Never Forget Our People Were Always Free: A Parable of American Healing

Never Forget Our People Were Always Free: A Parable of American Healing

  • Downloads：9189
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2023-01-14 17:21:38
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Benjamin Todd Jealous
  • ISBN：0062961748
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Michael P。 ，

A fantastic set of learnings through personal and family stories with underlying tenets that we have all learned as children: dig a little further to find the truth （also known as the five why's and don't judge a book by its cover）， history will repeat if we do not have a good grasp of the past， and the ever-important golden rule。 Through these and the wisdom of his grandmother Mr。 Jealous shares fantastic insights into what is keeping us apart， how we can think and begin to bridge some of those A fantastic set of learnings through personal and family stories with underlying tenets that we have all learned as children: dig a little further to find the truth （also known as the five why's and don't judge a book by its cover）， history will repeat if we do not have a good grasp of the past， and the ever-important golden rule。 Through these and the wisdom of his grandmother Mr。 Jealous shares fantastic insights into what is keeping us apart， how we can think and begin to bridge some of those perceived （and sometimes real） gaps， and why the past is so critically important if we hope to effect real change in ourselves or our society。 Not only the broader topics of "race" as we know it today but the insights into social isolationism - especially as we and our children recover from the COVID pandemic and separation from society as we knew it prior to 2020 - may have been surfaced in multiple other places in the recent past but have yet to be discussed with such clarity into potential root causes。 Mr。 Jealous enables everyone who reads this book to learn or remind ourselves of valuable life lessons surreptitiously as we read a series of fun and well written life stories。 。。。more

Melody ，

This book is worth reading and couldn’t come at the right time。 I find myself having conversations over and over again why as a country we all can’t get along。 Politically racially divided。 Ben addresses in his book his own life experiences starting from his family his thoughts and where he is today。 As a biracial woman born and raised in NYC I understood similar experiences。 I believe his book can shed some light on racial tension and act like like we’re all almost the same。It’s time to move fo This book is worth reading and couldn’t come at the right time。 I find myself having conversations over and over again why as a country we all can’t get along。 Politically racially divided。 Ben addresses in his book his own life experiences starting from his family his thoughts and where he is today。 As a biracial woman born and raised in NYC I understood similar experiences。 I believe his book can shed some light on racial tension and act like like we’re all almost the same。It’s time to move forward not behind 。。。more

Randa Serhan ，

Never Forget Our People Were Always Free is excellently written and narrated。 It has an inter-generational appeal。 As a political and urban sociologist， I found that each chapter in Jealous's book was an invitation for a class discussion on a different moment in American history and life from historical race relations， youthful optimism and activism， the passing on of lessons and resilience across generations， to a celebration of all that American society has to offer。 The book beautifully weave Never Forget Our People Were Always Free is excellently written and narrated。 It has an inter-generational appeal。 As a political and urban sociologist， I found that each chapter in Jealous's book was an invitation for a class discussion on a different moment in American history and life from historical race relations， youthful optimism and activism， the passing on of lessons and resilience across generations， to a celebration of all that American society has to offer。 The book beautifully weaves together personal experiences and reflections with interjections and contextualization of these historical events and debates/contentions that impacted the nation and its democracy。 Academically， it is an excellent example of auto-ethnography embedded in deep knowledge and research about topics from criminology to family solidarity。 The sincerity with which Jealous shares his family's and personal trajectories encourages the reader to reflect on their own views of progress， democracy， and even how to relate to those who we deeply disagree with （especially now in a polarized historical moment）。 I do not believe that I was the intended demographic for this book， I did not grow up in the US， and yet I found myself learning from and relating to the stories being told。 Some are quite universal。 At times throughout the book， I was frustrated and at others I was out right laughing。 This book is compassionate and forces the reader to withhold preconceptions。 Perhaps because I am an academic， I feel that this book speaks to the concerns and fears this younger generation has in a way to offer guidance， hope， and a model for action。 Lots of young folks have the right heart （and vocabulary） and the desire to create a better future， but they need a little more optimism and evidence that persistence and action does make a difference。 This book offers just that: optimism， examples of determination and endurance， without being preachy and with a lot of fun insights and anecdotes about about a life meaningfully lived （and no where near done with the work）。 。。。more

Erica ，

Insightful。 Impactful。 Thought-provoking。 Required reading for anyone with a soul and will to reshape America。

Jack Reidy ，

American HealingThis is an optimistic book。 And that will stay with me。 It is also a realistic book and that will also stay with me。 The full title is Never Forget Our People Were Always Free: A Parable of American Healing by Benjamin Todd Jealous。The title make sense but to explain takes a while。 So I’ll just skip that part and hope you are curious enough to get the book。I thank Netgalley for allowing me to read it before publication。 The book will be released January 10。The optimism hits me f American HealingThis is an optimistic book。 And that will stay with me。 It is also a realistic book and that will also stay with me。 The full title is Never Forget Our People Were Always Free: A Parable of American Healing by Benjamin Todd Jealous。The title make sense but to explain takes a while。 So I’ll just skip that part and hope you are curious enough to get the book。I thank Netgalley for allowing me to read it before publication。 The book will be released January 10。The optimism hits me first。We are all cousins。 We generally don’t treat all of humanity or even all of our fellow Americans that way but it is true。 Most of us know our first cousins and often second or even third cousins， Maybe some know the 4th， 5th or 6th cousins but usually not。 There are various degrees of cousinship。 And there are often multiple ways of being related。 I have a few who are second cousins and also half third cousins。One of my hobbies is genealogy so I can get a bit carried away with this stuff。 I am also a geneticist so again this type of thing is an occupational hazard。The story where he attended a dinner， talked to a someone he had not known， and they figured out that his new friend’s family once owned his family and they were probably fairly close cousins both surprised and pleased me。 So now I have a cousin Ben and a cousin Maggie。But cousin Ben was also realistic about discussing the racial divisions and other problems in the United States。 His discussion of racism is especially interesting。But to get back to the earlier point， it would be better if we remember that we are all cousins。 Rather than allow skin color or political views to divide us， let our shared humanity unite us。Some are better at this than others but I suspect we could all be a bit better。 This book is definitely worthwhile and I recommend it highly。 。。。more

Janalyn Prude ，

Never forget our people were always free by Benjamin Todd jealous it is a memoir， an example in message of hope。 I have read many books about race relations this is the best book I have read out of every book I have ever read about race relations。 In the book we learned about his biracial parents and how he mostly identifies with his African American side only because his dad‘s parents cut his dad off when he married Benjamin‘s mom。 That didn’t stop these two people from raising their children w Never forget our people were always free by Benjamin Todd jealous it is a memoir， an example in message of hope。 I have read many books about race relations this is the best book I have read out of every book I have ever read about race relations。 In the book we learned about his biracial parents and how he mostly identifies with his African American side only because his dad‘s parents cut his dad off when he married Benjamin‘s mom。 That didn’t stop these two people from raising their children with love dignity and respect for others。 He tells the stories about trips with his cousin Dave Chapelle to Mississippi Dave’s home in Idaho Benjamins younger years going to school in New York and all the great people he met like one of my favorite people Desmond Tutu man who lived this life is an example of how great men live。 Mr。 jealous has had A fat full life and one that isn’t over yet。 This book is full of not just a great and not so great things he has experienced and the dangerous situation he has put his self in and all the great causes he has put his name behind he comes from a long line of great people on both sides of his family tree but mainly the African-American side and I know this summary isn’t doing this book the justice it deserves， but trust me when I say this is such a good book。 He writes stories with facts and not accusations he tells it like it is and like it was。 There’s many a history lesson in this book and all of that seems to pertain to his family or a situation he himself has lived through I really believe Mr。 jealous judges people on the character and what they show him instead of what he assumes about people。 He seems to be a student of life and one that is acing the course。 I may huge fan of this author and can’t wait to read more books written by him。 This book is full of well-known people and they’re all friends or relatives of the author I love learning about Dave Chappelle‘s ancestral history and all the great people he comes from this book is just full of lots of great stuff。 Stories history lessons family trees but no matter what the subject is trust me when I say you will not want to put this book down this truly is an excellent book。 I read a lot of books on race relations in Black people trying to navigate this obstacle course we call American freedom and I must say Benjamin Tod jealous says book is the first one I have bread that I can see making a difference。 It’s a truly great book written with the respect experience and the knowledge to say this is what happened and let you decide how you feel about it。 What are you born from this book is they have some truly horrible people in America but they also have some really great people as well and it’s people like the author that’s going to make America a better place in the end。 I receive the book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review。 。。。more

Read-n-Bloom ，

It was just okay for me。 I saw a lot of what was being said， some I agreed with wholeheartedly， but some of it， not so much。 But understand the message of the story。 Some things being written about weren’t historically correct， but I understand some have been lied to about history and they believe the lie， because they don’t or won’t believe the truth。 But about half I agree with and believe。 About half I don’t。 But I do agree we all need to work together and stop racism。 But I believe there are It was just okay for me。 I saw a lot of what was being said， some I agreed with wholeheartedly， but some of it， not so much。 But understand the message of the story。 Some things being written about weren’t historically correct， but I understand some have been lied to about history and they believe the lie， because they don’t or won’t believe the truth。 But about half I agree with and believe。 About half I don’t。 But I do agree we all need to work together and stop racism。 But I believe there are racists on both sides， not just one side。 We all need to see that。 And on both sides there are those who aren’t racist and are wanting what’s good for the country。 When we start seeing that， maybe， just maybe， things can change。 。。。more

Emily Zaylor ，

This is a book that will stay with me for a while。 I found it heartbreaking at times， but also fascinating and inspiring。 The author’s ability to find common ground with people from many different backgrounds is inspiring。 It was a peek into how systemic racism impacts us all & how we can do a better job healing and working together。

Charles Francis ，

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital advanced copy。 Pain and History Often Travel TogetherThe author is the former president and chief executive officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People （NAACP）， serving from 2008 to 2013。 This is in part his life story， that of his family， the role of his family in the civil rights movement before it became a movement and how we are still grappling with systemic racism which impacts not only people of color， but al Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital advanced copy。 Pain and History Often Travel TogetherThe author is the former president and chief executive officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People （NAACP）， serving from 2008 to 2013。 This is in part his life story， that of his family， the role of his family in the civil rights movement before it became a movement and how we are still grappling with systemic racism which impacts not only people of color， but all of us， black， white， indigenous， poor and the wealthy。 The author covers a wide swath here as he talks about: * How his lineage goes back to Thomas Jefferson and England’s monarchy* Aren’t we all cousins - How many a black person， if we did deep enough， might find that we are related to white cousins we could not fathom being related to， for example President Barack Obama and VP Dick Cheney being cousins and that Cheney was the author’s cousin as well。 The vestiges of slavery…。 * The roots of race， being bi-racial and the challenges and injustices faced* The cruelty of slavery and the lasting ramifications， just think， being a slave when your white half-brother owns you， and the sad fact， this was replicated in similar form as white slave owners took advantage of their black female slaves， Thomas Jefferson a prime example。。。hypocrisy at its worst* How increased incarceration impacts society at large， because it crosses all social， economic and racial lines* How he owes his foundation to the wisdom of his grandmother， who as the book is titled， told him， remember "Never Forget Our People Were Always Free。"Book is both serious and at times light hearted， there are smiles baked in， especially when he talks about his god-brother Dave Chappell （yes that Dave Chappell， the comedian）。 。。。more

J Earl ，

Never Forget Our People Were Always Free by Ben Jealous is a memoirish collection of essays （parables） that offer the reader a great deal of insight in both our collective past and our potential future。 I don't even know the woman and I'm gonna miss his grandmother too。Through telling stories from his own storied life Jealous teaches us so much about history， both personal and collective， as well as about people。 Many lessons to be learned here。 Knowledge that might shed light on things as well Never Forget Our People Were Always Free by Ben Jealous is a memoirish collection of essays （parables） that offer the reader a great deal of insight in both our collective past and our potential future。 I don't even know the woman and I'm gonna miss his grandmother too。Through telling stories from his own storied life Jealous teaches us so much about history， both personal and collective， as well as about people。 Many lessons to be learned here。 Knowledge that might shed light on things as well as ideas that could lead us forward。 I was constantly being surprised at just how much I didn't know。Admittedly I find some of his approaches difficult to actually follow through on。 This is a negative statement about me， not one about him or his approaches。 In particular， I find it very difficult， in the case of some people who I feel have shown their true moral and ethical shortcomings， to want to reach across and find common ground。 I don't deny that there is some， we all have some common ground with each other， but I am resistant to continuing to compromise with those who absolutely refuse to do so。 I also refuse to associate with some who have consistently chosen what seems like a clearly hateful agenda over a compassionate one， thus my estrangement from a couple of family members。 I acknowledge that Jealous， and all those who can work with those types， is a better person than I am。 I highly recommend this book to those who want to understand how we have gotten to where we are， and how we can move forward from here to a better world。 It is slowly helping me to， not forgive， find ways of working with those I find utterly disgusting。 Maybe if I find them less so， they may find me less so， and we can make some strides。 Though some family members will never sit at my table again。Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more