From Powells.com
Staff Pick
Wesley Lowery is an astonishingly young and talented reporter who covers race relations for the Washington Post. They Can’t Kill Us All, his first book, is a deeply researched exploration of the police shootings that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement, and a candid depiction of what it’s like to be a black journalist investigating and often entering into highly charged situations between white officers and the African American communities they police. The result is a critical early history of the 21st century civil rights movement and an exemplar of disciplined and compassionate reporting. Recommended By Rhianna W., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
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 repose 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 other victims' families 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 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.
Review
"Lowery takes us inside the pain and courage of those who have cared to challenge the police and this nation. He details their stories and, along the way, provides a powerful and all-too-human account of what it means to be a reporter in a time of profound crisis. His example gives me renewed home in those who report the news. This is a must read!"
Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., author of Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul
Review
"They Can't Kill Us All offers a window onto the journalistic process, and the countervailing pressures to tell and important and awful story fairly.... Lowery is unflinchingly honest...a skillful reporter and storyteller. He takes the reader through the laborious task of reportage with a humanity and forthrightness, making this book more than just a catalog of tragedy. He succinctly presents a story of human grief."
New York Times Book Review
Review
"Lowery's dispatches from the front lines of this new era in racial justice movement building have proven indispensable, and with They Can't Kill Us All, he further shows just how vital his reporting has become. Part early history of a still growing movement, as well as part critique of the media charged with covering this movement, Lowery also offers a peek into the process of reporting--the structural challenges, unfortunate failures, and personal successes in accurately capturing the politics and personalities involved in the biggest domestic story of the Obama presidency. They Can't Kill Us All proves itself a necessary read for anyone in need of greater understanding of why and how a new generation of young black activists have taken to the streets to demand justice from their country." Mychal Denzel Smith, New York Times bestselling author of Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching
Review
"The most eloquent passages in They Can't Kill Us All come when Lowery reveals the emotional cost paid by those who write the first draft of history, especially when the writers are journalists of color.... Lowery's strength lies in the breadth of his reporting and the depth of his introspection.... Lowery is still in his twenties, but already he's earned his spot among a small cadre of journalists of color."
Chicago Tribune
Review
"Through hundreds of interviews, [Lowery] looks at how the deaths of Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, and Tamir Rice have affected communities, plus the impact of perceived and actual discrimination. Lowery also offers insight into the movement that has sprung up in response and what is left to be done."
Bustle
Review
"A narrative of outrage, struggle, and, eventually, optimism.... A balanced look at a protest movement that's only just begun to gather focus and strength."
Vulture
About the Author
Wesley Lowery is a national reporter for the Washington Post who covers law enforcement and justice. He was the paper's lead reporter in Ferguson, Missouri and covering the Black Lives Matter protest movement, and was a member of the team awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for the paper's coverage of police shootings. His reporting has previously appeared in The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal.