This is not an easy read. Back up, and read that again. This is not an easy read. This book is HEAVY. EMOTIONAL, HEART BREAKING, and FILLED WITH HOPE, DESPAIR, DESPERATION, and SACRIFICE. Brittany K. Barnett is living out her passion and heart work. She is putting her money where her mouth is and she deeply cares for people’s lives. This memoir is so important and necessary, everyone should read this book. Her memoir far exceeds what you would think as a memoir. Brittany has intertwined her life and experiences along with pursuing her ultimate passion of helping people get off life without parole sentences for non-violent drug offenses. She explains the draconian laws and the War on Drugs, and how they intercept with people’s real lives and how mass incarceration has been fueled by sentences that do not match the crime. Combating the “war on drugs” from the federal side looks like an unmarked van pulling up into the Black/Brown communities and kidnapping people for their entire lives. The federal government and prosecutors have teamed up in genocidal kidnapping of Black people especially, and discarding them into prison like they are nothing but trash. Prosecutors have historically went after Black people in such a horrific way, that they don’t even need to prove anything to put us in prison. They can make stuff up, get someone to agree to snitch, and have you in jail for life, all on little to no evidence. The burden of proof is not on the court, but on the person who’s been indicted on federal drug charges, specifically crack cocaine. They are the ones having to prove themselves innocent, versus the nonexistent premise of ‘innocent until proven guilty.’ That is not a luxury afforded to Black and Brown people. Black and Brown people have been treated as guilty for just being Black, for just surviving, for just being…. hell, for as little as association. Brittany’s memoir is filled with care and compassion. Her book showcases that she cares about people. A memoir is usually about self, but this memoir is more than just about Brittany’s life. (Continued in comments) #brittanykbarnett #aknockatmidnight #requiredreading https://www.instagram.com/p/CSseuFFnznM/?utm_medium=tumblr
