We Speak for Ourselves
A Word from Forgotten Black America
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We Speak for Ourselves
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Narrated by:
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D. Watkins
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By:
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D. Watkins
About this listen
The critically lauded author of The Beast Side and The Cook Up returns with an existential look at life in low-income Black communities, while also offering a new framework for how we can improve the conversations occurring about them.
While author D. Watkins is pleased about the number of books exploring issues of race that are being published, there’s one crucial aspect of contemporary Black life that doesn’t get enough attention: the hood. The Baltimore native knows firsthand what it means to live in poverty, where violence and drugs are inescapable. As he sees it, the perspective of people who live in poor Black communities is largely absent from the work of many of the top intellectuals who speak and write about race.
Now, D. Watkins is here to tell his truth. Built upon Watkins's own experiences, We Speak for Ourselves eases us into the bigger conversation about race and the various issues affecting poor Black neighborhoods in America. Unapologetic and eye-opening, We Speak for Ourselves identifies and addresses a range of issues affecting these low-income communities - such as the trouble with misrepresentation and why we need more than one Black voice - and sheds light on the harsh realities of daily life. Additionally, Watkins examines various crucial activist movements, including the civil rights movement, and asks what it means to be a model activist in today’s world.
Through the personal retelling of his journey, Watkins aims to illuminate the lessons he’s learned navigating through two very distinct worlds - the hood and the elite sanctums of the prominent Black thinkers and public figures - in hopes of providing actionable solutions.
©2019 D. Watkins (P)2019 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 357
New Jack City meets Serpico in this provocative memoir of a crack dealer-turned-decorated NYPD officer - a timely reflection on the complex relationship between the police and the communities they are meant to protect.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A POSSIBLE GOOD BOOK RUINED BY NARRATION
- By The Louligan on 05-29-16
By: Corey Pegues
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Gang Leader for a Day
- A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets
- By: Sudhir Venkatesh
- Narrated by: Reg Rogers, Sudhir Venkatesh, Stephen J. Dubner
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,959
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,283
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,294
The story of the young sociologist who studied a Chicago crack-dealing gang from the inside captured the world's attention when it was first described in Freakonomics. Gang Leader for a Day is the fascinating full story of how Sudhir Venkatest managed to gain entree into the gang, what he learned, and how his method revolutionized the academic establishment.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Listen to this one first
- By DanO on 01-15-08
By: Sudhir Venkatesh
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The 57 Bus
- A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives
- By: Dashka Slater
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 962
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 825
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 820
If it weren't for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But, one afternoon, on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Unusual True-Crime Event...Beautifully Written.
- By Mary Burnight on 02-21-18
By: Dashka Slater
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Where Mercy Is Shown, Mercy Is Given
- By: Duane 'Dog' Chapman
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 94
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 72
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 71
Considered by many to be the world's greatest bounty hunter, Duane "Dog" Chapman has become famous for capturing fugitives on Dog the Bounty Hunter, his number-one-rated show on A&E. But his job doesn't end when he cuffs his man - or woman. Having personally struggled against abuse, addiction, and a life of crime, Dog knows a thing or two about the path that these fugitives cuffed in the back of his car are on.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Slow narration - I wish the author narrated more
- By HappyQuails on 02-22-11
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Pill City
- How Two Honor Roll Students Foiled the Feds and Built a Drug Empire
- By: Kevin Deutsch
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 133
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 124
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 125
April 28, 2015, West Baltimore, Maryland: ground zero in America's Opiate Wars. In this crime-plagued section of the city, the death of Freddie Gray has triggered the worst domestic rioting since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and created a terrifying new breed of criminal entrepreneur.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Race baiting bullshit.
- By Nick on 02-16-17
By: Kevin Deutsch
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Ice
- A Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption - from South Central to Hollywood
- By: Douglas Century
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 410
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 364
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 369
Ice-T here offers his hip-hop generation’s Horatio Alger story: the narrative of an orphaned child who, drawn inexorably into a harrowing life of crime, ultimately turns away from the streets and, through self-discipline and a single-minded work ethic, forges a path to international fame as a musician and film-and-television star.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I have a whole new respect for this man!
- By kris on 11-19-12
By: Douglas Century
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The Pact
- Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream
- By: Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, Rameck Hunt
- Narrated by: Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, Rameck Hunt
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 271
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 213
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 215
All too often, we hear about the dangers of male friendships in which peer pressure prevails over common sense. But for George Jenkins, Sampson Davis, and Rameck Hunt, strong and supportive male friendship was a powerful antidote to the temptations and pitfalls of street life. It led three boys to make a vow to be there for one another, to encourage one another every step of the way, until they overcame the odds and became doctors.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Very Inspirational
- By Heather on 04-10-09
By: Drs. Sampson Davis, and others
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All Souls
- A Family Story from Southie
- By: Michael Patrick MacDonald
- Narrated by: Michael Patrick MacDonald
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 36
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Story5 out of 5 stars 36
The anti-busing riots of 1974 forever changed Southie, Boston's working-class Irish community, branding it as a violent, racist enclave. Michael Patrick MacDonald grew up in Southie's Old Colony housing project. He describes the way this world within a world felt to the troubled yet keenly gifted observer he was even as a child. But the threats - poverty, drugs, a shadowy gangster world - were real. All Souls is heartbreaking testimony to lives lost too early, and the story of how a place so filled with pain could still be "the best place in the world".
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5 out of 5 stars
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this book broke me in the best way
- By anon on 02-14-23
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The Murder of Sonny Liston
- Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights
- By: Shaun Assael
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 114
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 101
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 101
On January 5, 1971, Sonny Liston was found dead in his home - of an apparent heroin overdose. But no one close to Liston believed that his death was accidental. Digging deep into a life that Liston tried hard to hide, Shaun Assael treats the boxer's death as a cold case. The result is a riveting whodunit that evokes a glorious and grimy era of Las Vegas.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great read
- By Diane Dodge on 09-14-19
By: Shaun Assael
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The Pursuit of Happyness (Abridged)
- By: Chris Gardner
- Narrated by: Andre Blake
- Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 422
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 260
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 260
At the age of 20, Chris Gardner arrived in San Francisco to pursue a promising career in medicine. However, he surprised everyone and himself by setting his sights on the competitive world of high finance. Yet no sooner had he landed an entry-level position at a prestigious firm, Gardner found himself caught in a web of incredibly challenging circumstances that left him part of the city's working homeless with his toddler son.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very Good Story!
- By Lito Da Critic on 06-02-06
By: Chris Gardner
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Dynomite!
- Good Times, Bad Times…Our Times - A Memoir
- By: Jimmie Walker, Sal Manna
- Narrated by: Jimmie Walker
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
>Born into the violence of South Bronx ghetto life, the comic pioneer of TV’s Good Times fame offers a hilarious and politically charged review of his career as one of television’s first hugely successful Black stars. From opening for the Black Panthers and getting his first Tonight Show spot to becoming the first “Black” TV sitcom star, having comedians David Letterman and Jay Leno writing jokes for him, recording number-one comedy albums, and opening for rock n’ roll bands in 50,000 seat stadiums, Walker’s career hit all the highs.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An transparent story of a socially but funny American icon.
- By John Lucasey on 05-08-21
By: Jimmie Walker, and others
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Girls Like Us
- Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not for Sale, an Activist Finds Her Calling and Heals Herself
- By: Rachel Lloyd
- Narrated by: Rachel Lloyd
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 186
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 163
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Story5 out of 5 stars 162
During her teens, Rachel Lloyd ended up a victim of commercial sexual exploitation. With time, through incredible resilience, and with the help of a local church community, she finally broke free of her pimp and her past and devoted herself to helping other young girls escape "the life". In Girls Like Us, Lloyd reveals the dark world of commercial sex trafficking in cinematic detail and tells the story of her groundbreaking nonprofit organization: GEMS.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Rachel Lloyd is an Amazing Woman
- By joan m. on 01-14-22
By: Rachel Lloyd
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The Birthday Party
- A Memoir of Survival
- By: Stanley N. Alpert
- Narrated by: Richard Powers
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
On January 21, 1998, the night before his 38th birthday, federal prosecutor Stanley Alpert was kidnapped by a car full of gun-toting thugs. Hoping to make a large withdrawal with his ATM card, they took him, blindfolded, to a Brooklyn apartment, and improvised. All night, his captors alternately held guns to his head, threatened his family, engaged him in discussions of "gangsta" philosophy, sought his legal advice, and even offered him sexual favors from their prostitute girlfriends as a "birthday present."
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5 out of 5 stars
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Since there haven't been any SERIOUS...
- By Douglas on 04-30-15
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Wanna Bet?
- A Degenerate Gambler's Guide to Living on the Edge
- By: Artie Lange
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 359
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 323
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 320
The two-time best-selling author, comedian, actor, and radio icon explains the philosophy that has kept his existence boredom-free since the age of 13 - the love of risk. An avid sports better and frequent card player, Lange believes that the true gambler gets high not from winning, but from the chaotic unknown of betting itself. He recounts some of his favorite moments, many of which haven't involved money at all. In this candid and entertaining memoir, he looks back at the times he's wagered the intangible and priceless things in life: his health, his career, and his relationships.
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5 out of 5 stars
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who needs Artie (to read)
- By B. Wenners on 08-24-18
By: Artie Lange
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Let It Bang
- A Young Black Man’s Reluctant Odyssey into Guns
- By: RJ Young
- Narrated by: RJ Young
- Length: 4 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
The most RJ Young knew about guns was that they could get him killed. Until, recently married to a white woman and in desperate need of a way to relate to his gun-loving father-in-law, Young does the unimaginable: He accepts Charles's gift of a Glock. Let It Bang is the compelling story of the author's unexpected obsession - he eventually becomes an NRA-certified pistol instructor - and of his deep dive into the heart of America's gun culture: what he sees as the domino effect of White fear, White violence, Black fear, rinse, repeat.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A personal story
- By Country Pete on 11-05-18
By: RJ Young
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The Gift of Our Wounds
- A Sikh and a Former White Supremacist Find Forgiveness After Hate
- By: Pardeep Singh Kaleka, Arno Michaelis, Robin Gaby Fisher
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne, John McLain
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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Story5 out of 5 stars 36
When white supremacist Wade Michael Page murdered six people and wounded four in a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin in 2012, Pardeep Kaleka was devastated. The temple leader, now dead, was his father. His family, who had immigrated to the US from India when Pardeep was young, had done everything right. Why was this happening to him? Arno Michaelis, a former skinhead and founder of one of the largest racist skinhead organizations in the world, knew he had to take action and fight against the very crimes he used to commit.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Gift
- By M. Forsberg on 07-29-22
By: Pardeep Singh Kaleka, and others
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Four Feet Tall & Rising
- A Memoir
- By: Shorty Rossi, S. J. Hodges
- Narrated by: Shorty Rossi
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 53
Luigi Francis "Shorty" Rossi, the tough-talking, fedora-wearing star of Animal Planet's hit show Pit Boss, may stand only four feet tall, but that hasn't stopped him from living large, becoming a successful businessman and an outspoken advocate for pit bulls, the most misunderstood dog breed in the world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book, truly good person
- By Anonymous on 03-03-12
By: Shorty Rossi, and others
What listeners say about We Speak for Ourselves
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 08-28-22
Amazing
The best book I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. Nothing short of amazing.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- PSS
- 02-03-20
A Must Read
If we are to better this world, we need to make connections. If you have zero nexus to inner city America but want to help, this book is the perfect starting point to learn.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dwight
- 04-10-22
Extremely UNDERRATED !!!!
Listen to this ASAP— to many focus on how things look over how things actually are. Watkins is a genius that explains how real change starts with real connections to the people.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jamar Thrasher
- 05-26-19
Exceptional!
Author D. Watkins gets straight to the point about the oppression black people continue to face and how to use love, proximity, understanding, building community and authentic narratives to overcome these heavy challenges.
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