Tonight on Bibliocracy:
BRENDA STEVENSON. My guest tonight has composed an all-too-real
nonfiction story which transcends only historical analysis, and instead both
taps into our collective memories and perceptions, and challenges them. She is Dr.
Brenda Stevenson, a professor of history at UCLA and the book, in case you
have not yet heard, or read it, is The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins
from the estimable Oxford University Press.
Mike Davis’s imprimatur means a lot, especially perhaps to smart KPFK
listeners, and his praise for this book – meticulously fair but disturbing ---
just about sums it up. The story of
young Latasha Harlins’ murder and its reverberations in the Southland is plenty
for any historian, but Brenda Stevenson’s writing, ambitious yet accessible,
offers the tragedy in a big, deep, complex --- and its perverse way ---
satisfying sociological take-apart which offers both reasons and responsibility
to its readers. Brenda Stevenson is the
author of Life in Black and White: Family and Community in the Slave South,
selected as an Outstanding Book by the Gustavus
Myers Center
for the Study of Human Rights in North America
and you’ve heard it a lot on the radio lately as a go-to expert commentator on
the new film “Twelve Years a Slave.” I count myself lucky to welcome her to
Bibliocracy tonight. Thanks for
listening, on the radio or online, and anytime you like as a free download from
the KPFK audio archives. And thanks to those who donated during the recent fund
drive.
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