Booklist
"Thomas speaks with athletes, activists, religious leaders, and family members of victims of police brutality about systemic racism, exploring such topics as Rodney King, the Central Park Five, and the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. The strength of this book lies in its range."
Ben Crump
"I admire Etan’s passion, tenacity, and commitment to fighting for our people."
From the Publisher
"A relevant, occasionally eye-opening collection of Q&As on race and privilege."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Thomas speaks with athletes, activists, religious leaders, and family members of victims of police brutality about systemic racism, exploring such topics as Rodney King, the Central Park Five, and the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. The strength of this book lies in its range."
—Booklist
"I admire Etan’s passion, tenacity, and commitment to fighting for our people."
—Ben Crump, Trial Lawyer for Justice
Praise for We Matter: Athletes and Activism by Etan Thomas:
"In We Matter, Thomas strives to show the influence professional athletes can have when they join the conversation on race, politics and civil rights. Thomas conducted 50 interviews, which included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Laila Ali, Michael Bennett and Eric Reid, among many other athletes, as well as journalists, television personalities and family members of unarmed black men who were shot and killed. Thomas also explored his ties with the Wizards and spoke with John Wall, Bradley Beal and current majority team owner Ted Leonsis."
—Washington Post
"Former NBA player Etan Thomas releases the timely and necessary We Matter: Athletes and Activism, in order to add useful, relevant words to the conversation on athletes and their activism."
—The Root
"Thomas has spent his life examining inequities in America particularly as it relates to race and poverty. He's spoken out against war, helped Oklahoma prisoners write poetry and rallied against police brutality...But, Thomas says he's not alone: that social issues dominate what athletes talk about behind closed doors."
—Tulsa World
"In We Matter, former NBA player and poet Etan Thomas interviews a number of notable athletes, writers, and coaches in order to explore the world of athletes and activism...It is fascinating to read the thoughts of these figures that Thomas interviews and is a great primer on the intersection of sports and politics for beginners, while also containing much that will be revealing for those already well versed in these topics."
—Fansided
"Thomas interviews athletes, coaches, and sports personalities as he covers topics related to activism from the sporting realm and how it is perceived in America. A necessary read."
—Library Journal, A Best Book of 2018
Library Journal
★ 01/01/2022
Harlem-born retired NBA player Thomas follows his much-acclaimed book We Matter: Athletes and Activism with this exploration of white supremacy in the United States, focusing particularly on contemporary police brutality. Like his previous book, this volume is built on wide-ranging interviews. Thomas opens each of his 11 chapters with personal commentary, followed by transcripts of his conversations with current and former NBA and WNBA stars, coaches, team owners, sports journalists, and others. The deeply personal and revealing conversations cover police brutality incidents like New York's 1989 Central Park Five case, the 1991 LAPD beating of Rodney King, and George Floyd's 2020 murder by Minneapolis police. Other topics include the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the complicity of Christian churches, schools, and the media in white supremacy's origins and persistence. Thomas seeks practical solutions to police brutality and stresses the importance of Black solidarity and white allyship. The book closes with a poem by Thomas's son Malcolm. VERDICT Thomas's interviews demand careful reading by all who want to expose racism, hold police accountable, and create an American society that practices social justice.—Thomas J. Davis
Kirkus Reviews
2021-11-06
Candid conversations about race and policing with key figures in media, sports, and social justice movements.
Activist and former NBA player Thomas follows up his 2018 interview collection, We Matter, with Q&As informed by the turmoil of 2020 and 2021, with a similar assortment of interviewees: athletes (Isiah Thomas, Steph Curry, Breanna Stewart), media figures (Yamiche Alcindor, Jake Tapper), and family members of Black men killed or brutalized by police (Willie McCoy’s brother, Rodney King’s daughter). The prompts for discussion include George Floyd, defunding the police, the January insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and the intersection of White supremacy and evangelical Christianity. The overall tone of the interviews is skeptical and dissatisfied with the lack of systemic change despite growing media attention. When Thomas tells the son of Black Panther Fred Hampton that “after Trump, Biden was a breath of fresh air,” he snaps back, “I still ain’t breathing.” The sharpest rhetoric comes from activist and broadcaster Marc Lamont Hill, who pushes against softening the phrase “defund the police,” likening it to shifting from abolishing slavery to “reform the plantation.” Trumpism, most of Thomas’ interlocutors agree, is just a more visible manifestation of White supremacy that’s been part of American life from the start. Though the intensity and relevance of the conversations are clear, especially with members of victims’ families, Thomas rarely sees his role as more than teeing up his interviewees to share experiences or familiar talking points, which blunts the overall impact. That's why his Q&A with entrepreneur and NBA team owner Mark Cuban stands out: Thomas actively challenges Cuban to use his wealth and position to extract meaningful change from police and fellow team owners, and Cuban’s earnest but evasive replies reveal just how steep the challenge is. Other interviewees include Sue Bird, Rex Chapman, Chuck D, and Jemele Hill.
A relevant, occasionally eye-opening collection of Q&As on race and privilege.
