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We speak for ourselves : a word from forgotten black America / D. Watkins.

by Watkins, D. (Dwight), author.

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New York : Atria Books, 2019.

African Americans -- Maryland -- Baltimore -- Social conditions.

Inner cities -- Social aspects -- Maryland -- Baltimore.

Poor African Americans -- Social conditions.

Urban poor -- Maryland -- Baltimore -- Social conditions.

9781501187827 (hardback)

1501187821 (hardback)

188 pages ; 22 cm

First Atria Books hardcover edition.

Part 1. Down bottom - Chapter 1: Where I come from -- Chapter 2: Just pass the mic -- Chapter 3: The hurdles -- Chapter 4: The tradition of failure -- Chapter 5: Too poor for pop culture -- Chapter 6: No retirement for the hustlers.

Part 2. The biggest gang in America - Chapter 7: An American tradition -- Chapter 8: How our trust is undone -- Chapter 9: The Baltimore uprising.

Part 3. Never patriots - Chapter 10: I'm sick of woke -- Chapter 11: Are you a real one? -- Chapter 12: Intellectually curious or racist?

Part 4. Proximity - Chapter 13: Be the person you needed growing up -- Chapter 14: There are no shortcuts to change -- Chapter 15: Don't make it out, make it better.

From the row houses of Baltimore to the stoops of Brooklyn, with searing conviction and full compassion, D. Watkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Cook Up and The Beast Side lays bare the voices of the most vulnerable and allows their raw, intimate stories to uncover the systematic injustice threaded within our society. Honest and eye-opening, We Speak for Ourselves makes us listen, feel, and create a course toward change that starts right where we are. 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 shares the lessons he has learned while navigating through two very distinct worlds--the hood and the elite sanctums of prominent black thinkers and public figures--serving 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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