They Can't Kill Us All

Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice Movement

By: Wesley Lowery

Narrated by: Ron Butler

Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2016 - Publishers Weekly

One of the Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2016 - Elle

11 Fall Books We Can't Wait to Read - Seattle Times

A Best Book of Fall 2016 - Boston Globe

One of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's 20 Books to Watch, fall 2016

A deeply reported book that brings alive the quest for justice in the deaths of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and Freddie Gray, offering both unparalleled insight into the reality of police violence in America and an intimate, moving portrait of those working to end it.

Conducting hundreds of interviews during the course of over one year reporting on the ground, Washington Post writer Wesley Lowery traveled from Ferguson, Missouri, to Cleveland, Ohio; Charleston, South Carolina; and Baltimore, Maryland; and then back to Ferguson to uncover life inside the most heavily policed, if otherwise neglected, corners of America today.

In an effort to grasp the magnitude of the response to Michael Brown's death and understand the scale of the problem police violence represents, Lowery speaks to Brown's family and the families of other victims as well as local activists. By posing the question "what does the loss of any one life mean to the rest of the nation?", Lowery examines the cumulative effect of decades of racially biased policing in segregated neighborhoods with failing schools, crumbling infrastructure, and too few jobs.

Studded with moments of joy and tragedy, They Can't Kill Us All offers a historically informed look at the standoff between the police and those they are sworn to protect, showing that civil unrest is just one tool of resistance in the broader struggle for justice. As Lowery brings vividly to life, the protests against police killings are also about the black community's long history of being on the receiving end of perceived and actual acts of injustice and discrimination. They Can't Kill Us All grapples with a persistent if also largely unexamined aspect of the otherwise transformative presidency of Barack Obama: the failure to deliver tangible security and opportunity to those Americans most in need of both.

©2016 Wesley Lowery (P)2016 Hachette Audio

casting issue?

I can't decide if there was a casting issue or if the casting was intentional to speak to a broader base. To me the voice I was hearing didn't match the story being told.

Eye opening book I want to send to my Uncle(s)

The dedication to telling the stories in this book is admirable and highly commended. The stories themselves need to be heard because they are true and necessary

Revealing!

The story under the headlines by one who writes those headlines. Worth everyone's time especially to be more conscious and active

Informative, great narrator

The narrator does a great job. The book is very informative and keeps you intrigued.

Necessary and Inspiring

A blueprint for social change. A rollercoaster ride of emotions as the history of police brutality and racial injustice is retold in a fresh way.

Means

the robotic voice is the only thing keeping this book from being a fire star.

Quite Good

This book is a great way to think over many of the prominent cases of police killings of black citizens in recent years. The author gives a very autobiographical account from his perspective as a journalist. I wasn’t expecting this and found it frustrating at times. I just wanted a deep reporting and analysis of the events themselves. But in the end I think this was a worthwhile perspective and gives an insight into the way the media covers these events as well as the “behind the scenes” operation of protest movements. I recommend the book. Great narration. It is beholden on all of us to learn about and then change the racism that is alive in this country.

Great content, story line is so so

Great to hear about behind the scenes people on each of the civil rights movements.

But the story lacked cohesiveness. It felt more like individual stories strong together.

Overall decent but lacking somethibg

As a black man in america who has seen his fair share of racial policing, I came seeking anecdotal references as well as various statistics of abuse. For some reason, I felt this book lacking in both. Perhaps I am not the intended audience buy I hope this title does help others see our struggle.

I also view the title as misleading because I DO think can kill us all... And like others have said, the emotional music detracts from the message

I had no idea!

What a sad commentary on our country, some of the laws are in recent years!