Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 09/01/2021 *Starred Review* The past couple of years have brought eye-opening social discourses and essential histories, such as Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped (2020), into the mainstream. To these Magoon adds a thorough history of the Black Panther Party, which incorporates the longstanding abuse of Black Americans, from slavery to today, and an examination of the civil rights movement and the shifting ethos that led to the Panthers’ success, persecution, and demise. The book is exceedingly well researched, illustrated, and sourced—its back matter of time lines, key persons, and resources can stand as its own subject guide—and the writing is unapologetically candid about how people invested in upholding white supremacy and economic structures sought to thwart the success of Black communities, often breaking the law in order to do so. This truth makes the Panther’s commitment to abiding by the law, pursuing education, and creating community-betterment programs all the more powerful, particularly when they were more popularly portrayed in the media as violent. Magoon dispels this misconception without ignoring problems within the party—her truth-telling goes both ways. The vital contributions teenagers and women made to the party will strike a chord with today’s youth, as will the overlap in Panther causes with those of today’s racial justice movement. This rounded accounting of a pivotal but often-overlooked time in U.S. history should be widely read. - Copyright 2021 Booklist.