America, Goddam

Violence, Black Women, and the Struggle for Justice

By: Treva B. Lindsey

Narrated by: Treva B. Lindsey

Reckons with violence against Black women in America and their resilient fight for liberation

America, Goddam explores the combined force of antiBlackness, misogyny, patriarchy, and capitalism in the lives of Black women and girls in the United States today. Through personal accounts and hard-hitting analysis, Black feminist historian Treva B. Lindsey starkly assesses the forms and legacies of violence against Black women and girls, as well as their demands for justice for themselves and their communities.

Combining history, theory, and memoir, this book renders visible the gender dynamics of antiBlack violence. Black women and girls occupy a unique status of vulnerability to harm and death, while the circumstances and traumas of this violence go underreported and understudied. Lindsey also shows that the sanctity of life and liberty of Black women is rarely the focus of Black freedom movements.

Defying this omission, Black women have led movements demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, Toyin Salau, Riah Milton, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, and countless other Black women and girls. Across generations and centuries, their refusal to remain silent about violence against them led many to envisioning and building toward Black liberation through organizing and radical politics. Echoing the energy of Nina Simone’s searing protest song that inspired the title, America, Goddam is a call to action in our collective journey toward just futures.

©2022 Treva B. Lindsey (P)2022 Recorded Books

A Masterpiece

I cried as I listened to story after story. The author’s combination of scholarly research, attention to the stories of black women, and her own vulnerable self disclosure was mesmerizing and powerful. I would recommend this book to absolutely everyone for any reason. Please read. Please listen.

Amazing and inspiring

This book was informative and relatable to the nth degree. There was so much here that gives voice to the voiceless. It’s a wonderful piece of writing.

An in depth look at the Black Woman experience in America

Thank you, Treva, for writing this and sharing your personal experiences with us as well. I can’t imagine the toll it took on you to write this, as it was extremely wearing for me as I listened. I had to take frequent breaks because the stories are heavy, and it is a reminder of how quickly these stories move or are non existent in the news cycles. A must read to gain a clear understanding of the impacts of these systems on Black women and our mental, emotional, physical health and socioeconomic status.

Fantastic Read!!

This book is a MUST read for all those who are dedicated to dismantling the death-dealing systems which America is. Thank you Treva…THANK YOU!