We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders: A Memoir of Love and Resistance

by Linda Sarsour, Harry Belafonte (Foreword by)

Overview

Linda Sarsour, co-organizer of the Women’s March, shares an “unforgettable memoir” (Booklist) about how growing up Palestinian Muslim American, feminist, and empowered moved her to become a globally recognized activist on behalf of marginalized communities across the country.

On a chilly spring morning in Brooklyn, nineteen-year-old Linda Sarsour stared at her reflection, dressed in a hijab for the first time. She saw in the mirror the woman she was growing to be—a young Muslim American woman unapologetic in her faith and her activism, who would discover her innate sense of justice in the aftermath of 9/11. Now heralded for her award-winning leadership of the Women’s March on Washington, Sarsour offers a “moving memoir [that] is a testament to the power of love in action” (Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow).

From the Brooklyn bodega her father owned, where Linda learned the real meaning of intersectionality, to protests in the streets of Washington, DC, Linda’s experience as a daughter of Palestinian immigrants is a moving portrayal of what it means to find one’s voice and use it for the good of others. We follow Linda as she learns the tenets of successful community organizing, and through decades of fighting for racial, economic, gender, and social justice, as she becomes one of the most recognized activists in the nation. We also see her honoring her grandmother’s dying wish, protecting her children, building resilient friendships, and mentoring others even as she loses her first mentor in a tragic accident. Throughout, she inspires you to take action as she reaffirms that we are not here to be bystanders.

In this “book that speaks to our times” (The Washington Post), Harry Belafonte writes of Linda in the foreword, “While we may not have made it to the Promised Land, my peers and I, my brothers and sisters in liberation can rest easy that the future is in the hands of leaders like Linda Sarsour. I have often said to Linda that she embodies the principle and purpose of another great Muslim leader, brother Malcolm X.”

This is her story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982105181
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	03/03/2020
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	238,088
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Linda Sarsour is a Brooklyn-born Palestinian Muslim American community organizer and mother of three. Recognized for her award-winning intersectional work, she served as national cochair of the Women’s March, helping to organize the largest single-day protest in US history. She is the former executive director of the Arab American Association of New York and cofounder of the first Muslim online organizing platform, MPower Change, as well as Until Freedom, a national racial justice organization working with Black and Brown communities across the country.

Table of Contents

Foreword Purpose and Grace Harry Belafonte xi

Introduction What Is Your Jihad? 1

Part 1 Homegirl

1 The Choice I Made 13

2 El Bireh to Brooklyn 36

3 Broken Windows 36

4 Sitty Halima's Wish 50

5 Everything Changed 59

6 Our Sons Are Not Terrorists 68

7 Basemah, Beloved 80

Part 2 Intersectionality

8 Breath and Memory 93

9 Lessons in Activism 101

10 The Pit Stop 110

11 A Tale of Two Mosques 118

12 Love Letter 127

13 Rakers and Spies 136

14 Your Fight Is My Fight 147

Part 3 The Sisterhood

15 Social Justice Voltron 157

16 Nine Days in April 167

17 Road Warriors 178

18 Silence Will Not Protect You 190

19 The Women Who Marched 197

20 Stand with the Dreamers 214

21 We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders 223

Epilogue Love Is Not Done 233

Acknowledgments 241

Notes 245

Editorial Reviews

10/01/2019

A Palestinian Muslim American born and raised in Brooklyn, Sarsour learned about multiple richly intersecting communities while working at her father's bodega and became committed to social justice after 9/11. She has since served as national cochair of the Women's March on Washington and as the executive director of the Arab American Association of New York. Here she tells a vivid personal and political story of faith, feminism, and commitment to activism.

Library Journal

11/25/2019

Civil rights activist Sarsour, cochair of the Women’s March on Washington, seeks to “shatter every stereotype... of Muslim women” in this tough, score-settling narrative. A Palestinian-American girl who gets “a secret thrill” in saying “I’m from Brooklyn. Don’t mess with Brooklyn,” she weds at 17 in an arranged marriage. Pregnant at 19, she starts wearing a hijab, “a visible sign” of “exactly what I was, unapologetically Muslim.” Two years later, on September 11, despite warnings that a hijab is “too dangerous,” she continues to wear hers “to represent the good in Islam, to act in opposition to the evil.” She joins the Arab American Association of New York and fights against the Muslim registry as well as government surveillance of Muslims. Her activist involvement in the Eric Garner and Michael Brown cases and the Black Lives Matter movement elevates her profile, and was asked to help organize the 2017 Women’s March, slated to occur the day after Trump’s inauguration. In addressing post-event accusations “of anti-Semitism, religious fundamentalism (because I wore a hijab)” that were “driven by white women who claimed that we had hijacked their movement,” the tone becomes bitter. Ultimately, Sarsour’s passionate memoir powerfully captures a unifying moment of social protest. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Linda Sarsour's moving memoir is a testament to the power of love in action — a fierce, courageous, joyous love for all people of all religions, genders, races and backgrounds that reaches across all borders and boundaries. If you're wondering what kind of activism holds the potential to free us all, this book offers an answer." – Michelle Alexander, NY Times bestselling author of The New Jim Crow

“Candid and poignant, this book offers an intimate portrait of a committed activist while emphasizing the need for more Americans to work against the deep-seated inequalities that still haunt the country. A powerful memoir from a dedicated fighter for social justice.” – Kirkus Reviews

"Linda Sarsour's memoir, We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders, challenges every stereotype about Muslim women, uncovers dangerous bias against Muslim Americans, and teaches readers how to organize for justice and kindness in our own lives. This is a rare book that leaps off the page and into our hearts.” — Gloria Steinem

“We Are Not Here to be Bystanders is not only the beautifully written memoir of an extraordinary leader and movement builder, it is a deeply moving and urgent call to love and activism. From her Palestinian grandmother to her parents, to the people in her Brooklyn neighborhood, to Mr. Belafonte, her children and her sister-friends in the movement, Linda's life speaks to the ways we become who we are in relationship to others. The memoir, like the woman, is bold, intelligent, courageous, candid, vulnerable, and warm. Linda who is unapologetically Muslim is a powerful ally—across all borders— to all who suffer injustice; her faith demands it of her. This memoir inspires the reader to take their own steps toward a life of resistance and love. People of all faiths, and any who believe in human potential should read this book, and join Linda in the urgent project of liberation and justice.” —The Reverend Jacqueline J. Lewis, Ph.D., Senior Minister, Middle Collegiate Church

“Sarsour’s memoir reminds us the humanity of the Palestinian people who’ve been stripped of their dignity. She reminds us that her fight for her people is a fight for those at the margins - Black people and Brown people. Sarsour is one of our most brilliant leaders and she leads with a grace and ‘spiciness’ that can only come from someone raised in Brooklyn. This book is a must read for all ages across the world.” —Patrisse Cullors, New York Times bestselling author of When They Call You a Terrorist Co-Founder #BlackLivesMatter

“Sarsour’s memoir reminds us the humanity of the Palestinian people who’ve been stripped of their dignity. She reminds us that her fight for her people is a fight for those at the margins - Black people and Brown people. Sarsour is one of our most brilliant leaders and she leads with a grace and ‘spiciness’ that can only come from someone raised in Brooklyn. This book is a must read for all ages across the world.” —Patrisse Cullors, New York Times bestselling author of When They Call You a Terrorist Co-Founder #BlackLivesMatter

"unforgettable memoir...An incredible, galvanizing story of the power of participation." - Booklist

“By turns trenchant, painful and amusing, Sarsour’s memoir is packed with hard-learned lessons from the front lines of the social-justice struggle. It’s a book that speaks to our times.” — Washington Post

From the Publisher

Author Linda Sarsour narrates her life story in a confident, powerful tone that reflects her role as an activist who is particularly known for co-organizing the Women’s March. Even when she speaks about exhausting hours and the death of her mentor, her volume is loud and her resilience unwavering. Her Brooklyn accent, with its hard, flat sounds, projects a steely quality that fits her. This Muslim-American leader has accomplished much in her young life because her perseverance matches her compassion in equal measure. Her toughness is evident when she tells off an intruder. Particularly chilling is her description of the aftermath of a car accident, when she juxtaposes her mentor’s repeated cries of “I can’t breathe” with those same words being chanted by protesters demonstrating against police brutality. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2020 - AudioFile

Author Linda Sarsour narrates her life story in a confident, powerful tone that reflects her role as an activist who is particularly known for co-organizing the Women’s March. Even when she speaks about exhausting hours and the death of her mentor, her volume is loud and her resilience unwavering. Her Brooklyn accent, with its hard, flat sounds, projects a steely quality that fits her. This Muslim-American leader has accomplished much in her young life because her perseverance matches her compassion in equal measure. Her toughness is evident when she tells off an intruder. Particularly chilling is her description of the aftermath of a car accident, when she juxtaposes her mentor’s repeated cries of “I can’t breathe” with those same words being chanted by protesters demonstrating against police brutality. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2020 - AudioFile

2019-11-20
A celebrated Muslim American activist's memoir of how she came into her identity as a social justice leader in post-9/11 America.

Sarsour, executive director of the Arab American Association in New York, grew up between two worlds: her parents' Palestinian homeland and her native Brooklyn. She embraced both: for the warm ties she formed with relatives and the "brown, Black and beige kids" in a neighborhood that looked "like every nineties portrayal of [Brooklyn] ever seen in a Spike Lee joint." She attended John Jay High School, a "notorious gang farm," where she began to see how her life as a Muslim American was "inextricably interwoven" with the lives of all people of color. When 9/11 took place a few years after she graduated, Sarsour witnessed firsthand the way innocent Muslims suddenly became branded as terrorists. She began working with her father's cousin Basemah, a social justice activist who ran the Arab American Association of New York. The author credits Basemah, who died tragically just four years later, with teaching her to "make waves…stir the pot…raise holy hell" when communities were in trouble. After Basemah's death, Sarsour became involved in the fight to create a ground zero mosque as well as protests against the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policies, which targeted people of color. The author later joined forces with fellow activists Tamika Mallory and Carmen Perez to work on both local and national social justice projects to end racial profiling. The trio organized the Women's March on Washington to protest the election of a racist, misogynistic president. Despite these triumphs, Sarsour discovered that her own heightened visibility made her family a target for "an avalanche of hate" while compromising her role as a mother. Candid and poignant, this book offers an intimate portrait of a committed activist while emphasizing the need for more Americans to work against the deep-seated inequalities that still haunt the country.

A powerful memoir from a dedicated fighter for social justice.

Kirkus Reviews