Written in an accessible, episodic style, the message is powerful and disturbing, and this work is a worthy purchase.
A well-documented overview of contemporary hate crimes and their impacts on victims and communities in the U.S.
Marcovitz (The Opiod Epidemic, 2017, etc.) explains that hate crimes are distinct from other crimes as they’re motivated by bias against a victim’s identity. Typically perpetrators, who most frequently act in small groups, do not know their victims, and the crime is a spontaneous action triggered by seeing someone from a particular demographic. Despite legal efforts to abate hate crimes, people from various religious, ethnic, social, LGBTQ, and other groups face growing hostilities in the U.S. In five succinct chapters the author describes the frequency of hate crimes, their impacts, how legislation addresses hate crimes, challenges with prosecution, and prevention. Supported by statistics and specific, recent case studies covering a diverse range of victims, Marcovitz alerts readers to the shocking truth that over 6,000 hate crimes were recorded in the U.S. in 2016, mostly by people acting independently of organized hate groups. He also offers a brief overview of the history of hate crimes. Color photographs and informative sidebars lend appeal to this work that will speak to readers unnerved by events in the news and their own lives, including school shootings and acts of intolerance or bullying based on identity.
Written in an accessible, episodic style, the message is powerful and disturbing, and this work is a worthy purchase. (source notes, organizations, resources, index) (Nonfiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68282-471-9
Page Count: 80
Publisher: ReferencePoint Press
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today.
A beautifully heart-wrenching graphic-novel adaptation of actor and activist Takei’s (Lions and Tigers and Bears, 2013, etc.) childhood experience of incarceration in a World War II camp for Japanese Americans.
Takei had not yet started school when he, his parents, and his younger siblings were forced to leave their home and report to the Santa Anita Racetrack for “processing and removal” due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. The creators smoothly and cleverly embed the historical context within which Takei’s family’s story takes place, allowing readers to simultaneously experience the daily humiliations that they suffered in the camps while providing readers with a broader understanding of the federal legislation, lawsuits, and actions which led to and maintained this injustice. The heroes who fought against this and provided support to and within the Japanese American community, such as Fred Korematsu, the 442nd Regiment, Herbert Nicholson, and the ACLU’s Wayne Collins, are also highlighted, but the focus always remains on the many sacrifices that Takei’s parents made to ensure the safety and survival of their family while shielding their children from knowing the depths of the hatred they faced and danger they were in. The creators also highlight the dangerous parallels between the hate speech, stereotyping, and legislation used against Japanese Americans and the trajectory of current events. Delicate grayscale illustrations effectively convey the intense emotions and the stark living conditions.
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-60309-450-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Top Shelf Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2019
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