Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence in America, by Geoffrey Canada
"Geoffrey is one of my heroes"
-- Michelle Obama
Fist Stick Knife Gun is a game-changer, and brought Geoffrey Canada to national attention. He's been praised by Oprah Winfrey, President Clinton, and President Obama for his work as a social activist and educator.
His memoir resonates with the out-of-control gun violence that’s on everyone’s minds right now.
Canada grew up in the South Bronx where "sidewalk boys" learned the codes of the block and were ranked through rituals of fist, stick, and knife. Violence was just a normal part of life— in one episode, Canada describes walking down the street, and you can see through his eyes just how dangerous it was!
The desolation is releived by Canada's optimism that this violence can be changed. He is the CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone in Harlem, New York, on the boards of several organizations to help children in poverty and a social activist. Canada offers solid, practical solutions— not the kind of rhetoric we're so weary of hearing.
Powerful, gritty, and inspirational.
Narrated by Bill Quinn.
-Aretha Bright