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Title details for Twin Cities by Charles Adams - Available

Twin Cities

My Life as a Black Cop and a Championship Coach

by Charles Adams
Jason Turbow
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

A Black Minneapolis cop and inner-city football coach faces racial reckoning after the murder of George Floyd inflames his city and forces him to explore the tensions in the neighborhood where he grew up.
Charles Adams is a product of the Minneapolis's North Side, the city's poorest neighborhood, and of North High, the state's poorest school. After graduation he joined the Minneapolis Police Department, overcoming racial prejudice within its ranks to become his alma mater's resource officer. North High was in rapid decline, a building designed for 1,700 students down to about 200. Once the centerpiece of the community, the school was on the verge of folding. Then something magical happened.
Adams stepped in as football coach, and transformed a winless team into state champions. With that success came renewed pride in the school and neighborhood both. As North High began to thrive, Adams was hailed as a model of what a Black man from a Black neighborhood might be. That lasted until Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, which brought a rain of chaos upon Minneapolis. Working to maintain order in a riotous city, Adams feared for his life, his relationship to his community forever changed.
The memoir of a life divided, Twin Cities is the story of what happens when a man gives everything to his city in an effort to help kids envision a better future, only to have his city turn on him in response. Adams navigates the space between reality and perception, between law and justice, with the insight and wisdom he has gained from his unique experience.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 12, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781668633335
      • File size: 223483 KB
      • Duration: 07:45:35

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      August 15, 2023
      Engaging account of grappling with inequities as a Black police officer and football coach. In his debut, Adams raises awareness about the conflicting linkages among policing, athletics, and ideals of manhood in Black communities. "Gun violence is common in my neighborhood, the Northside of Minneapolis....but for me it was home." As a longtime coach at North Community High School, "the city's poorest school in the city's poorest neighborhood," the author documents striving to field championship teams through increasingly dispiriting circumstances, with the 2020 murder of George Floyd as an unavoidable flashpoint. "I will never stop being an advocate," he writes, "yet my working for an employer known for killing Black people became a massive issue." His examination of the Minneapolis police department is unsparing; he portrays an organization hobbled by structural racism and bureaucratic malaise. Regarding his policing career, he concludes, "I want a force that prioritizes effective communication with people over gunning those same people down." Following tours as a school resource officer, he became head football coach at North High, in part because the school was nearly defunded. "We started to win games," writes Adams, "and we became a beacon to others around the area." While his unsettling experiences as a police officer are revelatory--particularly the Floyd killing's grim aftermath, including riots and an exodus of Black officers--the heart of the narrative lies in the author's exploration of the holistic and communication aspects of building championship teams: "Success is watching your players move on in their post-football lives, continuing to use the lessons you taught them on the field." Adams conveys a strong understanding of the cultural resilience of Black communities. The writing style is approachable, mordant, and sometimes funny or profane, although the increasing focus on his coaching experiences may dilute a broader social urgency. A valuable perspective on the challenges facing both police and ordinary citizens in places like Minneapolis.

      COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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