I don’t think that Geoff’s book is really race relations, as though it were the lit memoir version of The Hate U Give—I mean, there’s very little difference really, between a novel and a lit memoir, but this book is more about class, like the they-didn’t-make-a-movie version of “The Glass Castle”, even if it’s obviously about race as well as class. I suppose most poor people are, in these hopeless notions of ours, presumed to act ‘black’, you know. Even before behavior, there’s a certain amount of assumed blackness to the poor person, be they white or black—they look at your bank account and say, This person could be black, you know….

But it’s still not really a race relations memoir; not assimilated, by any means, but so down on the bottom that there’s no access to politics—one street fighting another, not radicals or non-radicals or anything like that…. Some of them are, must be, white, and all of them act, by the notions of the normals, the us-Americans, black, but it’s not really about race, at least not race alone.

The sad thing is that, the things that people learn in order to survive in that environment—how to fight…. how to fight with fists or a glass bottle instead of words or money—only further alienate them from the culture of the rulers, you know. But then, the normals often have trouble assimilating those few who have the opportunity to assimilate; the rest of them withering away like the state in the utopian future—lol—is just a sort of neglect harmless to those who matter. Perhaps the rulers, at least on the basis of numbers—there can only be so many rulers, so many normals—smile that some of “us” live like “them”.

…. I don’t read many books by African-Americans. But it’s good to make the other person real, not perfectly bad or perfectly good.

Me, no, Rachel: *starts telling a petty ethnocentric story about past ignorance*
Distant Young Black Man: *turns away* Man we all make mistakes.

…. Re: They who bear pain and loss, ie, “judged by twelve or carried by six”—“He who bore all pain and loss/Comfortless upon the cross/Is exalted now to save/Wrestling victory from the grave.” (The Hymnal 1982, #184)

“Whatever bro…. Marx says no!”
Well, I was just saying they ‘bear pain and loss’ to a more excellent degree than me.

…. There are a lot of stupid people in the inner city, but I could never be Geoff and save the community from itself…. They say you live a new life for every language (dialect?) you speak, but you can only live but so many lives. I don’t speak ‘tough’ or ‘New York’; competition in general is not really my comfort zone…. I exercise, but sports is a huge no-go in my life; I don’t understand it.

…. I guess, to get philosophical—to speak my own language—I’d say a certain amount of suffering can make you stronger and able to help others (like Geoff), but too much suffering can make you…. Invisible (like most people from the inner city).

…. Sometimes I suffer well, but in general I can say that I can only look across the great chasm that separates me from a Black guy from the Bronx.

…. …. But it’s interesting that he teaches martial arts, which is a good way to stay out of trouble instead of doing bad things, and though now the inner city is flooded with guns, unarmed fighting techniques won’t Literally keep you safer, he says I think that people are less likely to be violent when they feel secure, which being a black belt can do for you.

…. After-note: I originally thought this was kinda a general memoir, you know, kinda random, but now I think it’s better served in the new category/categories I'm creating for non-general murder popular crime reporting. It’s kinda disingenuous to put him next to the Herbert O’Driscoll memoir—I Will Go And Make Tea For My Fellow Comfy Old White Church Folk Friends Now…. He’s not comfy. It’s not a comfy story, whatever it is.

Canada gives the reader a glimpse into the life of a poor African American growing up in the inner city in the 60's and 70's. His experiences on Union Street shaped his life and his understanding of the the connection between violence and poverty. He tells a tale full of struggle and hardship, as he literally fought to survive his childhood, and later fought against violence – eventually founding the Harlem Children's Zone. Canada has become a national figure in recent years, for his work with this organization, and his memoir should, perhaps, be on required reading lists. America has some real problems with violence, drugs, and poverty, but to treat the people exposed to these issues in their day to day life like some sort of disease (like the media and society at large tends to do) is unconscionable. Subjective accounts, such as this book, could be helpful in further shifting the discourse, and helping people understand and, just maybe, start to work toward figuring out some more actual solutions by working with people in troubled situations rather than declaring policy “wars” on societal issues. If possible I will use parts of this book in my high school social studies classes, and I will likely suggest it to other teachers I know, as well. ( )

Geoffrey Canada shares his story of growing up surrounded by violence in “Fist Stick Knife Gun”. Canada tells how everyday in his youth he dealt with some sort of violence. While he did not like to fight, he learned to in order to protect himself.
This book is not a light read. It makes you think of kids growing up in the situations Canada describes. It makes you think of the violence happening in cities around the country and the kids that are learning from it. Is violence a learned behavior? Many of the kids many just be fighting to survive and in the area they are growing up in, that may include violence. What can we do to help them? Canada was able to get out of the violent environment he grew up in. He did not turn his back on his community though, he instead developed programs in under privileged areas to help kids just like him. He wants them to know that there is more to life than violence. ( )

An eye-opening view into a culture I cannot hope to understand, this book is a must read for any educator who will be working in the "tough" schools of their respective cities. The old adage of "violence begets violence" is one that people who have never really experienced it like to spout, helping themselves feel superior to those consumed by it. I have always been aware that the violence depicted in movies was simply a reflection and continuation of a violent undercurrent that has always existed in the poverty-stricken areas ofthe United States. I have been fortunate enough to avoid the consequences of this, but am aware of its existence and the consequences of everyone having a gun in a society where "won't back down, dont know how" is more than just the fun cry of the Mardi Gras Indians. I will never be able to understand this world fully, but the book does allow me a glimpse into it. Canada, having grown up in the tough streets before the rise of the drugs and guns that permeate the streets of today, gives readers the perspective of a survivor of one era of the war IN povery and his consternation at the current state of that conflict.

This was a tough read. It portrayed violence in a direct manner. Canada's experiences are well documented and can serve well in a classroom environment. This book shows just how important education is. It offers a candid analysis of the violence that takes place in neighborhoods. The topic of violence has a lot of attached bias when covered in the news. The often graphic descriptions of violence show the importance of a social hierarchy. The general news cycle makes many generalizations. This memoir demonstrates how Geoffrey Canada learned these violent tactics but made an effort to move away from them later on and make a positive impact on the community.

This is a good read for all students. It is written in an accessible format. The anecdotes are well written and can be related to by all students. ( )