09/03/2018
In this heartfelt narrative, Carr, whose son Eric Garner was killed by a New York Police Department officer in 2014, traces her unplanned path to becoming a civil rights activist. Garner’s death, captured on a video that went viral, shows him saying, “I can’t breathe,” as the officer holds him down on the pavement. (According to many witnesses, Garner had been trying to break up a fight.) Carr recounts how Eric’s wrongful death galvanized her to action. She joined the Mothers of the Movement, a group of mothers whose children have died at the hands of law enforcement, attended the Congressional Black Caucus, marched with Rev. Al Sharpton, and campaigned for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election. This journey is placed within the larger context of her life: raised in a large, loving family in Brooklyn, Carr faced the death of her first husband, leaving her alone to raise their three small children, and the loss of another son, Emery, who died in a drug-related shooting in 1996. She recalls the lives of her children; the importance of her faith and community; and the challenges of her new activist role, highlighting the positive (Governor Cuomo appointing a special prosecutor for cases in which people have been killed by police) and the disappointing (a grand jury not indicting anyone involved in her son’s death). An advocate of better police training and community engagement, Carr acknowledges the problem remains daunting. This is a sincere and passionate account. Photos. (Oct.)
After the death of her son, Eric Garner, at the hands of New York City police officers on Staten Island went viral, Gwen Carr's life changed forever. The illegal choke hold that took Garner's life has been seared into the public consciousness forever as the large black man struggled to breathe while a white policeman held him down on a hot concrete sidewalk. His death set the tone for a new normal where young black men and women now automatically document police interactions with their cell phones for fear of brutality and even death. As one of the Mothers of the Movement, Gwen Carr, a retired transit-train operator, now dedicates her time to fighting for racial equality, especially the way law enforcement treats blacks in the United States.
In This Stops Today, Carr shares the tragedies she has faced, recalls her son's life and death, and recounts her newfound role as an activist in the fight for racial equality. More than the story of a single moment, her book recounts a life of family, community, and of a woman who now speaks for those who no longer can. She has to do it for her firstborn. She has to do it for Eric.
After the death of her son, Eric Garner, at the hands of New York City police officers on Staten Island went viral, Gwen Carr's life changed forever. The illegal choke hold that took Garner's life has been seared into the public consciousness forever as the large black man struggled to breathe while a white policeman held him down on a hot concrete sidewalk. His death set the tone for a new normal where young black men and women now automatically document police interactions with their cell phones for fear of brutality and even death. As one of the Mothers of the Movement, Gwen Carr, a retired transit-train operator, now dedicates her time to fighting for racial equality, especially the way law enforcement treats blacks in the United States.
In This Stops Today, Carr shares the tragedies she has faced, recalls her son's life and death, and recounts her newfound role as an activist in the fight for racial equality. More than the story of a single moment, her book recounts a life of family, community, and of a woman who now speaks for those who no longer can. She has to do it for her firstborn. She has to do it for Eric.
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169839562 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 10/01/2018 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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