In this Book
- This Is Not For You: An Activist's Journey of Resistance and Resilience
- Book
- 2021
- Published by: Oregon State University Press
summary
This Is Not For You tells the story of activist and photographer Richard Brown, a Black Portlander who has spent decades working to bridge the divide between police and the Black community. His memoir brings readers with him into the streets with fellow activists, into squad cars with the rank-and-file, and to regular meetings with mayors and police chiefs. There are very few people doing the kind of work Richard Brown has done. And that, as he sees it, is a big problem.
The book finds Brown approaching his eightieth birthday and reflecting on his life. As he recalls his childhood in 1940s Harlem, his radicalization in the newly desegregated Air Force, and his decades of activism in one of America’s whitest cities, he questions how much longer he’ll do this work, and he wonders who, if anyone, will take his place.
This is a book about how and why to become an engaged, activist citizen, and how activists can stay grounded, no matter how deeply they immerse themselves in the work. It also offers an intimate, firsthand look at policing: what policing is and could be, how civilians can have a say, and how police can and should be responsive to and inclusive of civilian voices. This Is Not For You speaks on every page about being Black in America: about Black pride; Black history, art, and culture; and the experience of resisting white supremacy. It also stands as a much-needed counternarrative to Portlandia, telling a different story about the city and who has shaped it.
Over fifty percent of royalties earned on this book will be donated to organizations working on behalf of Black Portlanders.
The book finds Brown approaching his eightieth birthday and reflecting on his life. As he recalls his childhood in 1940s Harlem, his radicalization in the newly desegregated Air Force, and his decades of activism in one of America’s whitest cities, he questions how much longer he’ll do this work, and he wonders who, if anyone, will take his place.
This is a book about how and why to become an engaged, activist citizen, and how activists can stay grounded, no matter how deeply they immerse themselves in the work. It also offers an intimate, firsthand look at policing: what policing is and could be, how civilians can have a say, and how police can and should be responsive to and inclusive of civilian voices. This Is Not For You speaks on every page about being Black in America: about Black pride; Black history, art, and culture; and the experience of resisting white supremacy. It also stands as a much-needed counternarrative to Portlandia, telling a different story about the city and who has shaped it.
Over fifty percent of royalties earned on this book will be donated to organizations working on behalf of Black Portlanders.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- The Presentation
- pp. 13-20
- Part I: Excuse Yourself
- Chapter 1. A Boy in a Room
- pp. 23-29
- Chapter 2. What I Saw When I Looked
- pp. 30-36
- Chapter 3. So Far from Home
- pp. 37-42
- The Academy
- pp. 43-50
- Part II: The Sort of Place You'd Pull Last if You Could
- Chapter 4. Another Planet
- pp. 61-65
- Chapter 5. Survival Skills
- pp. 66-70
- Chapter 6. The Ghost of a Stripe
- pp. 71-74
- Chapter 7. Paper Cup
- pp. 75-82
- Chapter 8. A Real Person
- pp. 83-85
- Chapter 9. Outcomes
- pp. 86-92
- Part III: No Destination but the Drive
- Chapter 10. Light Casualties
- pp. 103-111
- Chapter 12. Speed and Other Limits
- pp. 116-122
- Chapter 13. Twenty Years
- pp. 123-126
- The Street
- pp. 127-140
- Part IV: Picture Takin' Man
- Chapter 14. Like a Little Bird
- pp. 143-150
- Chapter 15. Human Interest
- pp. 151-158
- Chapter 16. Sidebar
- pp. 159-164
- The Precinct
- pp. 165-176
- Part V: Black Man in a White Room
- Chapter 17. Etiquette
- pp. 179-184
- Chapter 18. The Center of Every Story
- pp. 185-192
- Chapter 19. Just About Everything
- pp. 193-200
- The Basement
- pp. 201-212
- Part VI: Eighteen Inches
- Chapter 20. Into the Blue Cocoon
- pp. 215-222
- Chapter 21. Hope and Hard Work
- pp. 223-230
- Chapter 22. Block After Block
- pp. 231-238
- Chapter 23. Tug of War
- pp. 239-246
- Chapter 24. One Last Thursday
- pp. 247-252
- The Presentation
- pp. 253-256
Additional Information
ISBN
9780870713057
Related ISBN(s)
9780870713026
MARC Record
OCLC
1240729666
Pages
258
Launched on MUSE
2021-12-14
Language
English
Open Access
No