Let's Read Caribbean Authors/An Inconvenient Cop/A Haitian- American Memoir

We will be reading "An Inconvenient Cop" and the book "Serpico" which is a book that influenced the author. Read both novels, one or the other or a portion of both.

Goodreads summary-

A WASHINGTON POST BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF 2023
A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST BOOK OF 2023
“With illuminating, vivid, and meticulous prose, Edwin Raymond delivers an extraordinary exposé on policing in America . . . An essential, exceptional work.”
—Toluse Olorunnipa, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of His Name Is George Floyd
From the highest-ranking whistleblower in NYPD history, a gripping insider look at the complexities of modern policing and the urgent need for reform
Over his decade and a half with the New York Police Department, Edwin Raymond consistently exposed the dark underbelly of modern policing, becoming the highest-ranking whistleblower in the history of the force and one of the country’s leading voices against police injustice. Offering a rare, often shocking view of American policing, An Inconvenient Cop pulls back the curtain on the many flaws woven into the NYPD’s training, data, and practices, which have since been repackaged and repurposed by police departments across the country.

At once revelatory and galvanizing, An Inconvenient Cop courageously bears witness to and exposes institutional violence. It presents a vision of radical hope and makes the case for a world in which the police’s responsibility is not to arrest numbers but to the people.

Goodreads summary-

Serpico-

THE CLASSIC TRUE STORY OF THE COP WHO COULDN'T BE BOUGHT "I don't think anyone can come away from Serpico without admiration for one man's lonely integrity." — New York Times With an Afterword by Frank Serpico

The 1960s was a time of social and generational upheaval felt with particular intensity in the melting pot of New York City. A culture of corruption pervaded the New York Police Department, where payoffs, protection, and shakedowns of gambling rackets and drug dealers were common practice. The so-called blue code of silence protected the minority of crooked cops from the sanction of the majority. Into this maelstrom came a working class, Brooklyn-born, Italian cop with long hair, a beard, and a taste for opera and ballet. Frank Serpico was a man who couldn't be silenced—or bought—and he refused to go along with the system. He had sworn an oath to uphold the law, even if the perpetrators happened to be other cops. For this unwavering commitment to justice, Serpico nearly paid with his life.

Event Venue

Online