Review incoming

I prefer the Tupac Shakur biography by Staci Robinson, but I also liked the greater depth of family history before and after him. I’m inspired by what this family has achieved despite all that was stacked against them. Their influence will continue for as many generations as it takes to make Black lives matter to every American. Now I immediately want to play his music on Spotify.

Hands down my favorite non-fiction book of the year so far. (And that means something because I’ve read a ton of non-fiction this year. Santi Elijah Holly’s does such a great job balancing the exploration of the individual life stories and the larger context of the Black Liberation movement over the decades. I knew about the deadly damage COINTELPRO did to the movement. I knew about Assata Shakur and Tupac. But I knew very little about the legal and political work and legacy of Tupac’s mother, Afeni, the involvement of many other members of the Shakur family, and the connection between the experiences of the earlier generation and Tupac’s life, work, and murder. This book weaves all of these elements and many more together into a compelling narrative. Bonus points for Adam Lazarre-White, the narrator of the audiobook, who brings the story to life without ever sounding theatrical!