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Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?
- Narrated by: Junauda Petrus
- Length: 7 mins
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Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?
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Summary
Based on the viral poem by Coretta Scott King honoree Junauda Petrus, this picture book debut—adapted for audio—imagines a radically positive future where police aren’t in charge of public safety and community well-being.
Petrus first published and performed this poem after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. With every subsequent police shooting, it has taken on new urgency, culminating in the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, blocks from Junauda's home.
In its picture book incarnation, Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers? is a joyously radical vision of community-based safety and mutual aid. It is optimistic, provocative, and ultimately centered in fierce love.
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Critic reviews
★ "A reverie of a book, offering criticism delivered with honey about our current state of affairs. It’s not at all as far-fetched as it sounds."—School Library Journal, starred review
★ “Lush, luminous, and celebratory, the words and images of this poem turned picture book offer a powerful meditation on intergenerational bonds and community care. [With] jewel-bright illustrations…this moving portrait of a precinct-free world…[capture] the vivacious energy of elders “comfortable in loving fiercely” that’s reflected in the language’s soaring weightlessness.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ "Unconditional love and community-based care lay at the heart of this radical and linguistically delicious picture book that invites conversations about relationships in communities of color. Uroda’s luminous illustrations capture the verve, courage, and sensuality of grandmas (who sometimes look like grandpas—a nod to gender inclusivity and complex grand-families); the richness of Black and brown communities; and the resources they possess to heal their own wounds."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review