Yet another police shooting in a working-class black neighbourhood, even the breaking of a young black body left on public display, didn’t catch the gaze of the national media. It was the community’s enraged response- broken windows and shattered storefronts - that drew the eyes of a nation.

One of the most harrowing aspects of reading this book is that if you swap out some names and dates, this could be about what is currently going on in the United States following the murder of George Floyd. Lowery documents the events that took place after the murder of Michael Brown and, subsequently, Tamir Rice and Freddie Gray, interviewing hundreds of individuals who were in the midst of the protests and riots. He meets various activists, detailing their stories and experiences, and looking at the moment that impelled them to act.

There was one issue that I had with this book and it was the way that Lowery didn't touch on Black trans individuals, especially since they've been at the core of the BLM movement. It just felt like a giant oversight to me - the closest reference to the LGBTQ+ involvement was when he mentioned Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi and described them as queer activists. Violence towards Black trans people, particularly women, was just surprising to me and I think it should have been included.

Other than that, They Can't Kill Us All is a great book to introduce yourself to the BLM movement, and I'd highly recommend picking up When They Call You A Terrorist by Patrisse after reading it to get more insight into the movement.