Living not far from Baltimore, I remember the Freddie Gray incident. Another senseless killing in what seems to have become the norm. Very well written. Researched very well. This book should be read by many. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

An important book that should be widely read by all. Jennifer Cobbina touches on a subject that many people might shy away from, but need to learn about. I would recommend this to everyone.

In her book, Hands Up Don't Shoot, author Jennifer E. Cobbina, gives a well-researched look at the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson and Freddie Gray in Baltimore at the hands of the police and how they led to widespread protests and the formation of the Black Lives Matter movement. She looks at the historical conditions that led to the distrust that many African Americans have towards the police including slavery, Reconstruction, and the Black Codes which unfairly targeted Blacks for much lesser crimes than for Whites for generations, that led to convict leasing and eventually to today and the very profitable incarceration of so many young Black men. She looks at these two cities and these two deaths because they are emblematic of the wider issue of the power imbalance between Blacks and Whites: they are both majority Black cities; they have a high incidence of poverty and racial imbalance; and these two murders became very high profile cases.

She uses statistics to prove her case as well as, and perhaps most importantly, interviews with some of the young people involved in the protests who explain why they got involved, and what they hope they can accomplish. This includes eye witnesses to both the deaths whose stories contradicted both the police and mainstream media accounts.

Hands Up, Don't Shoot is well-researched, well-written, cogent, and easily accessible. It shows how the imbalance of power between Blacks and Whites since slavery especially in the judicial system has led to the distrust of the police in Black communities and it is very eye-opening. She makes it clear that the country has still a long way to go to reach equality but these protests have helped to move it closer. An important book and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and NYU Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

Police brutality against communities of color is a pattern that we have become far too familiar with as a society. It shouldn't be commonplace for entire communities to have to deal with even a fraction of what communities across america deal with every day. This book should be depressing. We can do better. Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an ARC.

The author's painstaking research and attention to detail is obvious in the writing of this book. There were many facts that I only discovered after reading this!

I’m not sure what I really expected from this novel. As a Black woman and hearing of police killings of black males has become all to common for me. Which is scary that I would even feel this way. This book is a great reference, but nothing here wow’d or shocked me. Great observations, and interviews with those first-person encounters. I highly recommend this novel to those that are clearly oblivious of this issue.

HANDS UP, DON'T SHOOT by Jennifer E. Cobbina will be published by New York University Press on July 30th which is extremely timely considering its subtitle (Why the Protests in Ferguson and Baltimore Matter, and How They Changed America) and the way that Baltimore has been in the news in the last several days. Cobbina is Associate Professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University and she worked with other academics to interview participants at protests following the deaths of Michael Brown and Freddie Gray. In a half dozen chapters, she describes findings on race and policing, writes about Black police officers, and explores why protestors marched. In addition to providing some historical context, she offers a suggestion that "the issue is not exclusively about the race of police officers but about the nature of police organizations and how they systematically police poor communities of color." In addition, Cobbina was able to conduct and review interviews from almost 200 people and to look for patterns, concluding in part that "the most involved and committed protestors vowed to engage in future activist efforts ... while, for those who were less committed, oppressive tactics by police appeared to serve as a deterrent." She goes further and provides a look at some of the complex factors involved (e.g., unemployment rates, poverty levels, single parent households, social media influence). Roughly a fourth of this well-researched text is devoted to appendices (on demographics of the protestors and research methods), notes, references, and a helpful index. HANDS UP, DON'T SHOOT received a starred review from Library Journal and will be an invaluable resource for our students, especially those in Civics and/or Psychology classes (perhaps investigating the flashpoint model, culture of resistance, implicit bias, etc.) as well as others interested in this multi-faceted topic for Junior Theme research.

This book covers a wealth of information about the shootings
we have seen on the News over the years. It's so painful to
know this still goes down due to racism. The writer is well informed
with the facts and it's all here in this book! It made it hard to read at times
but I felt like I owed it to these families to read the truth.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to
read an early copy!

An important book a sad revealing look at racism in our world.We know are so used to reading about police shootings of young black men we have no hope for courtroom justice.This is a valuable book worthy of classroom discussions.we have to find a solution so young black men can walk down the streets safely .#netgalley#byupress

This book was a really compelling read about something that we need to acknowledge in our lifetime - racial bias and the way young black men are dying in our society. Great look at this.