What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America

Book Description

“I Have a Dream,” Dr. King intoned. In English class, we were just starting to learn about similes and metaphors and figures of speech. Those concepts weren’t immediately clear to me as Dr. King talked about “symbolic shadow,” but …I understood the power of symbolic language.

Over the next several weeks, I spent hours studying that one speech…King’s speeches touched me so deeply and profoundly that, for reasons I couldn’t explain, I found myself crying. I wasn’t sure what those tears represented: maybe his words touched the pain and hurt and humiliation I was still feeling; maybe my tears stemmed from the new confidence and purpose his words gave me. Maybe I felt an empathy with my people whose history of suffering and survival was coming alive to me for the first time. In part, they reflected my pride in the courageous brilliance of a leader outspoken in conveying our purpose and passion.

I see now that King influenced me on several levels: First, he showed me that words have meaning—they aren’t arbitrary—and words are powerful. He showed me that words can carry the force of love. He also showed me that one man can make a difference. He himself had made that difference….Despite evidence to the contrary, King believed that things would get better. Every day that I read his words, they moved me like a powerful sermon. They changed my life and emboldened my ambition.
—From What I Know For Sure

From the man who catapulted The Covenant with Black America to number one on the New York Times bestseller list comes a searing memoir of poverty, ambition, pain, and atonement. Celebrated talk-show host Tavis Smiley describes growing up in an all-white rural community in Indiana and the impact it had on his life.

Tavis Smiley grew up in a family of thirteen in a small trailer in Indiana, where money was scarce and the sight of other black faces even scarcer. One of only a few African American kids in his high school, he grew up feeling like an outsider because of the color of his skin, his Pentecostal religious beliefs, and his family’s economic circumstances. It was the love and support of his family that sustained him. But that trust and support was shattered when his father, in a moment of rage, beat him with an electrical cord, sending him to the hospital. Tavis was placed in foster care for a time, and it took him years to bridge the emotional chasm between him and his parents.

Nothing, however, could quench Tavis’s fierce inner drive to succeed. His remarkable speaking ability made him an oratorical champion in Indiana and offered him a pathway to a different world. Determined to fight for the underdog and for African American rights, he entered the political arena, moving to Los Angeles to work in Mayor Tom Bradley’s administration. Later, he embarked on his career as a radio commentator, discovering that it was an ideal way to influence public discourse on the issues of the day. Now with his own show on PBS, he remains committed to bettering the lives of all Americans; he’s especially acclaimed for his work on behalf of people of color and the underprivileged.

An honest, deeply moving self-portrait of one of America’s most popular media figures, What I Know for Sure should appeal to readers everywhere.

Customer Reviews:

Historical and Relevant.......2007-09-11

I applaud Mr. Smiley for his detailed account of African-American stories and the way that he connected them to Historical events. He, in this book, successfully gave a description of how so many have grown up in Urban America.

An Enjoyable, Enlightening Read.......2007-06-29

Tavis Smiley writes an enjoyable, enlightening, easy-to-read story of his upbringing in middle America. Though at times fighting against a sometimes harsh upbringing in a committed Christian home, Smiley's work repeatedly hearkens back to the lessons he learned in that very home. He teaches how anyone can move beyond negative life experiences, be they in the home or in society, to a place of meaning and success in life.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, Spiritual Friends: A Methodology of Soul Care And Spiritual Direction, and Soul Physicians.

A Good Read.......2007-06-28

I truly enjoyed this book. I totally agree with another reader...the chapters are not unnecessarily bogged down with additional information which made the book very easy to read. His story is very encouraging and is a testament that there is no obstacle you cannot overcome if you have the faith and determination Tavis displayed in this book.
Although I may not have had the heart to make some of the moves he did i.e. (taking an unpaid position away from home with no means of income) look where he is today...God Bless him!

Much Ado.......2007-06-22

I admire Tavis, think he is an insightful interviewer and enjoy his show very much. However, his book was a disappointment. There's no THERE there. Poorly written, thin on substance--he doesn't really DO anything. Although I have sympathy from the scars he obviously still bears from his abusive and sheltered overly-religious childhood, he comes off as whiney and superficial. I and some of my book club members liked Tavis a lot better before reading his shallow memoir.

Mixed Emotions.......2007-05-30

The brutal beating with the extension cord was probably the saddest thing I've read in a while. Aside from that, the book was just ok for me. I found myself shaking my head that Tavis would show up on a college's doorstep without tuition, a dorm assignment, etc. I just really didn't believe he was that naive or that his parents were just that stubborn. The book was easy to read, with really short chapters that weren't bogged down with useless info. Each chapter was straight to the point. Worth a read.

Average customer rating:

The Powerful Finale
very disappointed :>(
Promises Much, Delivers Little
Spine Tingling Walk Across the Bridge
Smiley 3

Smiley's People
John le Carre
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0743455800
Release Date: 2002-11-26

Book Description

John le Carré's classic novels deftly navigate readers through the intricate shadow worlds of international espionage with unsurpassed skill and knowledge and have earned him -- and his hero, British Secret Service agent George Smiley -- unprecedented worldwide acclaim.

Rounding off his astonishing vision of a clandestine world, master storyteller le Carré perfects his art in Smiley's People.

In London at dead of night, George Smiley, sometime acting Chief of the Circus (aka the British Secret Service), is summoned from his lonely bed by news of the murder of an ex-agent. Lured back to active service, Smiley skillfully maneuvers his people -- "the no-men of no-man's land" -- into crisscrossing Paris, London, Germany, and Switzerland as he prepares for his own final, inevitable duel on the Berlin border with his Soviet counterpart and archenemy, Karla.

Customer Reviews:

The Powerful Finale.......2007-03-22

"Smiley's People" is the third and final book in British spymeister John LeCarre's outstanding cold war trilogy. It opens with one of the author's thrilling set pieces in Paris, and closes with another, a white-knuckle scene at the Berlin wall. In between, it neatly wraps up the epic struggle between George Smiley, British spy; and his Russian Moriarty, Karla, who is described by one of his underlings in this book as "the head of the independent Thirteenth Intelligence Directorate, subordinated to the Party's Central Committee, who is known throughout Centre only by his workname Karla. This is a woman's name and is said to belong to the first network he controlled."

The book is a compendium of LeCarre's great virtues as a novelist: his first-hand experience of spycraft; his witty, terse writing; his ability to fashion complex, yet clear plots; to create a Dickensian canvas's worth of individual, recognizable characters, and to provide them with sharp dialogue. It also, as many of his later books do, pays great attention to the characters' language. At one point the author writes, "Saul Enderby drawled in that lounging Belgravia cockney which is the final vulgarity of the English upper class." "Smiley's" brings back many characters from the earlier books; Smiley, Enderby and Karla, of course. Also Peter Guillam, now newly-married and preggers; Connie Sachs, settled down for her final innings with a lesbian lover; Doc de Salis, Inspector Mendel, Toby Esterhase, Sam Collins. It also, at last, brings Smiley's eternally beautiful and unfaithful wife Ann on stage for the first time.

Smiley is out of favor again, and forcibly retired -- as are his friends-- when the book opens. One of Karla's Russian hoods approaches Mme. Ostrakova in Paris: the Soviet Union has decided to give her long lost daughter Alexandra an exit visa so she can join her mother in the West. Ostrakova has only to do the paperwork. Smiley comes to learn about this after the murder of a friend/former spy of his. The English spy, with his lifetime of experience, realizes that Karla is behaving in an irregular manner that may finally enable the British to bring him down. Smiley plots his course, making what the Hungarian refugee Esterhase calls his "flucht nach vorn," which, the author tells us, nobody can translate except in the most literal sense as an "escape forward." In his unravelling of the mystery of Karla's behavior, Smiley returns to the German-speaking world where he was educated, his longtime second home: Berne, Switzerland, Hamburg, Germany, and eventually, Berlin and its menacing wall.

Karla had set a mole-- a term LeCarre invented, meaning a spy put within a sensitive organization, in deep cover, not to be activated until the time matures-- within the circus, the fictional name LeCarre assigned the British secret service. This mole had nearly destroyed the circus, and Smiley's marriage, as well. In the final struggle between these two dedicated men, Smiley comes to realize that any triumph over Karla will not be without cost. "On Karla has descended the curse of Smiley's compassion; on Smiley the curse of Karla's fanaticism."

very disappointed :>(.......2007-01-17

after reading " call for the dead " and " the spy who came in from the cold ", i thought i was going to enjoy reading " smiley's people " the same way.but
boy, what a disappointment, after the first three chapters, i just flip through the whole book and put it down.
am i missing something here?

Promises Much, Delivers Little.......2006-05-12

"Smiley's People" was very boring.

In a spy novel, something earth-shaking should be happening. There was no coup attempt, no assassination of a world leader, no plutonium, no white slavery, and no impending viral epidemic.

What we had was a foolish ex-bureaucrat wasting his own time and money trying to dredge up a decades-old case that was of little importance even when it was current.

If anything, the book showed the worthlessness of the intelligence services.

The author is skilled with description, and possibly accurate in procedural details, but the plot is weak and the characters are one-dimensional and uninteresting.

I put the book down after reading half of it, but I peeked at the conclusion to see if anything worthwhile might have been happening in the second half of the book. I don't think so.

Spine Tingling Walk Across the Bridge.......2005-11-28

As if walking at Smiley's side through Tinker Tailor and then the Honorable Schoolboy; to do so again in this last book in the trilogy becomes a riveting experience. From it's start in Paris to its final bone chilling scene, this book is a must read. Still as vibrant today as when the Cold War raged.

Smiley 3.......2005-11-16

Super-spy George Smiley comes out of a fitful retirement for one last bite at the apple. Summoned from his reviews of ancient and tedious poetry, Smiley is called back into service by the horrendous murder of a long-time associate in central London. By the time the Circus has put this behind them, the next victim turns up in Germany.

Smiley's successor asks him to clean up all the loose ends, actually to bury the whole mess. Of course, Smiley finds the real story, eventually convinces the new regime, and gets a legitimate charter to go after his arch-enemy Karla.

It turns out Karla has secrets that he can not trust to his own people in Moscow Center, so he sets up a rogue band of amateurs and hoods to manage it. Smiley and his long-time associates quickly penetrate this rag-tag band and get the goods on Karla. The irony is that Smiley is using Karla's methods to flush out Karla. Ultimately the ball goes back into Karla's court and he needs to make a decision where he thinks his chances of survival are highest.

I listened to the excellent audio version, which is highly recommended for the clever ability to keep all the accents and voices straight. Still this thing is complex, especially if you have not read the earlier Smiley books. LeCarre takes us on a torturous path from London to Paris to Hamburg to Berlin with a wide panorama of under-world characters including black-mailers, hedonists, prostitutes, and pornographers.

The companion BBC mini-series is also very good, featuring the taut acting discipline of Alec Guiness. At about six hours, it is quite manageable. LeCarre wrote the screenplay and made a few story changes, mostly to introduce some attractive women into the mix. Patrick Stewart plays Karla, although he does not appear until the final minutes, and then does not speak.

John Le Carré : Three Complete Novels ( Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy / The Honourable Schoolboy / Smiley's People )

Average customer rating:

Perhaps Best for LeCarre Bores
More than espionage
I'll take great trilogies for $1000, Alex...
Le Carre is simply the best !
Outstanding modern fiction

John Le Carré : Three Complete Novels ( Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy / The Honourable Schoolboy / Smiley's People )
John Le Carre
Manufacturer: Wings
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0517146975
Release Date: 1995-09-30

Amazon.com

This three-in-one set of le Carré thrillers about late cold war spycraft has wit, atmosphere, and intelligence to die for. In le Carré's most autobiographical novel, A Perfect Spy, Rick Pym, a con artist Dickens might have invented (except that he's based on le Carré's dad) raises his son, Magnus, to be the perfect gentleman for the spook trade. Magnus writes to explain himself to his son, Tom; le Carré wrote the book to explain his own scalawag dad to himself, and burst into tears when he finished the novel.

In The Russia House, set in 1987, a Soviet dissident physicist drops a secret manuscript to Barley Blair, a boozy loser of a British book publisher, to alert the West that the evil empire is about to collapse of its own absurd weight. Can Western spies trust the dissident? Just how safe is the "safe house" where Barley parleys with his sexy Russian contact, Katya? Where should Barley's loyalty lie, with love or country?

The Secret Pilgrim is almost a short-story collection. (That's why it was broken into three separate audio versions: The Fledgling Spy, The Spy Who Came of Age, and The Spy in His Prime.) Ned, a British spook who Barley troubled in The Russia House, invites le Carré's legendary spy George Smiley to lecture his new class of recruits. Smiley's remarks alternate with Ned's reminiscences of his own covert adventures, from the sublimely ridiculous to the scathingly scary. The new kids have no idea what tortuous moral torments await them, but le Carré gives us an idea.

Customer Reviews:

Perhaps Best for LeCarre Bores.......2007-08-02

"A New Collection," brings together three novels of Brit John LeCarre's prolific middle period, "A Perfect Spy," "The Russia House," and "The Secret Pilgrim." LeCarre, whose masterworks include "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold," "Smileys People," and "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," was, of course, an actual British spy, for five years, under his birth name, David Cornwell. According to internet biographers, he was, in fact, embedded in Soviet territory when he was blown by Kim Philby, most famous post-war British secret service traitor.

When LeCarre published "A Secret Spy" in 1986, much-honored American novelist Philip Roth declared it "the best English novel since the war." It is LeCarre's most personal, autobiographical novel, detailing, as it does, how a con man father much like LeCarre's own, (Richard Thomas Archibald Cornwell), creates a perfect spy and counterspy in his son. Interestingly enough, the book also mentions Philby, and his partners in traitor-hood, Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, by name. But I didn't find the novel interesting as a whole. It's more than 500 pages long, and, from the beginning, the story runs along two tracks: one, the childhood-youth of Magnus Pym, that made him what he was, and two, the defensive activities of the secret service once he's blown. Not until page 300, much longer than many non-devoted readers will persist, does it get to the interesting section, his actual life as a spy/counterspy.

"The Russia House," in contrast, stands on its own as a thriller. It's set in 1987, the third year of Russia's attempt to open up --"Glasnost"--and details the efforts of a brilliant Soviet scientist to get information about the weakness of Russia's offensive armaments to the West. To do this, he uses Katya, beautiful Russian editor, and Barley Scott Blair, classy drunken British publisher, providing us with a moving, mature love story as well. The spy story's well-backgrounded, and engrossing: it opens with one of the author's writing trademarks, a good set piece, a Russian trade fair, gives us generous helpings of another of the writer's trademarks, the midnight meetings of the spy managers, the "Whitehall Mandarins;" has a resonant, complex plot, and his usual good dialogue/descriptive writing. It even gives us a happy Hollywood ending: not quite as happy as the actual Hollywood movie based upon it, starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer, but Barley does get the girl, her children and uncle, sooner or later.

The third book, "The Secret Pilgrim" is really a loosely jointed compilation of short stories, the memoirs of Ned, who was Barley Blair's controller, as he faces retirement. We learn a bit more about the Russia House story, and about the intense days in "the circus," as LeCarre calls his fictional spy service, as it cleans house of its traitorous counterspies. Some of the short stories are more interesting than others. But, as all are narrated in flashback, and none achieve lift-off due to the book's episodic nature, the book may be a bit bloodless for some. Once again, it's probably best for devoted readers.

More than espionage.......2006-11-13

The three central questions of this trilogy:

1. How do you retain your humanity as your innocence and illusions die?
2. At the end of the day, are you any different or any more right than your enemy?
3. Do the ends justify the means?

See how George Smiley, a titan in the guise of a downtrodden, inconsequential man, learns the answers.

I'll take great trilogies for $1000, Alex..........2006-03-22

Seldom do trilogies work out... for the reader, that is. Most of the time they seem to be some a kind of perverse sandwich, with a bland slice of white bread stuck between the real meat of character and plot (See the Dune Trilogy, for instance).

This is not the case with Le Carre, who deftly uses the Honourable Schoolboy to set us up for the conclusion of Smiley's People. There is no neat linear progression of plot from Tinker Tailor to the denouement, the apprehension of Karla and the triumph, however muted or understated, of George Smiley, but a finely-varied panorama of character, setting, and action, well-paced and well-presented.

Le Carre seems capable of creating fully-realized characters at will, without ever falling into the trap of predictability or homogeneity. His people reveal different facets of their personality from novel to novel. For instance, the Toby Esterhazy of Smiley's People, selling fake Degas bronzes, is a more rounded, more human, but identifiable and convincing extrapolation from the haughtily dismissive Toby of Tinker Tailor.

And such character development takes place within the framework of themes set forth in the first novel, e.g., the stretch between the spy as public servant and as a civilian with very human wants and needs, the gulf between the liberal Smiley who attempts to see the world through the eyes of others - such as when he meets Karla in India - and the fanatical Karla who pays the price for his "lack of moderation", the tension between ideology and personal loyalty - symbolized by the mole's betrayal of his best friend, on the orders of Moscow Centre.

No one is better at creating the milieu of the cold war as a backdrop for the exploration and interplay of personalities.

In short, three great reads.

Le Carre is simply the best !.......1998-12-16

When I make my fantasy list of the best books I've ever read, Le Carre's trilogy about George Smiley is near the top. The author is difficult reading. You have to pour over most paragraphs, so as not to miss each nouance. Smiley is the ultimate father figure in espionage literature. You are comfortable when he is there and figuring things out, but you marvel at the complexity and difficulty of what he has to do, and how he does it. I commend this to anyone who loves rich characterization, and wants a book he or she will come back to again and again.

Outstanding modern fiction.......1998-11-08

I was interested in the espionage story but what I found most compelling were the characters and how much i grew to care about them over time (especially Smiley). The conclusion, that if you choose the methods of your enemy you are no better than your enemy is quite true. I do not like much modern fiction but found these three novels completely compelling, and have read them twice.

Mohonk, its people and spirit: A history of one hundred years of growth and service

Average customer rating:

Mohonk, its people and spirit: A history of one hundred years of growth and service
Larry E Burgess
Manufacturer: Mohonk Mountain House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

Smiley's People
Le Carre
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000MWC798

Average customer rating:

Smiley's People/Audio Cassettes
John Le Carre
Manufacturer: Soundelux Audio Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

General | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1559350741

Average customer rating:

SMILEYS PEOPLE

Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H1Z4EO

Average customer rating:

Smiley's People
John LeCarre
Manufacturer: Hodder & Stoughton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GRY3M8

Average customer rating:

Good Book
Brian C
An insight and education you won't find in any school
Only God Can Judge..
Lets get a few things straight....

Blue Rage, Black Redemption: A Memoir
Stanley Tookie Williams
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Criminals | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Gangs | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1416544496

Book Description

A gripping tale of personal revolution by a man who went from Crips co-founder to Nobel Peace Prize nominee, author, and antigang activist

When his L.A. neighborhood was threatened by gangbangers, Stanley Tookie Williams and a friend formed the Crips, but what began as protection became worse than the original gangs. From deadly street fights with their rivals to drive-by shootings and stealing cars, the Crips' influence -- and Tookie's reputation -- began to spread across L.A. Soon he was regularly under police surveillance, and, as a result, was arrested often, though always released because the charges did not stick. But in 1981, Tookie was convicted of murdering four people and was sent to death row at San Quentin in Marin County, California.

Tookie maintained his innocence and began to work in earnest to prevent others from following his path. Whether he was creating nationwide peace protocols, discouraging adolescents from joining gangs, or writing books, Tookie worked tirelessly for the rest of his life to end gang violence. Even after his death, his legacy continues, supported by such individuals as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Snoop Dogg, Jesse Jackson, and many more.

This posthumous edition of Blue Rage, Black Redemption features a foreword by Tavis Smiley and an epilogue by Barbara Becnel, which details not only the influence of Tookie's activism but also her eyewitness account of his December 2005 execution, and the inquest that followed.

By turns frightening and enlightening, Blue Rage, Black Redemption is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and an invaluable lesson in how rage can be turned into redemption.

Customer Reviews:

Good Book.......2006-12-09

tookie lets you know a lot in this book on how it all got started. i always wondered how in LA it was many gangs but mostly bloods and crips. this book lets you know about the crips. but, then you can pretty much figure things out with the bloods. this is a good book to read to me. he started it him and some other guys. then new comers take it to another level. usually how it always go.

Brian C.......2006-06-04

The other reviews are correct in that you have to read this book with an open mind. It appears all the reviews for this book were written by followers and friends of Tookie. Like I said, you have to really keep an open mind when reading it, knowing that it was written by a murderer who claims redemption but doesn't admit to his crime. Even the things he does admit, and profit from, lilke forming the Crips, he never fully achieves redemption. If so, then he would have cooperated with law enforcement to help dismantle the very gangs he preaches to children about not joining. He has not even so much as given up any other gang-bangers that he witnessed committing crimes. Its clear to see where his loyalties still lie. If I had to do it again, I would borrow the book to read so I wouldn't have to spend my money on it.

An insight and education you won't find in any school.......2006-02-26

This book is seperated into two sections. The first half being, Blue Rage and the second, Black redemption. Their's different titled chapters compiled into each section. The first half of the book is about Stan's life from being a child in Lousiana until he gets arrested in South Central Los Angeles in 1979 for the four murders he was convicted of commiting. The second half is about his educational and spiritual transition in prison along with certain events and situations.

Stanley's views are extremly intresting and worth thinking about with an open mind. Things like his views about what "dys-education" is, religeon, brotherhood, spirituality, drugs, cultural education and it's importance.

His thoughts about his friend's Buddah, Evil and Treach are sad, and even uplifting at times. His educational studies on death row with Treach and Evil along with his exercising disiplines are very thought provoking also.

We outside of prison seem to be getting a school-based education for the sake of financial success. Stan can't do that. His transition is based on studies we need to perform here in our daily lives along with our children.

This book is not your typical urban-entertainment about being a gangster or a rap song compiled into book-form. This is a very articulated insight into the cycle of poverty, racism, violence, redemption, edification, transition and enlightenment.

A must read for everyone.

Rest in peace Stan. I miss you.

Only God Can Judge.........2006-02-10

If you read this book with an open mind, you would learn that the Crips gang started out as just uniting other gangs around South Central. Stan was a mischivous little boy who I believe had potiental to do great things if only he was given the opprutunity. He says that living in South Central you had to have the mentality of "Survial of the fittest". And that's where the fights with other males really began, I believe. Much of the information about his case is left out but there are clues that connect someone else to the crimes. Hint: The people who let him keep his weights at their house after not having a permenant place to stay. Right before his grandmother died she said she had a feeling that Stan needed to get outta LA because something bad was going to happen.
I'm going to stop there and hopefully this information has interested you enough to read this wonderful book that will hopefully open your eyes to a positive light.

Lets get a few things straight...........2005-12-19

Many people have a tendency to speak about things that they have no prior info about the subject. I see that is the case here. here are the facts.

-For over 25 years, even to is death, Tookie denies killing those 4 people.

-Tookie has apologiezed for creating the crips.

-He has tried to undo what he helped create by writing books.

[Why he should have been saved]

Tookie didn't want clemecy because he thought it was a better punishment for him. He wanted it so he couls continue his work. I am a "At-Risk" teenager, and I personally would listen to the creator of the crips about gangs, rather than listen to some white guy in a tie. Even if he did do the crimes that he was charged with, who are we to say he deserves to die? Last time I checked, someone named God makes those decisions.

People in Poetry, Macmillan Gateway English a Literature and Language Art Program

Average customer rating:

People in Poetry, Macmillan Gateway English a Literature and Language Art Program
etc. marjorie b. smiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000U2I3O8

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