We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance by Carter Jackson, Kellie

An "unsparing, erudite, and incisive" (Jelani Cobb, staff writer, The New Yorker) reframing of the past and present of Black resistance--both nonviolent and violent--to white supremacy

Named a Best Book of 2024 by Smithsonian * Kirkus * Chicago Review of Books * Emancipator

Black resistance to white supremacy is often reduced to a simple binary, between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s nonviolence and Malcolm X's "by any means necessary." In We Refuse, historian Kellie Carter Jackson looks beyond this false choice, offering an unflinching examination of the breadth of Black responses to white oppression, particularly those pioneered by Black women.  
 
The dismissal of "Black violence" as an illegitimate form of resistance is itself a manifestation of white supremacy. Force--from work stoppages and property destruction to armed revolt--has played a pivotal part in securing freedom and justice for Black people for centuries. But force is only one tool among many. Carter Jackson examines other, no less vital tactics that have shaped the Black struggle, from the restorative power of finding joy in the face of suffering to the quiet strength of simply walking away.

Author: Kellie Carter Jackson
Publisher: Seal Press (CA)
Published: 01/27/2026
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.40w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781541601598

About the Author
Kellie Carter Jackson is the Michael and Denise Kellen '68 Associate Professor and Chair of Africana Studies at Wellesley College. Her book Force and Freedom was a finalist for the Frederick Douglass Book Prize and the Museum of African American History Stone Book Award. She lives outside of Boston with her husband and three children.