“I NEVER SAID I WAS AN ANGEL, NOR AM I INNOCENT” by Raisa Bakari

Lyricist, activist and domestic rebel, Sister Souljah has a way of conveying the rawest messages possible, as she breaks down all emotional, spiritual, and sexual barriers, exposing her readers to the harsh aspects of being a young black woman in a racist society. She is a woman of passion and great mental strength; in this non-fiction memoir she unveils a side of her that is strongly opinionated yet candid enough to be inspiring. Sister Souljah in No Disrespect gives a judicious overview as she illustrates the hardships of a young black girl establishing herself in the poverty- stricken streets of New York City. No Disrespect proves to be a survival manual, taking place during the 90’s as a young girl is attempting to figure out who she is faced with many complications. As she writes, she refrains from ever labeling the main character, at first it can be quite distracting, but as you continue into the story it becomes the thing that connects you more to the book. She allows for you to find similarities to the character that relate to your own characteristics. Some readers have even said that as they read No Disrespect they could,” feel Sister Souljah’s anger in every page,” which is a normal response to the book because every chapter is titled with the names of characters that mistreated or affected her life, such as “Nathan,” "Mona,” "Joseph”etc.

As I read this book, I focused on the word usage of the author; Sister Souljah is very quaint yet outspoken. Her diction is rarely ever complex while maintaining its power. I also paid close attention to Souljah’s development of the main character. One reason being because of the fact that I was always wondering if I had read over the main characters name. However, despite this fact I soon formulated this idea that the main character herself was the definition of the word “soldier." It was also cunning for Sister Souljah to replace the grammatically correct word “soldier” with a colloquial version of the word to appeal to her readers, it gives an understanding of the time period she’s depicting as she writes.

            In the meanwhile, as Souljah continues on, she effectively refrains from including any dull moments into the book; every chapter has you wanting more. However, I do have some suggestions that I feel could’ve made this book even more engaging. For one, towards the climax of the book Souljah begins to focus more on the physical characteristics of the main character. She also reduces the amount of positive encounters the main character deals with and begins to includes  more instances where she is getting let down by black male figures she encounters. Another thing I felt could’ve been improved was how she spoke about genetic and racial identity, she essentially says that all black people should live in their own community or land, referring specifically to Africa. Which makes me question how she feels about people who are of mixed or multiple races, such as a person who is both white and black. Should this person live out half of their lives in Africa and the rest in another area of the world?  Nonetheless it’s evident that Souljah attempted to pour out her heart and soul into this book. As she in-depth depicts the main character’s progression in age perfectly, from the time the young girl is born, to when she becomes a mature woman and leaves for college. One review read: “I had no idea what to expect, but I was amazed by Sister Souljah. She cuts no corners to tell her story and it's what makes the messages so powerful” (Walma. "A Review of No Disrespect." Goodreads. Goodreads Inc., 23 June 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.). And I completely agree; in my own personal upbringing, I was never fully into my own history, but after reading the intellectual nature of Sister Souljah, I feel as though I can’t resist my own history and books pertaining to it.

No Disrespect is a book that consists of power and strength coded in pain. This book may not be appealing to all, but those who feel they are mature both mentally and spiritually will without a doubt enjoy this book. It reveals a side of the black community that you don’t hear about often as Sister Souljah unforgettably characterizes the struggles of a young black girl.        

Bibliography

Souljah, Sister. "No Disrespect." Google Books. Google, 2014. Web. 21 Nov. 2014<http://books.google.com/books/about/No_Disrespect.html?id=2mOC84wSdQEC>.

 (Walma. "A Review of No Disrespect." Goodreads. Goodreads Inc., 23 June 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.).