"Astonishing...Sister Citizen is written for the benefit of all Americans—sister citizens, brother citizens, and anyone else who cares about the way this country works."—Tayari Jones, San Francisco Chronicle
(Tayari Jones
San Francisco Chronicle )
"This is the beauty of the book....The insight and grace with which Harris-Perry tackles the thorny issue of African American women’s identity politics makes it a must-read."— Jordan Kisner, Slate
(Jordan Kisner
Slate )
"Harris-Perry offers fascinating observations of how black women are, at times, constricted by their mythology and asserts that their 'experiences act as a democratic litmus test for the nation.'"—Vanessa Bush, Booklist
(Vanessa Bush
Booklist )
"Sister Citizen carefully documents the complex challenges and hurdles Black women face in the 21st century. Harris-Perry's book is both insightful and provocative. A must read for those interested in learning more about American politics."—Donna Brazile, Political Commentator for CNN and ABC News and former Interim Chair of the Democratic National Committee
(Donna Brazile 20110512)
"Melissa Harris-Perry is one of our most trenchant readers of modern black life. In Sister Citizen, she gives new life to the idea that 'the personal is political.' This book will change the conversation about the rights, responsibilities, and burdens of citizenship."—Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University
(Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 20110314)
"This is a broad, ambitious and important book that centers black women at the heart of American politics. Harris-Perry broadens our ideas of what counts as political, disrupts our ideas about what the study of American politics should look like, and restores our belief that resistance and struggle can change lives, communities and nations.”—Cathy J. Cohen, author of Boundaries of Blackness and Democracy Remixed
(Cathy J. Cohen 20110317)
"Sister Citizen lends empirical heft to the adage the "personal is political". Melissa Harris-Perry does an excellent job of weaving literature, social science, and personal accounts to produce a powerful work on black women's politics. Brilliant."—Lester K. Spence, author of Stare in the Darkness: The Limits of Hip-hop and Black Politics
(Lester K. Spence 20110526)
"After I read Sister Citizen, two words sprang to my mind: Thank you."—Patrik Henry Bass, Essence
(Patrik Henry Bass
Essence )
"In Sister Citizen, Harris-Perry combines her skills as a social scientist, political observer, writer and griot to deftly illustrate how the social, economic, and political conditions of black women, particularly those on the margins, are the index for America at large."—Byron Williams, Oakland Tribune
(Byron Williams
Oakland Tribune )
"A feminist manifesto endeavoring to free sisters forever from the cruel and very limiting ways in which they continue to be pigeonholed."—Kam Williams, Insight
(Kam Williams
Insight )
Finalist for the 43rd NAACP Image Awards in the Non-Fiction Literature Category
(NAACP Image Awards Finalist
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) 20120220)
Praise for Melissa Harris-Perry’s Sister Citizen:
“After I read Melissa Harris-Perry’s new effort, Sister Citizen, two words sprang to my mind: Thank you. . . . [She] convincingly argues that tired images of Black women as castrating shrews, neck-rolling round-the-way girls and long-suffering, asexual mammies undermine Black women’s progress and power . . . She wisely uses the powerful chorus of real women to echo her battle cry that all sisters must be seen as true citizens before this country can move forward.”—Patrik Henry Bass, Essence
“Melissa Harris-Perry is one of our most trenchant readers of modern black life. In Sister Citizen, she gives new life to the idea that ‘the personal is political.’ This book will change the conversation about the rights, responsibilities, and burdens of citizenship.”—Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University
“Sister Citizen carefully documents the complex challenges and hurdles Black women face in the twenty-first century. Harris-Perry’s book is both insightful and provocative. A must read for those interested in learning more about American politics.”—Donna Brazile, Political Commentator for CNN and ABC News and former Interim Chair of the Democratic National Committee
“A feminist manifesto endeavoring to free sisters forever from the cruel and very limiting ways in which they continue to be pigeonholed.”—Kam Williams, Insight
