The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto

Charles M. Blow

Jan 2021 · HarperAudio · Narrated by JD Jackson

About this audiobook

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A New York Times Editor’s Choice | A Kirkus Best Nonfiction Book of the Year

?The Inspiration for the HBO Original Documentary South to Black Power

From journalist and New York Times bestselling author Charles Blow comes a powerful manifesto and call to action, ""a must-read in the effort to dismantle deep-seated poisons of systemic racism and white supremacy"" (San Francisco Chronicle).

Race, as we have come to understand it, is a fiction; but, racism, as we have come to live it, is a fact. The point here is not to impose a new racial hierarchy, but to remove an existing one. After centuries of waiting for white majorities to overturn white supremacy, it seems to me that it has fallen to Black people to do it themselves.

Acclaimed columnist and author Charles Blow never wanted to write a “race book.” But as violence against Black people—both physical and psychological—seemed only to increase in recent years, culminating in the historic pandemic and protests of the summer of 2020, he felt compelled to write a new story for Black Americans. He envisioned a succinct, counterintuitive, and impassioned corrective to the myths that have for too long governed our thinking about race and geography in America. Drawing on both political observations and personal experience as a Black son of the South, Charles set out to offer a call to action by which Black people can finally achieve equality, on their own terms.

So what will it take to make lasting change when small steps have so frequently failed? It’s going to take an unprecedented shift in power. The Devil You Know is a groundbreaking manifesto, proposing nothing short of the most audacious power play by Black people in the history of this country. This book is a grand exhortation to generations of a people, offering a road map to true and lasting freedom.

Ratings and reviews

watching an interview with Killer Mike he suggested folks read this book and I'm glad I listened. very motivating and definitely an eye opener to what can be done in your lifetime. i would suggest this book to any and everyone. I'm in the south and very glad I'm here! ✊🏾

I'm sorry but this author is extremely racist.

I gained a multitude of knowledge and this book incited thought and conversation.

About the author

Charles M. Blow is an acclaimed journalist and op-ed columnist for the New York Times who appears frequently on CNN. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Fire Shut Up in My Bones. He lives in Atlanta.