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Title details for His Name Is George Floyd (Pulitzer Prize Winner) by Robert Samuels - Available

His Name Is George Floyd (Pulitzer Prize Winner)

One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice

by Robert Samuels
Toluse Olorunnipa
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
WINNER OF THE 2023 PULITZER PRIZE IN NONFICTION
WINNER OF THE DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE
FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE; FINALIST FOR THE J. ANTHONY LUKAS PRIZE; A BCALA 2023 HONOR NONFICTION AWARD WINNER.

A landmark biography by two prizewinning Washington Post reporters that reveals how systemic racism shaped George Floyd's life and legacy—from his family’s roots in the tobacco fields of North Carolina, to ongoing inequality in housing, education, health care, criminal justice, and policing—telling the story of how one man’s tragic experience brought about a global movement for change.
“It is a testament to the power of His Name Is George Floyd that the book’s most vital moments come not after Floyd’s death, but in its intimate, unvarnished and scrupulous account of his life . . . Impressive.”
—New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)
“Since we know George Floyd’s death with tragic clarity, we must know Floyd’s America—and life—with tragic clarity. Essential for our times.”
—Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist
 
“A much-needed portrait of the life, times, and martyrdom of George Floyd, a chronicle of the racial awakening sparked by his brutal and untimely death, and an essential work of history I hope everyone will read.”
—Henry Louis Gates, Jr., author of The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song

The events of that day are now tragically familiar: on May 25, 2020, George Floyd became the latest Black person to die at the hands of the police, murdered outside of a Minneapolis convenience store by white officer Derek Chauvin. The video recording of his death set off the largest protest movement in the history of the United States, awakening millions to the pervasiveness of racial injustice. But long before his face was painted onto countless murals and his name became synonymous with civil rights, Floyd was a father, partner, athlete, and friend who constantly strove for a better life.
 
His Name Is George Floyd tells the story of a beloved figure from Houston's housing projects as he faced the stifling systemic pressures that come with being a Black man in America. Placing his narrative within the context of the country's enduring legacy of institutional racism, this deeply reported account examines Floyd's family roots in slavery and sharecropping, the segregation of his schools, the overpolicing of his community amid a wave of mass incarceration, and the callous disregard toward his struggle with addiction—putting today's inequality into uniquely human terms. Drawing upon hundreds of interviews with Floyd's closest friends and family, his elementary school teachers and varsity coaches, civil rights icons, and those in the highest seats of political power, Washington Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa offer a poignant and moving exploration of George Floyd’s America, revealing how a man who simply wanted to breathe ended up touching the world.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    May 17, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593590430
      • File size: 389943 KB
      • Duration: 13:32:22

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 28, 2022
      Washington Post reporters Samuels and Olorunnipa deliver an impeccably researched biography of George Floyd, whose 2020 murder by Minneapolis police sparked nationwide protests. After recounting the events leading up to Floyd’s death, the authors rewind to his early years in Houston’s segregated Third Ward in the 1970s and ’80s. Recruited to play football at Texas A&M–Kingsville, Floyd became the first in his family to attend a four-year college, but struggled to meet the academic requirements and eventually dropped out. Back in the Third Ward, he got sucked into the drug trade and spent more than a decade in and out of prison before moving to Minneapolis for a fresh start. Interwoven with the biographical details are incisive sketches of the political and historical events that have shaped life for Floyd’s family and other Black Americans. Recounting how Floyd’s great-great-grandfather was forced to sell his landholdings in early 1900s North Carolina, the authors note that “between 1910 and 1997, Black farmers lost control of more than 90 percent of their farmlands.” Elsewhere, Samuels and Olorunnipa discuss the war on drugs, school segregation, redlining, and more. This multifaceted and exceptionally informative account is both a moving testament to Floyd and a devastating indictment of America’s racial inequities. Agent: Karen Brailsford, Aevitas Creative Management.

    • Library Journal

      November 1, 2022

      Award-winning Washington Post journalists Samuels and Olorunnipa's illuminating biography of George Floyd offers a devastating look into America's systemic racism and militaristic policing. Narrator Dion Graham masterfully places listeners center stage during Floyd's life and murder. Meeting the always hopeful, very fallible, but sweet-natured Floyd and his ancestors, and learning about the ways they were victimized across generations is gut-wrenching. The background of Derek Chauvin and his family is presented in stark and disturbing contrast. Painting a full picture of how Floyd met his unnecessary death, the authors describe the family's beginnings, living in poverty in North Carolina, then optimistically moving to Houston, where they endured Texas's brutal and racist laws. Finally, they examine the reality of racism and policing under the veneer of a "liberal" Minneapolis. The conclusion follows resolute protesters throughout the country, the family's determination to change laws, and the trial, including those who bravely testified. Graham skillfully introduces a widely diverse cast and seamlessly transitions between chapters. He even injects moments of gentle humor. Graham gives a stunning performance here, including of Floyd's last heartbreaking minutes. VERDICT The authors present Floyd empathetically, but honestly, including his weaknesses and flaws. Audio transports listeners into Floyd's world, making his story even more immediate.--Susan G. Baird

      Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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