Revolution in Our Time: the Black Panthers' rise, fall & legacy today

 

Kekla Magoon's young adult, nonfiction book, Revolution in Our Time, about the history of the Black Panthers, their enduring struggle for progress in their lifetimes and the recurring themes in the modern-day American society is a poignant informational book that benefits everyone who reads it.  

The Black Panther Party played a large role in pushing back against racist policies in communities, however, the media portrayal focused on the sensational aspects rather than the multi-faceted parts of the movement that actually helped communities.  This is where Magoon's book comes in to set the record straight on how women and children were the focus in order to provide for their basic needs while in poverty.  

The book starts out when in 1967 a group of Black Panthers walked onto the floor of the California State Legislature to express their position on Black people being able to defend themselves against unlawful attacks.  How did this group form and come to this pivotable moment when they were splashed in headlines all around the country?  Magoon then takes the reader back to 1619 until 1965 and summarizes how Black people have endured inhumane treatment up until 1965.  She explains the group's formation in 1966 during the Civil Rights Movement and how they grew in numbers all while being targeted by law enforcement and the FBI.  Magoon finishes the book by going full circle to when the group disbanded in 1982 until the present day struggles for the same protection under the law that was the cornerstone of their platform from their formation. 

It reminded me a lot of Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You and You Call This Democracy?, both written with a young adult audience in mind.  Our youth deserve to know the historical events that have led our country to the state it is in and how they can help improve their world by not repeating mistakes of the past and recognizing what has worked before.  This is an excellent book for teens and adults to read together and use it study the figures and events on their own.  Full of photographs, quotes, and a storytelling technique that will leave a lasting impression in the mind and heart of the reader, this should be shared and discussed by all who care about Black people.

Click HERE for my book review of this book.

HERE is a short video of Kekla Magoon discussing her book.

If you have middle grade readers (ages 8 - 14) who'd like to learn more about The Black Panthers I'd recommend Rita Garcia-Williams' award winning trilogy: