Revolution in Our Time

Starred review from August 16, 2021
In this powerful history, Magoon (Light It Up) presents an incisive, in-depth study of the Black Panther Party. Detailed, accessible text includes ample context around the BPP’s rise and fall, starting with a history of slavery, emancipation, and segregation before diving into the civil rights and Black Power movements and ending with Black Lives Matter. While offering nuanced information about the group’s self-defense stance (“capable of fighting back, but would prefer not to fight at all”), Magoon also describes the community programs that the party created for Black people, its dedication to ensuring all of its actions were legal, and the lengths to which the U.S. government and local law officials went to destroy the party. Photographs, newspaper clippings, and Black Panther art are featured throughout, providing visual breaks that inform while contributing to a pace that is digestible for young readers. Back matter includes an author’s note explaining the importance of young people in creating lasting change, a timeline of the events mentioned, glossaries of key people and terms, and a list of sources and further reading. Ages 12–up. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown.

Starred review from September 1, 2021
In October 1966, in Oakland, California, Black college students Huey Newton and Bobby Seale began to organize in reaction to rising police brutality in Black communities. Those plans birthed the Black Panther Party, established as a response to an unjust system and one of the most misunderstood political parties/movements in modern history. "The Panthers played several roles: they were civil rights and human rights activists, militant revolutionaries, and community organizers, and they were also a political party." Magoon (Light It Up, rev. 11/19; The Highest Tribute, rev. 1/21) has produced a comprehensive and all-encompassing account of the group. Initially formed with the intent to monitor the police -- legally -- the Party created and expanded multiple social programs that served their communities. Providing, in the first four chapters of the book, an overview of centuries of enslavement, torture, oppression, lies, and aggression, Magoon likens the treatment of Black Americans to an earthquake, noting that "the major turning points of history are seismic, born of eons of slightly shifting geologic plates. They do not emerge from nowhere. They are born of deep unrest." Her history of the Black Panther Party is meticulously detailed, from the creation of its Ten-Point Platform and Program to the eventual divide in leadership following sabotage by the FBI's covert counterintelligence program, COINTELPRO. Magoon goes beyond the dissolution of the Party to discuss life for Black Americans from 1982 to 2020, expertly drawing parallels between the Black Panther Party and the Black Lives Matter movement. A wealth of quotes, photos, and sidebars enriches the book. Complete with an author's note, an annotated list of key players in the Black Panther Party, a timeline of important events, a glossary of terms, a bibliography for further reading, and source notes, this compelling work would be invaluable for both individual and classroom reading. Eboni Njoku

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from August 1, 2021
An account of the origins and lasting impact of the militant organization that grew out of the oppression of Blacks in the United States. The Black Panther Party existed in mostly poor and low-income communities across the country from 1966 until 1982, advocating self-reliance and self-defense, particularly against aggressive policing. Magoon provides critical historical context, documenting the harsh, sometimes deadly efforts to control first the enslaved, then those who were freed when legal bondage ended. Despite legal changes brought by the civil rights movement, many communities suffered economic deprivation, societal challenges, and hostility from police and politicians, leading activists to see Black political power as an alternative. The Panthers took a holistic approach to improving Black communities by providing food, health, and education programs. Their rising influence elicited harassment from law enforcement, including often illegal FBI attempts to destroy them. Many of their leaders were imprisoned or killed in the process, weakening the party's effectiveness. This comprehensive, meticulously researched volume helps readers understand the Panthers within the spectrum of Black resistance. The narrative is cinematic in its descriptions of the personalities and incidents that make up the party's history while presenting a throughline to the anti-racist activism of today. The book's attractive graphic design, with ample use of robin's egg blue in contrast to dramatic black-and-white photographs, and with memorable quotes scattered throughout, makes it visually pleasing. The highly readable and not-to-be-missed story of America's history and current reality. (key people, timeline, glossary, further reading, source notes, bibliography, image credits, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

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Starred review from September 1, 2021
Grades 7-12 *Starred Review* The past couple of years have brought eye-opening social discourses and essential histories, such as Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi's Stamped (2020), into the mainstream. To these Magoon adds a thorough history of the Black Panther Party, which incorporates the longstanding abuse of Black Americans, from slavery to today, and an examination of the civil rights movement and the shifting ethos that led to the Panthers' success, persecution, and demise. The book is exceedingly well researched, illustrated, and sourced--its back matter of time lines, key persons, and resources can stand as its own subject guide--and the writing is unapologetically candid about how people invested in upholding white supremacy and economic structures sought to thwart the success of Black communities, often breaking the law in order to do so. This truth makes the Panther's commitment to abiding by the law, pursuing education, and creating community-betterment programs all the more powerful, particularly when they were more popularly portrayed in the media as violent. Magoon dispels this misconception without ignoring problems within the party--her truth-telling goes both ways. The vital contributions teenagers and women made to the party will strike a chord with today's youth, as will the overlap in Panther causes with those of today's racial justice movement. This rounded accounting of a pivotal but often-overlooked time in U.S. history should be widely read.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2021
In October 1966, in Oakland, California, Black college students Huey Newton and Bobby Seale began to organize in reaction to rising police brutality in Black communities. Those plans birthed the Black Panther Party, established as a response to an unjust system and one of the most misunderstood political parties/movements in modern history. "The Panthers played several roles: they were civil rights and human rights activists, militant revolutionaries, and community organizers, and they were also a political party." Magoon (Light It Up, rev. 11/19; The Highest Tribute, rev. 1/21) has produced a comprehensive and all-encompassing account of the group. Initially formed with the intent to monitor the police -- legally -- the Party created and expanded multiple social programs that served their communities. Providing, in the first four chapters of the book, an overview of centuries of enslavement, torture, oppression, lies, and aggression, Magoon likens the treatment of Black Americans to an earthquake, noting that "the major turning points of history are seismic, born of eons of slightly shifting geologic plates. They do not emerge from nowhere. They are born of deep unrest." Her history of the Black Panther Party is meticulously detailed, from the creation of its Ten-Point Platform and Program to the eventual divide in leadership following sabotage by the FBI's covert counterintelligence program, COINTELPRO. Magoon goes beyond the dissolution of the Party to discuss life for Black Americans from 1982 to 2020, expertly drawing parallels between the Black Panther Party and the Black Lives Matter movement. A wealth of quotes, photos, and sidebars enriches the book. Complete with an author's note, an annotated list of key players in the Black Panther Party, a timeline of important events, a glossary of terms, a bibliography for further reading, and source notes, this compelling work would be invaluable for both individual and classroom reading.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)