An Amerikan Family Detroit Author Event - Shakur talks The Shakur Family

Together with Detroit is Different we are welcoming author Santi Elijah Holley to celebrate his new book An Amerikan Family. We are honored to have Yusef Shakur to join the event to be in conversation about the book!!!

To our delight the event will be produced by Detroit is Different and will include a rich conversation, Q & A and book signing.

This is a free event and all are welcome. Save your spot with a Free or Book Ticket here on Eventbrite. A book ticket will secure a book for you at the event.

The Book: An Amerikan Family: The Shakur's and The Nation They Created

An enlightening history of the rise and lasting impact of Black liberation groups in America, as seen through the Shakurs, one of the movement’s most prominent and fiercely creative families, home to Tupac and Assata, and a powerful incubator for today’s activism, scholarship, and artistry.

An Amerikan Family is a history of the long struggle for Black liberation in the United States, as experienced and shaped by the Shakur family. It is the story of hope and betrayal, addiction and M**der, persecution and revolution. An Amerikan Family is not only family genealogy; it is the story of Black America’s long struggle for racial justice and the nation’s covert and repressive tactics to defeat that struggle. It is the story of a small but determined community, taking extreme, unconventional, and often perilous measures in the quest for freedom. In short, the story of the Shakurs is the story of America.

The Author:

Santi Elijah Holley has reported for nearly a decade on the intersection of culture, music, race, religion, and politics. He has contributed to numerous national and international periodicals, including The Guardian, The Atlantic, The New Republic, and The Economist, and his book reviews appear regularly in The Washington Post. He has been a guest on radio, television, and podcasts, including The Majority Report With Sam Seder and Bad With Money With Gaby Dunn. During his years of reporting, he has embedded himself with confrontational Christian street preachers in Cincinnati, bunked at an historic multiracial communal farm in south Georgia, met with elder Black Panthers in New York, and been tear gassed by federal police in Portland during the 2020 protests for racial justice.

In conversation with

Yusef Bunchy Shakur, is well versed in the language and syntax of Detroit as an author, educator and neighborhood organizer. Yusef epitomizes redemption from the many lessons he learned from his father whom he met in Pr*son for the first time. As a Black organic intellectual, unorthodox leader and father he has demonstrated his commitment to the revolutionary principles of social justice as activist and organizer to enhance the lives of Black people and other oppressed people through his works of restoring the neighbor back to the hood. He currently serves as Co-Director of Programs with the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity & Inclusion and earned his MSW from the University of Michigan School of Social Work in 2019. He has been featured in many newspaper articles, TV interviews and radio shows talking about his transformation, redemption, ideas and organizing efforts. He also has received numerous awards and received the Michigan Chronicle Men of Excellence Award in 2019

“An Amerikan Family is a first chapter in making the world better, with truth and beauty. For those of us who haven’t seen their stories written as they battled the darkness around them, An Amerikan Family is a light helping us go forward.” -Nikki Giovanni, poet

“What COINTELPRO worked so hard at wiping out is forever chronicled in this lost chapter of Amerikan history. Funny how the history of one family can cover so much ground, unearth so many bodies, and reveal so many conspiracies and hard-born realities — from the heart of the U.S. government's anti-black policies to the very soul of the Black power and liberation movements. Holley’s impeccable research takes what has been handed down orally to the children of the movement and lines it up with what has been factually documented. One way or another we have all been touched by the Shakur family, and here is a testament to the fiery spirit that has sparked the brains of generations to come.” -Saul Williams, author of Said the Shotgun to the Head and The Dead Emcee Scrolls

Detroit is Different’s Mission is to provide the community with an opportunity to share thoughts, emotions, and information utilizing media tools we have access to. Our goal is to amplify the dynamic culture of our community through media. These collective voices strengthen our social capital to teach, convene, invest, and find love amongst one another. – by Khary Frazier

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