fbpx
Reverse-Gentrification of the Literary World

Akashic Books

||| |||

Catalog » Browse by Title: P » Police Brutality and White Supremacy: The Fight Against American Traditions

Police Brutality and White Supremacy: The Fight Against American Traditions

By:

An NBA veteran offers engaging interviews and reflections that explore police brutality, white supremacy, and the struggle for racial justice in America.

*While supplies last, books ordered through the website will include a bookplate SIGNED by Etan Thomas!

Buy on Bookshop
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Barnes & Noble

$18.95 $14.21

What people are saying…

“Thomas’s interviews demand careful reading by all who want to expose racism, hold police accountable, and create an American society that practices social justice.”
Library Journal, a Best Book of the Year in Political Science/Civil Rights

“The book is filled with thought-provoking interviews and commentary on police brutality, white supremacy, and the lack of racial equality in the United States. Thomas interviewed victims of police brutality and their family members to convey what they actually went through and allow them to share what they experienced directly.”
––Bullets Forever (SB Nation Washington Wizards vertical)

“Activist and former NBA player Thomas follows up his 2018 interview collection, We Matter, with Q&As informed by the turmoil of 2020 and 2021, with a similar assortment of interviewees: athletes (Isiah Thomas, Steph Curry, Breanna Stewart), media figures (Yamiche Alcindor, Jake Tapper) and family members of Black men killed or brutalized by police (Willie McCoy’s brother, Rodney King’s daughter) . . . A relevant, occasionally eye-opening collection of Q&As on race and privilege.”
Kirkus Reviews

“Thomas speaks with athletes, activists, religious leaders, and family members of victims of police brutality about systemic racism, exploring such topics as Rodney King, the Central Park Five, and the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. The strength of this book lies in its range.”
Booklist

“Courage shines through in another worthy book: Etan Thomas’ Police Brutality and White Supremacy: The Fight Against American Traditions . . . The text is chock-full of important lessons and makes a perfect follow-up to the author’s previous book, We Matter: Athletes and Activism.”
Kirkus Reviews blog

“My family and I are extremely grateful for the support and love from my brother in the movement, Etan Thomas.”
—Emerald Garner, daughter of Eric Garner

“I’m extremely grateful to Etan for continuing to shine a light on how police violence has harmed families across the nation. Our stories matter.”
—Dr. Tiffany Crutcher, twin sister of Terence Crutcher

“I admire Etan’s passion, tenacity, and commitment to fighting for our people.”
—Ben Crump, Trial Lawyer for Justice

Praise for We Matter: Athletes and Activism:

“Thomas interviews athletes, coaches, and sports personalities as he covers topics related to activism from the sporting realm and how it is perceived in America. A necessary read.”
Library Journal, A Best Book of 2018

“In We Matter, Thomas strives to show the influence professional athletes can have when they join the conversation on race, politics and civil rights. Thomas conducted 50 interviews, which included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Laila Ali, Michael Bennett and Eric Reid, among many other athletes, as well as journalists, television personalities and family members of unarmed black men who were shot and killed. Thomas also explored his ties with the Wizards and spoke with John Wall, Bradley Beal and current majority team owner Ted Leonsis.”
Washington Post

“Former NBA player Etan Thomas releases the timely and necessary We Matter: Athletes and Activism, in order to add useful, relevant words to the conversation on athletes and their activism.”
The Root


Description

ETAN THOMAS, an eleven-year NBA veteran and lifelong advocate for social justice, weaves together his personal experiences with police violence and white supremacy with multiple interviews of family members of victims of police brutality like exonerated Central Park Five survivor Raymond Santana and Rodney King’s daughter Lora Dene King; as well as activist athletes and other public figures such as Steph Curry, Chuck D, Isiah Thomas, Sue Bird, Jake Tapper, Jemele Hill, Stan Van Gundy, Kyle Korver, Mark Cuban, Rick Strom, and many more.

Thomas speaks with retired police officers about their efforts to change policing, and white allies about their experiences with privilege and their ability to influence other white people. Thomas also examines the history of racism, white supremacy, and the prevalence of both in the current moment. He looks at the origins of white supremacy in the US, dating back to the country’s inception, and explores how it was interwoven into Christianity—interviewing leading voices both in and outside of the church. Finally, with prominent voices in the media and education, Thomas discusses the continued cultivation of these injustices in American society.

Police Brutality and White Supremacy demands accountability and justice for those responsible for and impacted by police violence and terror. It offers practical solutions to work against the promotion of white supremacy in law enforcement, Christianity, early education, and across the public sphere.

Featuring original interviews with: Steph Curry, Chuck D, Yamiche Alcindor, Isiah Thomas, Jemele Hill, Craig Hodges, Stan Van Gundy, Mark Cuban, Jake Tapper, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Sue Bird, Kyle Korver, Rick Strom, Cenk Uygur, Tim Wise, Chris Broussard, Breanna Stewart, Rex Chapman, Stephen Jackson, Kori Mccoy, Lora Dene King, Chikesia Clemons, Raymond Santana, Alissa Findley, Amber and Ashley Carr, Michelle and Ashley Monterrosa, Chairman Fred Hampton Jr., Abiodun Oyewole, Marc Lamont Hill, Officer Carlton Berkley, Pastor John K. Jenkins Sr., Officer Joe Ested, Captain Sonia Pruitt, and Bishop Talbert Swan.

Read a feature on Etan Thomas at the New York Amsterdam News and Bullets Forever.

Watch interviews with Etan Thomas on Black News Tonight with Marc Lamont Hill, C-SPAN-2’s BookTV, and Discovery Education.

Listen to interviews with Etan Thomas at The Rex Chapman Show, WAMC (Albany, NY)’s The RoundtableJacobin Radio’s Sports Show, and Bleav in Wizards.

 


Book Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Published: 1/11/22
  • IBSN: 9781636140568
  • e-IBSN: 9781636140582
  • Hardcover
  • IBSN: 9781636140575

Author

ETAN THOMAS, a former eleven-year NBA player, was born in Harlem and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has published multiple books including: We Matter: Athletes and Activism (voted a top ten best activism book of all time by BookAuthority), More than an Athlete, Fatherhood: Rising to the Ultimate Challenge, and Voices of the Future. Thomas received the 2010 National Basketball Players Association Community Contribution Award as well as the 2009 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation Legacy Award—both honoring his advocacy for social justice. He is a senior writer for BasketballNews.com and a regular contributor to the Guardian and The Undefeated. He can frequently be seen on MSNBC as a special correspondent and cohosts a weekly show with Dave Zirin called, The Collision: Where Sports and Politics Collide. Police Brutality and White Supremacy: The Fight Against American Traditions is his latest book.

More info »