by Curtis Bunn
Vandenboom, Liza. “George Floyd’s Ministry Friends Say He Was Their ‘OG,’ A ‘Man of Peace.’” Religion Unplugged, May 28, 2020. https://religionunplugged.com/news/2020/5/28/george-floyds-ministry-friends-remember-their-og-of-peace?rq=george+floyd.
Chappelle, Dave. “Monologue.” Saturday Night Live, November 7, 2020.
White Christian Nationalism
Milbank, Dana. “Opinion: Trump’s Racist Appeals Powered a White Evangelical Tsunami.” Washington Post, November 13, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/13/trumps-racist-appeals-powered-white-evangelical-tsunami/.
De La Torre, Miguel A. Burying White Privilege: Resurrecting a Badass Christianity, 4. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2018.
Tisby, Jemar. The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2019.
Cone, James H. “Black Theology and the Black Church: Where Do We Go From Here?” CrossCurrents 27, no. 2 (1977): 147–56. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24458316.
Bailey, Sarah Pulliam. “Seeking Power in Jesus’ Name: Trump Sparks a Rise of Patriot Churches.” Washington Post, October 26, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2020/10/26/trump-christian-nationalism-patriot-church/.
Black Political Lineage: From Adam Clayton Powell to Barack Obama
Pandey, Swati. “Was It a ‘Riot,’ a ‘Disturbance’ or a ‘Rebellion’?” Los Angeles Times, April 29, 2007. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-op-wordwatch29apr29-story.html.
Cottman, Michael H. “COMMENTARY: Obama’s Greatest Legacy: Empowering Young Men of Color.” Black America Web, June 10, 2014. https://blackamericaweb.com/2014/06/09/commentary-obamas-greatest-legacy-empowering-young-men-of-color/.
Piccoli, Sean. “Obama: Some Folks Don’t Like Me Because I’m Black.” New York Post, January 19, 2014. https://nypost.com/2014/01/19/obama-some-folks-dont-like-me-because-im-black/.
Remnick, David. “Going the Distance: On and Off the Road with Barack Obama.” New Yorker, January 19, 2014. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/01/27/going-the-distance-david-remnick.
Chisholm, Shirley. Unbought and Unbossed. Washington, D.C.: Take Root Media, 40th Edition, 2010.
Black Women Stand Tall
Jones, Martha S. Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All. New York: Basic Books, 2020.
The Rise of Georgia Black Voters
Clark, Roger. “Dinkins Blazed a Political Trail That Started in Harlem.” Spectrum News NY1, November 24, 2020. https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2020/11/24/dinkins-blazed-political-trail-starting-in-harlem.
The Matter of the Wealth Gap
Williams, Walter E. “Reparations for Slavery.” Creators Syndicate, June 26, 2019. https://www.creators.com/read/walter-williams/06/19/reparations-for-slavery.
Remnick, David. “Ta-Nehisi Coates Revisits the Case for Reparations.” The New Yorker Radio Hour. NPR, June 10, 2019.
Kijakazi, Kilolo. “Examining the Racial and Gender Wealth Gap in America.” Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, Financial Services Committee, United States House of Representatives, September 24, 2019. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/101086/kilolo_kijakazi_testimony_on_racial_and_gender_wage_gaps.pdf.
Hwang, Jackelyn, and Lei Ding. “Unequal Displacement: Gentrification, Racial Stratification, and Residential Destinations in Philadelphia.” American Journal of Sociology 126, no. 2 (September 2020). https://doi.org/10.1086/711015.
“Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA): FFIEC Issues 2020 Version of A Guide to HMDA Reporting: Getting It Right!” FDIC, February 13, 2020. https://www.fdic.gov/news/financial-institution-letters/2020/fil20009.html.
Hairston, Kashief. “The Truth Behind Gentrification in Bed-Stuy.” Medium, December 21, 2018. https://medium.com/@kashief.hairston/the-truth-behind-gentrification-in-bed-stuy-6b20cd484e41.
Stasio, Frank. “The Truth Behind the Wilmington Massacre of 1898.” The State of Things. NPR, January 7, 2020. https://www.wunc.org/post/truth-behind-wilmington-massacre-1898.
Acknowledgments
Curtis: I’m eternally grateful to God, my mighty African heritage, and my parents, Julia Bunn and the late Edward Bunn Sr., who instilled Black pride and awareness in me, my siblings (Billy, Tami, and Eddie), and cousin Warren J. Eggleston as we were raised in Southeast Washington, D.C. I am steadied by my wife, Felita, and her unwavering support and inspired by the evolution of my son, Curtis Jr., and my daughter, Gwen. I’m proud of niece Tamyah and nephews Gordon and Eddie Jr., and I am uplifted by my alma mater, the great Norfolk State University and my brothers of the luminous Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (Epsilon Pi chapter and Omicron Phi Lambda).
Significantly, a boisterous thank-you to my brilliant agent, Jennifer Herrera, of the David Black Literary Agency, whose vision and effort are invaluable, and to Grand Central Publishing editor Maddie Caldwell for her leadership and daring to illuminate this project, and to Jacqueline Young for her tireless, important effort.
Also, big thanks to teenager Darnella Frazier, who was aware enough to record on her cell phone the entire murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin.
Special thanks to outstanding journalist Karen Robinson-Jacobs.
And thanks to Marcia Davis.
Michael: Thanks to my mother and father, Roberta and Howard Cottman, for reminding me to speak truth to power, to be a champion for those who are disenfranchised, to embrace my proud African American heritage, and, if I’m climbing the ladder, to always reach back and pull someone up to the next step with me.
Thank you to my daughter, Ariane, for always providing words of encouragement.
To Alison LaVigne: thank you for being a creative and intellectual touchstone, a listening ear, embracing our shared mission, and for being a steadfast refuge during proverbial storms.
To my Aunt Pat Favors, Aunt Carol & Rod Jolliffe (& Buster), thanks for all your love and support.
Thank you, Yolanda Woodlee, for graciously offering to help with research on our manuscript under a tight deadline. Your keen journalism skills helped elevate the discussion on these pages and I’m forever grateful.
To my superb literary agent, Jenny Herrera, thank you for your steadfast belief in me and for your encouragement idea by idea, book by book. Your thoughtful guidance from proposal to manuscript is the beacon that helps me navigate the ever-shifting publishing landscape. You always raise the bar. What a blessing.
A special thanks to my publisher, Maddie Caldwell, Grand Central Publishing, and Hachette Book Group. Thank you, Maddie, for publishing Say Their Names. When we first approached you with our unconventional idea for five authors you didn’t flinch; you rallied around our racial justice narrative with passion and sensitivity, and you gave us a prominent platform to tell this important story. I am greatly appreciative.
And thanks to God for guiding five writers who were separated by miles of highway but connected by an ethereal call for social justice.
Patrice: I am eternally grateful to the talented writers I worked with in creating this book. I am especially thankful to Michael Cottman, who gathered us together and counted me in that number. Thank goodness he introduced us to the dynamic Jennifer Herrera, our passionate agent who guided us with great wisdom through every challenge. I could not do anything without my behind-the-scenes crew: my daughter, Andrea Carter, who encourages me always and who with her life provides a bright light for me to follow. I am thankful to my family for their undying support, especially for my sister and housemate, Carol West, who provides me with food and clean clothes when I’m overwhelmed by a project. And to the members of Allison Creek Presbyterian Church, who with their spirits help me remain sane. Finally, let me acknowledge the brothers and sisters who remain on the other side of the prison wall. I think of you every day. My sincere gratitude also to the people who allowed me to interview them for this book and to the infinite number of people fighting
for the evolution of humankind and the dismantling of our brutal criminal justice system.
Nick: For those now gone, and on whose shoulders I stand: Albert A. Charles, Emily Cave, Stephen Charles, Andrew Charles, Solomon Charles, Elsie Johnson, Alphus Charles, Eric Chimming, Corina Chimming, Garvin Chimming, David “Bobby” Chimming, Lucita Farroe, Thelma Marshall, Janet Marshall, Ian Marshall, Pearl Ammon, Francis LeeSing, and Carl Byron; and those still here, Monica Charles, Edna Charles, Zita Charles, Cynthia LeeSing, Ruthven Farroe, Mervyn Farroe, Lindell LeeSing, Cheryl Charles, Christine Charles, Coleen Tessema, Patsy Durity, Judy Marshall, Jesse Marshall, Phillip Marshall, Margaret Marshall, Winston Marshall, Gerard Marshall, Dawn Francois, and Anthony Blugh, who continue to sustain me. And for Donna Cohen, Jordi Charles, and Elan Charles. A heartfelt thanks to Jenny Herrera, our intrepid agent, without whom this important work doesn’t happen.
Keith: I’m forever grateful to my parents, especially my mother, Alice Harriston, for always emphasizing the importance of education, and to my siblings, who, for as long as I can remember, supported most things I set out to do. My wife, Carol, thank you so much for raising me up and for creating space in our lives that allowed me to work on this project. My sons, Miles and Cole—my inspiration.
And thank you to Tracie Simmons, Bill Ritchie, Dwight Jackson, and Al Hawkins for sharing their time, and to super-agent Jennifer Herrera for helping us to pull this together.
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About the Authors
Curtis Bunn is an award-winning journalist who has written about race and sports and social and political issues for more than thirty years in Washington, D.C., New York, and Atlanta. Additionally, he is a best-selling author of ten novels that center on Black life in America.
Michael H. Cottman is an author and award-winning journalist. He is the program editor for NBCU Academy, a journalism education and training initiative with the NBCUniversal News Group Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team. He is also the former editorial manager of NBCBLK, a division of NBC News Digital. Cottman is a former reporter for the Washington Post and the Miami Herald, among other publications. Cottman, who has received numerous awards, was also part of a Pulitzer Prize–winning team for Newsday’s coverage of a deadly subway crash in New York in 1992. Cottman has authored, co-authored, and edited eight nonfiction books, and he appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss his work.
Patrice Gaines is author of the memoir Laughing in the Dark (Random House, 1995) and Moments of Grace (Random House, 1998). Gaines is a freelance writer, who was a reporter at the Washington Post for sixteen years. While at the Post, she was a member of a team nominated as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She was awarded a Soros Justice Media Fellowship to write a series of columns about the impact of incarceration on the Black community. At age twenty-one, Gaines was found guilty of drug charges and forever labeled a “convicted felon.” In the decades since, she has spoken and taught in prisons and jails, and also lectured at colleges and conferences on the brutality and failure of America’s criminal justice system. Gaines is also a justice advocate and abolitionist.
Nick Charles has reported, written, and edited for various media at domestic and international levels. He has been a reporter/writer and contributor to Long Island Newsday, New York Daily News, People, NPR, the Washington Post, and the Undefeated, as well as many other media outlets. He was the editor-in-chief of AOL Black Voices and the vice president of digital content for BET.com. He’s currently the managing director of Word In Black, a national collaborative of ten Black-owned media organizations, and an editor and spokesperson for the Save Journalism Project.
Keith Harriston is a writer based in Washington, D.C., who worked for twenty-three years as a senior newsroom manager, department editor, investigative reporter, and beat reporter at the Washington Post. As a reporter at the Post, Harriston was twice nominated as a finalist by the Pulitzer Prize board. Since leaving the Post, Harriston has taught journalism at American University, Howard University, and George Washington University, where he currently is a professorial lecturer in journalism.
Reading Group Guide for
SAY THEIR NAMES
Discussion Questions
The first chapter is titled “Why Black Lives Matter Matters.” In this chapter, what does Bunn argue are the central forces at work to ensure Black lives would matter and continue to matter, and what galvanized those forces in America?
How have homophobia and transphobia been weaponized against the Black Lives Matter movement? How would succumbing to these biases destabilize the movement, and what does that say about the importance of solidarity across marginalized groups?
How did the civil rights movement of the 1960s lay the groundwork for today’s BLM movement? How does the contemporary movement diverge from earlier iterations?
What does Benjamin O’Keefe argue are the core tenets of allyship? What are scenarios where you or the allies in your life could better incorporate the practice?
Despite being a physician, Susan Moore’s COVID-19 complaints were still dismissed by her white doctor. What does her death emphasize about the insidious effects of medical racism?
We see that the new voter suppression laws, particularly in Georgia around Sunday voting, are targeting Black church congregants. Will this signal an elevated return to activist roots for the Black church? And does this, once and for all, remove the veil of the separation of church and state?
More and more, we see that the white evangelical church is serving as an incubator for white supremacists and white supremacist violence. Should there be more widespread examination and repudiation of a theology that buttresses white supremacy?
The Black church has historically neglected and even shunned its LGBTQ members. What do you think needs to change for the Black church to reexamine its relationship with the queer community?
Our society’s overreliance on policing caused the death of Daniel Prude, when significant investment in mental health care and an emphasis on community responders could have prevented his encounter with police. Why do you think there is such reluctance to invest in these programs? How could Prude’s case, and the cases of those like him, be handled more humanely?
How is law enforcement’s response to the January 6 Capitol riot and their treatment of Dylann Roof illustrative of the differences between how police handle perceived threats based on skin color? What does this reveal about the biases ingrained in agents of law enforcement?
The stringent criminalization of crack by the Reagan administration, compared to the more compassionate response to the opioid epidemic today, is one example of racialized legal discrimination. What are some other situations or policies where you have noticed a similar disparity?
How do the experiences of Qadree Jacobs and Michelle Simmons underscore the need for greater societal and institutional change, as well as criminal justice reform? How did the environments and situations they were born into, or that were inescapable during their childhoods, impede their success?
Elena Vanko provides insight into Halden Prison in Norway, which has a track record for improving both recidivism and outcomes for those who have been imprisoned, yet the U.S. continues to rely heavily on less humane methods. How do discriminatory institutions and systems in the U.S. benefit—politically, economically, and socially—from mass incarceration?
Black women were particularly essential to the changing political tides of 2020, but that burden can take a significant toll on mental health. How can our society better balance amplifying important voices with ensuring those most affected don’t have to fight alone?
When Thomas W. Mitchell visited his hometown of San Francisco, he noticed a stark decrease in the African American population and, conversely, that the city had begun to capitalize on the Black legacy with the Historic Jazz District. What are other examples of wh
ite people or organizations profiting off Black people when it is convenient for them? Have you seen examples in your own life or neighborhood?