Killing the Black Body

Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty

By: Dorothy Roberts

Narrated by: Shayna Small

Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

This is a no-holds-barred response to the liberal and conservative retreat from an assertive, activist, and socially transformative civil rights agenda of recent years - using a Black feminist lens and the issue of the impact of recent legislation, social policy, and welfare "reform" on Black women's - especially poor Black women's - control over their bodies' autonomy and their freedom to bear and raise children with respect and dignity in a society whose White mainstream is determined to demonize, even criminalize their lives. It gives its listeners a cogent legal and historical argument for a radically new, and socially transformative, definition of "liberty" and "equality" for the American polity from a Black feminist perspective.

©2014 Dorothy Roberts (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Brilliant, controversial, and profoundly valuable.... An important stepping-stone toward transforming the way black women and their children are treated in America.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Chilling.... It becomes difficult to reject the author’s thesis.... that there is a sustained, and in some quarters deliberate, campaign to punish Black women - especially the poor - for having children.” (The National Law Journal)

“An important and riveting book that skillfully and compellingly explains contemporary challenges to reproductive freedom.” (Patricia Hill Collins, author of Black Feminist Thought)

Must-read for antiracism education

While some of this feels a bit outdated, overall this book is stellar and so important. I honestly was entirely oblivious to reproductive rights along with its racial ramifications and history aside from abortion. So glad a group of fellow birth workers decided to read it together as book club! A must read if you want to do antiracism work and/or are a birth worker.

Excellent!!!

ITS HISTORY
ITS CURRENT DAY
AND ITS FUTURE IDEOLOGY!

This book is a must have read for any Maternal Health worker , especially those working with the Black community. I even recommend this for educators as well.

Terribly sad but very informative. Highly recommend.

This book was a very illuminating inside view of the travesties of the birth control industry on black women’s reproductive rights. I already knew that Puerto Rican women had been the first to be experimented on with the pill. There is so much here that I didn’t realize. I highly recommend reading this. I have more distrust for the birth control industry that ever before!

Full of facts and figures

Shayna Small does an excellent job of narrating a book that easily could be a text book in an ethics, ethnic or women’s studies course.

Dorothy Roberts, thank you for making me think. Thank you for taking a difficult subject, reproductive equity, and presenting it from multiple points of view.

I could go on and on but I won’t. My brain is full and some of my old beliefs have been challenged. An excellent book.

Must read for birth workers

I am a doula and chose this book for one of my certification reads. It was wonderfully written, very informative, and full of useful information.