A sharp examination of Black resistance to white supremacy throughout history. Kellie Carter Jackson is especially interested in use of force, the concept of nonviolent vs. violent protest, and our societal view of them as good vs. bad. With vivid personal examples from the author's family and fresh perspectives on famous figures, it's a fascinating book that would make for especially great book club discussion.

Excellent! This type of book should be read to spark critical thinking and discussion surrounding American/World History – specifically the impact of the oppression and enslavement of African people and their methods of resistance and rejection. The author pulls from documented cases, historical facts, and firsthand experiences to illustrate various forms of defiance and rebellion.

The violence and hatred of White Supremacy and anti-Blackness are explored – she initially examines how the concept of Black inhumanity fuels racist policies and acts and then goes on to expand on the shortcomings of nonviolent protests (i.e. marches, demonstrations, speeches, and sit-ins) to counteract it. She admits that achieving liberation and Black humanity will not be easy and brilliantly outlines five categories for readers to explore: Revolution, Protection, Force, Flight, and Joy.

This novel is easy to read with timely, engaging topics, and would be a great group read in social and academic settings.

Thanks to the publisher, Basic Books | Seal Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review.

This book is an absolute must read for folks wanting to work to dismantle white supremacy. We Refuse is an engaging, nuanced, and important exploration of Black armed resistance through history. In many ways, I think this book challenges our preconceptions of what resistance and protest "should" be in a highly impactful way.

Jackson produced an important work that examined Black resistance to white supremacy and terrorism. The focus was not on what was done to Blacks but what Blacks did to in response to what they experienced and to prevent it from happening when possible. She did it through a broader view than the usual dichotomy of nonviolence—protests and marches—and violence. She included things like work slow-downs, flight and protection of oneself and others among a number of methods. She particularly used the activities of Black women who have often been forgotten or left out of the narrative of Black resistance. Without Black women in the narrative at least half of the history of Black resistance had not been told.

Jackson presented this information in a very readable style and length that was anything but dry or bombastic. She included examples from her own family as well as lesser-known historical figures (or pretty much unknown by most people) that kept the information fresh instead of focusing on the usual people who have become so well-known that the impact has been blunted by the often retelling of their accounts. By the inclusion of these often-untapped people (or the not as well-known exploits of the well-known historical figures) she reinforced both the greater number of people involved in resistance than many think of and the many methods used.

She did not shy away from discussions of force and violence used by Blacks to resist white terrorism or apologize for it. Let us be truthful, force and violence sometimes have been and still are the only way to combat the violence that has been used against Blacks by whites and the state for hundreds of years. As Jackson pointed out, most often when Blacks used guns against whites in resistance it had been in reaction to violence visited upon them first. And often they gave warning shots. There were less than a half dozen recorded instances of Blacks lynching whites when the numbers were in the thousands of Blacks lynched by whites. Jackson argued Blacks wanted and still want justice not revenge.

However, she did not argue that violence and force was the only or best effective method of resistance in many cases. In fact, she argued that joy was/is “one of the most potent tools of revolutionary work toward liberation.” To me, that was the most fascinating argument she presented. Joy, that did not ignore the suffering Blacks had experienced, but that perhaps existed even more because of it. As Jackson put it, “Black joy produces the antidote to degeneration and erosion of Black life.” That is a profound idea.

This was not always a comfortable book to read. Nor should it be. Jackson made some statements that I did not always agree with. However, it is important to think about the ideas and arguments presented here. It is important to know about the ways Blacks resisted and still resist racial terrorism. There is another way of looking at her one of her statements, “The intrinsic belief in Black humanity is essential to understanding Black resistance to racial terror.” That is: understanding Black resistance to racial terror is an intrinsic belief in Black humanity. A belief in Black humanity is what we must have. We must have a belief that all people have humanity. The consequences of not believing that is still ripping our world apart and will continue to do so in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

We Refuse is an interesting look at armed Black resistance through the components of resistance (revolution, protection, force, flight, and joy). Kellie Carter Jackson does a fantastic job of critiquing white people's view of nonviolence vs armed resistance while asking us to look deeper. While it does lose focus on a few points, I still highly recommend picking this up!

5.0

This review is based on a digital ARC provided by the publisher.

Review
I love nonfiction books that blend autobiographical elements with the subject matter. In We Refuse, Carter Jackson examines Black resistance through historical figures and events (especially those which popular history has forgotten, with a particular focus on Black women) as well as from her own family, such as her brother and her great-grandmother.

Some nonfiction books struggle with dry or unengaging prose, which is certainly not an issue in We Refuse. Reading it feels like a conversation, not a textbook, so if you tend to avoid nonfiction because you find it "boring," that will not be a problem with We Refuse. Carter Jackson's prose is vibrant, emotional, funny, and fundamentally alive.

Carter Jackson examines, with nuance and care, the many ways in which Black people have resisted white supremacy. Her ability to bring historical events and figures to life--even those that little is known of--is fantastic. For example, Carter Jackson's telling of the life and trial of Carrie Johnson was strikingly evocative. She gave new life to life to Carrie's story: a teenage girl who defended her home and her father, leading to her year-and-a-half-long trial which, miraculously, ended with dropped charges after a retrial. I had never heard of Carrie (nor the events of 1919, where white mobs--including, of course, the police--attacked black communities), and I am so, so glad that We Refuse told her story.

As Carter Jackson states, "forgetting is political," and with her focus on figures whose stories have been largely--in some cases, intentionally--forgotten, she fights against racist cultural amnesia.

Some Thoughts
That said, there are some noticably unaddressed spots in terms of intersectionality.

The most obvious to me was the lack of discussion of Black LGBTQ+ people in the context of their identities as Black civil rights figures and advocates. For example, while writers like Baldwin and hooks are mentioned, they are mentioned without reference or acknowledgement of their queer identities and queer work, neither of which are seperatable from their Black identities and Black work.

This struck me as strange, as Black queer communities and figures (especially Black queer women!) have a long history of refusing white structures of heterosexuality and gender roles, cultivating and expressing Black joy, and resisting white violence (especially police violence), all of which fit closely alongside the ideas of resistance Carter Jackson discusses.

For example, there was Storme DeLarverie, a Black butch lesbian and drag king called the Cowboy of NYC. She wore a gun on her hip and patrolled the streets to protect members of her community from anti-queer and racist hatred, which she called "ugliness" (https://www.campuspride.org/queer-history-profile-storme-delarverie/; https://www.villagepreservation.org/2022/03/23/storme-delarverie-village-guardian/).

To quote Alvin McEwen from his 2014 opinion piece "The Erasure of 'Gay' From Black History and the Black Community Must Stop" (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-erasure-of-gay-from-b_b_5936568):

... the simple fact never entered my mind that yes, gay people were subjected to slavery, segregation and racism because of our skin. Just as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people of color exist now, we existed back then. Then it suddenly struck me again that I've never recalled any acknowledgement of this fact during the myriad of discussions, I've read, listened to or seen regarding comparisons between the gay and civil rights movements.

And why is that?

There have been numerous debates, articles, columns, movies and documentaries about how the legacy of racism has had a negative effect on so many aspects of African-American community, from our families to the way we interact with each other. It stands to reason that the legacy of racism didn't leave LGBT people of color unscathed. But information about what LGBT people of color did during those awful times in our history or what effect it has had on us is practically nonexistent.

...

There is a pattern of erasure which strips our presence from the majority of black history. And this pattern of erasure bleeds into day-to-day treatment and interactions. Personal biases and prejudices prevent us from being considered as genuine members of the black community and many heterosexual African-Americans conveniently ignore issues and concerns indigenous to us as LGBT people.


Mind, I am not implying nor do I believe that Carter Jackson is ignoring or intentionally excluding Black queer voices and history from We Refuse. I simply noticed queer Black identity as a missing spot of intersectionality which is relevant to Carter Jackson's arguments about Black resistance.

The below is nowhere near comprehensive (I had to stop myself before it got too long), but for those interested about reading about Black queer figures, culture, and history, here are some links to get started.

Black Queer History & Identity
https://time.com/6263354/black-lgbtq-history-representation/
https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/BlackHeroes_13_1.pdf
https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11830
https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/harlem-renaissance-black-queer-history
https://traue.commons.gc.cuny.edu/toward-our-black-queer-joyous-futures-to-achieve1-our-freedom-in-the-academy/
https://www.newsweek.com/black-queer-studies-left-out-again-opinion-1872144
https://www.queerportraits.com/bio/rainey
https://www.bkreader.com/black-history-month/black-history-is-queer-history-and-queer-history-is-black-history-6544418
https://lowninstitute.org/the-intersection-of-black-history-queer-studies-and-medicine/
https://www.them.us/story/queer-women-of-color-pride-exclusion
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-erasure-of-gay-from-b_b_5936568
https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/queering-black-history-and-getting-free/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24641077/
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/nyregion/storme-delarverie-early-leader-in-the-gay-rights-movement-dies-at-93.html
Black Queer Joy
https://www.instagram.com/blackqueerjoy?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==)
https://www.xonecole.com/lil-nas-x-black-boy-joy-representation/when-he-called-out-double-standards-again-and-again-and-again
https://www.buzzfeed.com/daily/lil-nas-x-montero-album-queer-black-music
https://www.gaytimes.com/life/unity-talks-taking-a-moment-to-celebrate-black-queer-joy/
https://www.outfrontmagazine.com/black-queer-joy-resilient-rejuvenated-and-rested/
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2023/08/11507338/caribbean-carnival-black-queer-joy-photo-series
https://lambdalegal.org/blogs/us_20230616_what-black-queer-joy-and-liberation-mean-this-juneteenth/
https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/zen-contemplative-practice-and-the-emergence-of-black-queer-joy/
Ballroom culture
https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/brief-history-voguing
https://peabodyballroom.library.jhu.edu/home/ballroom-history/
https://www.loftgaycenter.org/ballroom_rising
Stonewall rebellion
https://guides.loc.gov/lgbtq-studies/stonewall-era
https://www.prideportland.org/heroes-of-the-stonewall-rebellion
https://www.ywcaworks.org/blogs/firesteel/tue-06112019-0925/meet-black-lesbian-who-kick-started-gay-liberation-movement


Thank you to the publisher for providing an eARC for review!

It's about time someone wrote a book about black history like this one. "We Refuse", by Kellie Carter Jackson totally blew my mind. It's an outstanding book full of bitter truths, and victories that have been left out of U.S. history books, therefore most people have no clue. This book should be required reading in all public schools. I learned so much, this book flows well, and it kept my interest from beginning to end.

I was at a memorial dedication event for the Shoshone this weekend and I was telling everyone about this book. The honest history. The rage.
Why do we "white wash" everything and pretend that there was no violent resistance? Violent resistance gets results. Let's talk about it.

I love the line about how white supremacy wrecks havoc on the lives of black people and steals the soul of white people (not verbatim).

I loved the family history stories in this book as well.
More of us "white women" need to read books like this. We need to be there to fight for our sisters and our daughters. Being submissive does not get the same results.

Please write more.

Carter Jackson makes an excellent and easily readable case for continued Black Resistance ---- and just look at this amazing cover!

From historical references including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X’s, Audre Lorde and some of her own family history,
historian Kellie Carter Jackson clearly illustrates that much of the media and the well worn two dimensional stories are a distraction from structural racism. Refusal is not frames only as violence and Carter Jackson lists five components of resistance: Revolution, Protection, Force, Flight, and Joy. The Joy is spectacular as it ends the book on a hopeful note.

This is history based in the USA and a must read for all. A. Must. Read. There is so much in our history in the US that has been winnowed down to a few sentences and tropes. Fortunately for us, Carter Jackson is able to bring these stories to life with more facts and more detail. This is a book that will be lauded by many and hopefully up for awards.
.#basicbooks #sealpress #werefuse #kelliecarterjackson

Description
A radical reframing of the past and present of Black resistance—both nonviolent and violent—to white supremacy

Black resistance to white supremacy is often reduced to a simple binary, between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s nonviolence and Malcolm X’s “by any means necessary.” In We Refuse, historian Kellie Carter Jackson urges us to move past this false choice, offering an unflinching examination of the breadth of Black responses to white oppression, particularly those pioneered by Black women.

The dismissal of “Black violence” as an illegitimate form of resistance is itself a manifestation of white supremacy, a distraction from the insidious, unrelenting violence of structural racism. Force—from work stoppages and property destruction to armed revolt—has played a pivotal part in securing freedom and justice for Black people since the days of the American and Haitian Revolutions. But violence is only one tool among many. Carter Jackson examines other, no less vital tactics that have shaped the Black struggle, from the restorative power of finding joy in the face of suffering to the quiet strength of simply walking away.

Clear-eyed, impassioned, and ultimately hopeful, We Refuse offers a fundamental corrective to the historical record, a love letter to Black resilience, and a path toward liberation.

My Take:
The promise of the description is fulfilled in the book. A great example of how history marries well with womanist theopoetics, Black refusal is not always realized via violence-although sometimes needs must- but in quieter pursuits such as flight, dance, faith, and joy. I recommend this book without reservation for historical societies, museums, academic collectives, churches and more. Get this for your libraries and your altars.

Using examples both from (mostly) US history at large and her family's own history, Kellie Carter Jackson expertly and unapologetically puts on clear display the wide range of strategies and tools that black women and men have used to resist white supremacy and oppressive systems over the centuries, and continue to do so. "We Refuse" is one of those history books that's an eye-opening mini-education readably packed into a few hundred pages - which in turns speaks to both the failures of my education (and others) growing up in the United States, and the very clear need for works like Jackson's. As a librarian, I definitely consider this a must-have for both public and academic shelves.

"We Refuse" by Kellie Carter Jackson is a powerful, necessary addition to the existing literature on Black resistance. Carter Jackson, drawing from her expertise as a historian and her personal experiences, challenges the simplistic narrative often imposed upon Black struggles against white supremacy. Rejecting the dichotomy between nonviolence and violent resistance, she explores the myriad tactics used by Black folks and Black communities throughout history.

From the beginning of the book, Carter Jackson positions herself within a tradition of scholars like W.E.B. DuBois, asserting the unyielding belief in Black humanity and the rejection of deference to oppressive systems. Through meticulous research and compelling storytelling, she dismantles the myth of scarcity perpetuated by racism, instead advocating for collective refusal of the status quo.

The book is a well-paced blend of personal stories intertwined with historical accounts and offers a deeply intimate perspective on the resilience and courage of Black folks. Carter Jackson's homage to her own ancestors, particularly her great-great-great-grandmother denied medical care as a child, serves as a reminder of the stakes involved in resisting systemic oppression. There are so many additional stories highlighting the resistance efforts of young black girls who've been mostly erased from historical records that make this book one of a kind!

One of the book's many strengths lies in its exploration of lesser-known forms of resistance, such as truancy as a means of withholding labor and reclaiming autonomy. Carter Jackson handles these topics with sensitivity and respect, highlighting the ingenuity and creativity of enslaved individuals in navigating their circumstances. Loved the subheading on flight as another resistance mechanism and read it over 3x!

Carter Jackson dives into the complexities of protection violence, exploring its necessity within the context of survival and self-defense. Through in-depth analyses of historical events like the Boston Tea Party and the Christiana Resistance, she contextualizes these acts of resistance within larger narratives of Black liberation.

"We Refuse" serves as both a corrective to historical inaccuracies and a celebration of Black strength and power. Carter Jackson's prose is impassioned and compelling, refusing to let Black stories be forgotten or reduced to the margins. This book is a testament to the power of refusal as a cultural and political force, offering readers a path towards healing and liberation.

"We Refuse" is an essential read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Black resistance and the ongoing struggle for justice. Kellie Carter Jackson's scholarship is not only informative but outstanding among most books I've read on the subject. Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read!

I would best describe We Refuse as a "strong" book. It is bold in its argument and in its connecting the past to the present, both in terms of our nation and in the author's personal history. Jackson makes the case that black resistance has had a much wider scope than has typically been considered in American history. The personal stories of her family experiences link the larger narrative to individual histories. Throughout the book, she makes a compelling argument that resistance has always been the key to freedom, and that without individuals' agency, there may not have been a cause to change the status quo.

The book's best contribution is in the previously unknown stories of several historical figures. The Christiana Rebellion will be new for several readers, and the story of Williams, Mabel, and Roberts will force readers to reconceptualize African American history and its popular theme of passive aggressiveness towards change. Even Harriet Tubman's story gets a unique perspective. While many people may have heard about her activism, she is portrayed as more militant and more combative than in the past. Maybe unsettling for some, but a much needed correction to the subdued, sanguine myth of the Underground Railroad leader that we tend to adopt as children.

Jackson ends the book on a sense of positive, forward thinking. Joy, she writes, is also inherently a form of resistance. It can lead to improved conditions, positive mental states, and can be the spark for future action. It allows people to stand up forcefully and work against the system.

For readers who think the story of black advocacy has already been written, read We Refuse.

As a historian, this is an important book. There is a gap in research discussing violent resistance from this point of view with in historical literature. The only reason for not being five stars is because it some points the other loses focus. This does not mean it’s not an important book though. Thank you to Net Galley for this arc.

Before I say anything related to the actual text, I’m going to say that seeing this cover for the first time on a list of upcoming Black history titles for 2024 had me just… stunned. The cover should win awards and should be submitted by the publisher and artist for such consideration of awards, because it hits the viewer so hard and made me go back and just sit there, stunned, by its glory and its power and all the themes raised by the imagery.

“We Refuse” is going to be one of the most galvanizing and impactful reads in 2024.

“This is a book about the ways Black people in America have responded to white supremacy—including through force....’We Refuse’ is…the story of what Black people have done and continue to do to confront, combat, and crush white supremacy.”

The author further asserts: “Until we all get free, America will continue to be a violent place and Black people will continue to refuse.”

One chapter is devoted to Black people in the French Antilles where violence and even the threat of violence ‘guaranteed that liberation could not be ignored or delayed.’ France abolished slavery in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and their other enslaved colonies in 1848, led by Victor Schoelcher, a writer and abolitionist. He was the first white abolitionist to visit Haiti after it won its independence — something that the Western world is still making it pay for in more ways than one.

The author also reminds us that revolutions “do not require violence, but violence can ensure certain guarantees.”

Throughout each chapter, the author chronicles her family’s history as related to the topics at hand. Her great-grandparents and their 16 children moved from West Feliciana, Louisiana to Darlove, Mississippi to a place where opportunities were bleak and a farm where resources were always scarce. Through a family tragedy that seems like a miracle that it didn’t go the way it would normally have gone in other places, we learn about how Black labor was the lifeblood of the state of Mississippi. Later on in the chapter, the author expands on the financial incentives in place for the capture and return of runaway fugitive slaves back to the plantations from which they had fled. This leads to a discussion of the 1836 Abolition Riot in Boston, which then leads to information about why many enslaved people who fled from Maryland sought their freedom over the Pennsylvania state line, and further about how the second Fugitive Slave Act of the early 1850s made things more horrible, allowing slave catchers to cross state lines to find those runaways and drag them back to plantations. The only way to be sure that enslaved people who had fled could not be apprehended by the slave catchers was if they could cross over into Canada.

The author discusses lynchings and how white townsfolk, particularly those in power, knew how to terrorize Black residents. The NAACP is discussed as are significant figures like activist Fannie Lou Hamer.

This is an essential text for anyone looking to understand more about Black resistance and I hope that several libraries buy copies of the book in multiple formats, and that it sells many copies.

As a historian this is an important book. There is a gap in research discussing violent resistance from this point of view with in historical literature. The only reason for not being five stars is because it some points the other loses focus. This does not mean it’s not an important book though. Thank you to Net Galley for this arc.