to vote for a 3rd party. But she raised a good question: When is the right time? I really liked her statement that the only truly wasted vote is a vote against your conscience. I guess that’s the point that Green candidates always make, that if everyone voted how they truly wanted, then the Green Party would at least get the 5% they keep wanting to get similar representation to the 2 major parties.
I really appreciated Shirley Chisholm’s speech and her points about how black women have been left behind by both the women’s movement (not addressing the needs of women of color) and the civil rights movement (not addressing the needs of women). I wish I’d heard it years ago, I feel like it would have made me think about intersectional feminism a lot earlier than I actually did.
And of course I loved Michelle Obama’s speech. I listened to it right after finishing What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton, and I was so struck by how much more dynamic of a speaker Michelle Obama is. I know that her recording was just one little speech, and Hillary’s was a whole book, but Michelle just seemed so strong, relatable, and trustworthy. Love you, Michelle!
The part that surprised me the most was Condoleezza Rice’s speech to the Republican National Convention while campaigning for George W. Bush. I was surprised to hear that her father chose the Republican Party because Democrats wouldn’t register a black man to vote. I know that the Republican Party was the party of Lincoln, but I didn’t think things were switched around so recently. I was also surprised by all the Republicans cheering in the background as Condoleezza spoke about equality.
I had only 2 issues with this audiobook, which were that some of the older recordings were hard to understand, and that the person who read the bios for each speaker sounded like she was barely able to stay awake. But other than that, I think this was a solid use of 2 hours.
I really appreciated Shirley Chisholm’s speech and her points about how black women have been left behind by both the women’s movement (not addressing the needs of women of color) and the civil rights movement (not addressing the needs of women). I wish I’d heard it years ago, I feel like it would have made me think about intersectional feminism a lot earlier than I actually did.
And of course I loved Michelle Obama’s speech. I listened to it right after finishing What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton, and I was so struck by how much more dynamic of a speaker Michelle Obama is. I know that her recording was just one little speech, and Hillary’s was a whole book, but Michelle just seemed so strong, relatable, and trustworthy. Love you, Michelle!
The part that surprised me the most was Condoleezza Rice’s speech to the Republican National Convention while campaigning for George W. Bush. I was surprised to hear that her father chose the Republican Party because Democrats wouldn’t register a black man to vote. I know that the Republican Party was the party of Lincoln, but I didn’t think things were switched around so recently. I was also surprised by all the Republicans cheering in the background as Condoleezza spoke about equality.
I had only 2 issues with this audiobook, which were that some of the older recordings were hard to understand, and that the person who read the bios for each speaker sounded like she was barely able to stay awake. But other than that, I think this was a solid use of 2 hours.