For our March 11th meeting, the Centering BIPOC Voices Book Group will discuss “Chokehold: Policing Black Men” by Paul Butler (2017 non-fiction). With the eloquence of Ta-Nehisi Coates and the persuasive research of Michelle Alexander, a former federal prosecutor explains how the system really works, and how to disrupt it. Chokehold means “laws and practices that treat every African American man like a thug.” The system is working exactly the way it’s supposed to. Black men are always under watch, and police violence is widespread—all with the support of judges and politicians. After recently seeing the violent scenes from the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Butler’s description of the problems and his recommendations to keep communities safer, without relying as much on police, will foster a great discussion. 

For April, the book is ”Carry” by Toni Jensen (2020 memoir). In this collection of essays, Toni Jensen, who is a member of the Metis aboriginal group, a people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry, relates her experience as an indigenous woman with gun violence but also addresses violence against women, children, and animals and the raping and pillaging of the land. Through these essays Jensen correlates different forms of violence and provides evidence of how one type of violence breeds another. The book is about being Indian in America, being Métis in America, and about striving toward whiteness and the cost of that striving.

Additional book selections are:

May – “Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People” by Ben Crump (2019 non-fiction)

June – “The Heart of a Woman” by Maya Angelou (1981 memoir) 

The group meets via Zoom at 3:30 PM on the second Saturday of the month and welcomes new group members, as well as one-time and occasional attendees. All books selected are available in paper, e-book, and audible versions to enhance accessibility. For more information about the group or to join one of the monthly discussions, contact: BIPOC.books@uutallahassee.org