When They Call You a Terrorist cover art

When They Call You a Terrorist

A Black Lives Matter Memoir

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

When They Call You a Terrorist

By: Patrisse Khan-Cullors, asha bandele, Angela Davis - introduction
Narrated by: Patrisse Khan-Cullors
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £12.19

Buy Now for £12.19

Season's Savings | £0.99/mo for 3 months

£5.99/mo after 3 months - terms apply. Cancel monthly

Following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, three women – Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Khan-Cullors – came together to form an active response to the systemic racism causing the deaths of so many African-Americans. They simply said: Black Lives Matter; and for that, they were labelled terrorists.

In this empowering account of survival, strength, and resilience, Patrisse Khan-Cullors and award-winning author and journalist asha bandele recount the personal story that led Patrisse to become a founder of Black Lives Matter, seeking to end the culture that declares Black life expendable. Like the era-defining movement she helped create, this rallying cry demands you do not look away.

With foreword by Angela Davis.

 Racism & Discrimination Social Sciences Discrimination Social justice Memoir
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

"An empowering account of strength, resilience and bravery"
"Tackling the whole gamut (racism, economics, freedom, sexuality, mental health, familial love, sisterhood and beyond), this is the portrait of modern America we should all be buying"
"Khan-Cullors is careful to hold herself to account . . . This humility, alongside her exceptional commitment to social justice, provides the greatest cause for optimism in this harrowing and yet uplifting account" (Musa Okwonga)
"A stunning memoir but also a beautifully articulated letter of protest and outrage. I couldn't recommend it more highly" (Shirley Manson)
"There are some who believe it is possible to infuse empathy into the heart of America. This is Patrisse Khan-Cullors' magnificent accomplishment with When They Call You a Terrorist . . . Her concise narrative is as unapologetic as the famous hashtag she coined, and offers at once cadenced poetry, intellectual analysis, determined polemic and imagery as unflinching as photography"
"A powerful, self-critical, and intimate portrait of how organising for social change can look in the 21st century"
"Not only a memoir, but a vital piece of education and an emphatic call to arms to fight against police brutality, institutionalized racism and anti-blackness at all costs"
"Patrisse Khan-Cullors is a leading visionary and activist, feminist, civil rights leader who has literally changed the trajectory of politics and resistance in America" (EVE ENSLER)
"A story of perseverance from a woman who found her voice in a world that often tried to shut her out. When They Call You a Terrorist is more than just a reflection on the American criminal justice system. It’s a call to action for readers to change a culture that allows for violence against people of colour"
"This book tells why we all share the responsibility to move those three words from an aspiration into a new reality" (JEFF CHANG)
All stars
Most relevant
This is a book that EVERYONE should read. This is a powerful book with a very important message. It is critical to be aware of unequal rights and opportunities, particularly the blatant denial of opportunities and welfare for certain sects of the population, in order to understand our society better.
Thank you to the authors for raising this awareness.
The narration was great, nice to listen to.
I want to shout
to the world to listen to what is said in this book (and I am a white person originally from South Africa, so I preach not from a place of being oppressed but from a place of being ashamed at what people can do without accountability or conscience).

A very important and gripping read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
There has recently been an upswing of works relating to racism in the US, so it was only a matter of time that one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement spoke about this issue.

Patrisse Khan-Cullors is eloquent, and her experiences are truly harrowing. From watching her 12 year old brother being assaulted and harrassed by police officers, growing up in poverty, to being an adult and watching another brother being locked up for being mentally disabled. It is really quite horrifying to see the spectrum of violence that black bodies still endure even post-Jim Crow laws. Cullors will argue that this is but an extension of those days.

It is a timely piece, and one of the better writings on the topic, mixing activism and academia with her own memoir.

A human experience in the BLM movement

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a must read for every white person who thinks they are not racist. And also for those who’re people who identify as anti racists.
I’ve been wrangling with my inner fascism’s for years now and knew only the headlines of BLM’s origins and the fortitude of its founders. This was a very eye opening and useful primer.
But more than that, Ms Khan-Cullors narrative help me understand and digest and wrestle with my complicity in some of her experience of being black in America, and by what I am learning the UK and the rest of the world. Without asking for anything but offering you her heart on a plate, this amazing courageous woman takes us through her life story and how it shaped her to be in the time and place that called for Black Lives Matter to be established.
It is beautifully written and deep. Well worth the listen on every level.

Must Read For White Folk

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I appreciated hearing this book read by the author herself. It was interesting hearing about the birth of Black Lives Matter. Definitely food for thought.

Thought provoking and passionate.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I am in awe of Patrisse and other queer black women. This book is an absolute must listen

excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews