State of Emergency: How We Win in the Country We Built

by Tamika D. Mallory

Overview

“A masterful book...reaffirms the urgency of the current state of Black people in America and the power we all have to win transformative change.” —Marc Lamont Hill, New York Times bestselling author

“Gives us the words and tools to fight for the justice our families deserve.” —Tamika Palmer, mother of Breonna Taylor

“A powerful voice in consistently reminding us that we all have a stake in the fight for a just, fair, and equitable America.” —Jada Pinkett Smith, actor, producer, entrepreneur

Social justice leader Tamika D. Mallory states her case for action in this searing indictment of America’s historical, deadly, and continuing assault on Black and brown lives.

Drawn from a lifetime of frontline culture-shifting advocacy, organizing, and fighting for equal justice, State of Emergency makes Mallory’s demand for change and shares the keys to effective activism both for those new to and long-committed to the defense of Black lives.

From Minneapolis to Louisville, to Portland, Kenosha, and Washington, DC, America’s reckoning with its unmet promises on race and class is at a boiling point not seen since the 1960s. While conversations around pathways to progress take place on social media and cable TV, history tells us that meaningful change only comes with radical legislation and boots-on-the-ground activism. Here, Mallory shares her unique personal experience building coalitions, speaking truth to power, and winning over hearts and minds in the struggle for shared prosperity and safety.

Forward-looking, steeped in history, and rich with stories from life on the margins of American life, State of Emergency is a revelatory examination of the challenges we face, of the forces we must overcome, and a blueprint for all who maintain hope for social equity and a better tomorrow.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982173463
Publisher:	Atria/Black Privilege Publishing
Publication date:	05/11/2021
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Tamika D. Mallory is a trailblazing social justice leader, movement strategist, globally recognized civil rights activist, cofounder of Until Freedom and the historic Women’s March, and author of State of Emergency. She served as the youngest ever Executive Director of the National Action Network. Her speech in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota—entitled “State of Emergency”—was dubbed “the speech of a generation” by ABC News. Mallory is an expert in the areas of gun violence prevention, criminal justice reform, and grassroots organizing.

Table of Contents

Foreword Cardi B xi

Angela Y. Davis xv

Prologue Tamika D. Mallory xxiii

Section 1 How We Got Here

1 Our Moment 1

2 Legacy of an Activist 11

3 Justice is Not a Comfortable Fight 33

4 The Rules 41

Section 2 Where We Are

5 The U.S. vs. Black America 59

6 The Roots of Rebellion 85

7 Say All Their Names 97

8 No Way Out 105

Section 3 Where We're Going

9 Defund the Police 119

10 Harnessing the Power of Our Voice 131

11 Other Strategies for Change 147

12 Equal Justice Under the Law 175

13 Cannot Stand 183

14 Vote and Build 189

15 The Fight Is Not Yet Won 205

Acknowledgments 217

Notes 221

Index 229

Editorial Reviews

03/29/2021

Women’s March cofounder Mallory debuts with an impassioned look at racial injustice in America. Though Mallory was raised by activist parents in a Harlem public housing project, it wasn’t until the murder of her son’s father in 2001 that she began “to connect the dots between the violence in my community and the violence of the system around that community.” She explains how institutional racism and poverty can lead to involvement with drugs and guns (“tools of self-destruction are put in the hands of young Black men more often than any schoolbooks”), and sketches the history of “systemic oppression” in the U.S. from the slave era to the “war on drugs.” (“It’s often speculated,” she writes, that the CIA funded Nicaragua’s Contra rebels with proceeds from the sale of crack cocaine in Black neighborhoods.) Mallory also discusses the Central Park Five case and the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and advises readers on what to bring to a protest and how to “speak with your wallet.” Shifting between outrage, hope, and resolute determination, this call to action will resonate with readers already fighting for racial justice, as well as those looking to join the movement. Agent: Marc Gerald, Europa Content. (May)

Publishers Weekly

★ 2021-03-09
Activist and organizer Mallory sounds an alarm against complacency now that a new administration is in the White House.

American history has been full of terrible moments for Black people, but one of particularly pressing importance happened recently. “To wake up on January 6, 2021,” writes the author, “to see a noose hanging in front of the United States Capitol while domestic terrorists breached the complex where our congressional leaders met to legislate, was paralyzing.” Paralyzing but not unexpected: Mallory’s next thought was, “Wow, they finally did it.” The Trump administration, whose leader fomented the revolt, is gone, but the enemies of Black progress remain. Against that, writes the author, “it is not enough to be nonracist.” Black activists and their White allies—who are welcome if they are “careful not to try to own the fight”—must commit to being anti-racist, to constantly combat racism and its exponents. Mallory delivers a series of rules that one wishes were ironic: “Don’t talk back,” reads one, since the consequence is that “You will be deemed dangerous,” while another counsels not to wear a hoodie. Because “my undiluted Blackness is worth fighting for,” the author urges a well-organized movement of resistance that involves, among other tenets, stopping to record every encounter of Black persons and the police, taking down names and badge numbers and filing complaints. Despite her well-thought-through program, which concludes with the rule “Be unapologetic about your Blackness until they respect it,” Mallory calls herself a contributor to and not a leader of the Black Lives Matter movement (she also co-founded the Women’s March on Washington), a movement whose necessity remains self-evident even with the new Biden-Harris presidency: “They must turn over the soil in order to grow a new political landscape for us all.” This is the first book from the Black Privilege imprint, led by radio and TV personality Charlamagne Tha God.

An urgent call for racial justice that demands attention, discussion, and action.

Kirkus Reviews

An urgent call for racial justice that demands attention, discussion, and action.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Mallory gives readers the tools they need to fight injustice and find a pathway towards true freedom."
— Marie Claire

“Shifting between outrage, hope, and resolute determination, this call to action will resonate with readers already fighting for racial justice, as well as those looking to join the movement.”
— Publishers Weekly

“Mallory provides a history of racism in the U.S. as well as equity-centered pathways forward.”
— Ms. Magazine

From the Publisher