Busboys Books Presents: D Watkins
Date and Time
Sep 26, 2019 6:00 pm
Location
14th & V
2021 14th St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20009
Sep 26, 2019 6:00 pm
14th & V
Honest and eye opening, We Speak for Ourselves begins by introducing readers to “Down Bottom,” the storied community of Baltimore that holds a mirror to the country’s poor Black neighborhoods. “Hoods” that the larger society seem to easily forget. Hoods that could just as easily be Chicago, Detroit, Oakland or Atlanta. Watkins walks readers through an in-depth analysis of inner-city hurdles with school systems, food deserts, poverty, drugs and housing by combining razor-sharp wit with hardcore facts. Next, he presents the “biggest gang in America,” the police force, and the brutality and illegal practices we must face and end, in order to rebuild. The journey is not complete until Watkins forces readers to look in the mirror themselves and ask if they are part of the problem or the solution. Whether we find D. in the gym shooting hoops at Hopkins University, sitting on a panel facing an audience donned with Make America Great Again caps, or joining the writhe of cries outpoured after the death of Freddie Gray. Watkins uses the spaces he embodies to tell a story we cannot look away from, because it is a story that belongs to us all. A story often forgotten.
Unapologetic, Watkins presents the unfiltered voices we must listen to if we truly desire to create change in every pocket of this country. He’d make a great addition speaking on:
- The plight of inner-city communities suffering from food deserts, illiteracy, under-funded schools, police brutality and more.
- The American tradition of criminal police forces and how they unravel the trust of the communities they are called to protect and serve. The problem with claiming to be “Woke” in today’s social justice climate and social media influenced activism.
- The power of proximity and the real meaning of allyship. Watkins offers an “Am I Making a Difference Checklist;” as well as, various ways to become involved by using a process called “skillsharing.”
- How Trump supporters and those fighting against his regime may find common ground to make America better – he wouldn’t say it’s ever been “great.”
Incisive, heartfelt and challenging, We Speak for Ourselves is an anthem for change that transcends income and political ideology, a treatise on aiming to solve the issues that plague Black America and the world at-large.
D. Watkins is Editor at Large for Salon. His work has been published in the New York Times, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, and other publications. He holds a Master’s in Education from Johns Hopkins University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Baltimore. He is a college professor at the University of Baltimore and founder of the BMORE Writers Project–– and has also been the recipient of numerous awards including BMe Genius Grant and Ford’s Men of Courage. Watkins was also a finalist for the Hurston Wright Legacy Award and Books for A Better Life. He has lectured at countless universities, and events, around the world. Watkins has been featured as a guest and commentator on NBC’s Meet the Press, CNN’s The Erin Burnett Show, and Democracy Now, among other shows. Watkins is from and lives in East Baltimore. He is the author of We Speak For Ourselves: A Word from Forgotten Black America and the New York Times bestsellers The Beast Side: Living (and Dying) While Black in America and The Cook Up: A Crack Rock Memoir.
