PositiveThe New RepublicAbove all a beautiful tribute to the Black family ... A window into how political ideas are often developed and circulated within families ... Holley covers some members of the family—notably Afeni and Assata—with more nuance than others. Although he provides rich details about Black women in the Shakur family, the book gives little consideration to the differences between the experiences of men and women ... Yet Holley’s book represents the most detailed account of the Shakurs to date. Despite some of the book’s unevenness, An Amerikan Family opens an important conversation about Black resistance to oppression in U.S. history.
Scott Ellsworth
RaveThe Washington Post... offers a moving and humane portrait of the massacre, drawn from the author’s extensive investigation as well as his experience as a native Tulsan. While Ellsworth traces his own journey researching the massacre since the 1970s, he also places Black Tulsans and their memories at the center of his narrative ... Ellsworth grabs the reader’s attention early in the book with his portrait of the Greenwood district. One can sense the vibrancy and character of the neighborhood, a place that encouraged Black economic power. The utopia-like feeling that emerges in the early chapters, however, slips away as Ellsworth recounts, with great care and sensitivity, the barrage of attacks on the Black community. We hear from victims and witnesses whose voices are often ignored ... By seeking out these difficult answers, Ellsworth makes clear that he is deeply committed to exposing the details of the massacre and its aftermath. He refuses to shy away from the history — no matter how uncomfortable ... sends a powerful message at this 100th anniversary: that reconciliation is possible only when we directly confront the truth of a painful past and take concrete steps to redress it.
