“Toni Morrison once said ‘The function the very serious function of racism is distraction.’
In The Moment Bakari Sellers brilliantly and precisely cuts through the noise of the
calculated well-financed and relentless campaign by conservative media think tanks and
politicians to end the post-George Floyd ‘racial reckoning’ and reverse the civil rights
victories of the past fifty years. This is a must-read!”—Joy-Ann Reid New York Times
bestselling author and host of MSNBC's The Reid Out The New York Times bestselling author of
My Vanishing Country examines the modern political landscape and policies that are impacting
Black families and communities and offers solutions for a better tomorrow. In late May in 2020
while discussing the murder of George Floyd on CNN Bakari Sellers spoke from the heart sharing
devastating insight that touched millions around the world: “It’s just so much pain. You get so
tired. We have black children. I have a 15-year-old daughter. I mean what do I tell her? I’m
raising a son. I have no idea what to tell him. It’s just—it’s hard being black in this country
when your life is not valued and people are worried about the protesters and the looters. And
it’s just people who are frustrated for far too long and not have their voices heard.” In this
powerful and persuasive book Sellers expands on the issues he addressed in his New York Times
bestseller My Vanishing Country examining national politics and policies that deeply impact
not only Black people in his home state of South Carolina but the lives of millions of African
Americans in communities across the nation. Four years later Sellers has an answer to the
question he raised on CNN offering much-needed prescriptions to help all Black American lives.
Sellers explores inequities in healthcare education early childhood education and policing
drawing on interviews with numerous thought leaders such as pioneering voting rights and
poverty activist the Rev. William Barber and Ben Crump the civil rights legend who
successfully uses the law to achieve justice for people of color in racially charged cases. He
also shares his thoughts on conservative media and the forces and dark money behind firebrands
such as Tucker Carlson. This thoughtful and practical work is a timely meditation on the state
of our world today and how we can all play a part in making it better for tomorrow.
