Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present

Written by Robyn Maynard

Narrated by Marcia Johnson

Delving behind Canada’s veneer of multiculturalism and tolerance, Policing Black Lives traces the violent realities of anti-blackness from the slave ships to prisons, classrooms and beyond. Robyn Maynard provides readers with the first comprehensive account of nearly four hundred years of state-sanctioned surveillance, criminalization and punishment of Black lives in Canada.

While highlighting the ubiquity of Black resistance, Policing Black Lives traces the still-living legacy of slavery across multiple institutions, shedding light on the state’s role in perpetuating contemporary Black poverty and unemployment, racial profiling, law enforcement violence, incarceration, immigration detention, deportation, exploitative migrant labour practices, disproportionate child removal and low graduation rates.

Emerging from a critical race feminist framework that insists that all Black lives matter, Maynard’s intersectional approach to anti-Black racism addresses the unique and understudied impacts of state violence as it is experienced by Black women, Black people with disabilities, as well as queer, trans, and undocumented Black communities.

A call-to-action, Policing Black Lives urges readers to work toward dismantling structures of racial domination and re-imagining a more just society.

Bespeak Audio Editions brings Canadian voices to the world with audiobook editions of some of the country’s greatest works of literature, performed by Canadian actors.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ECW Press
• Release date: Dec 11, 2019
• ISBN: 9781773055275

Reviews for Policing Black Lives

[Danielle Tan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I learned so much about systemic racism in Canada. Very well-researched and organized! Must-read/listen :)

[silomontreal · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I would love to read/listen to this book but I'm in Canada and ironically it's not available in my country. Hopefully Scribd will soon make this book available to the people it's about.