The Creation of a Manifesto, Black and Blue by Cheryl Dorsey
Black & Blue (The Creation of a Manifesto):
The True Story of an African-American Woman
on the LAPD and the Powerful Secrets She Uncovered
Let me first state, without any equivocation, I DO NOT condone the senseless murders. However, I do UNDERSTAND. It is my hope that this book will help to make sense out of the nonsense that was instrumental in the creation of a manifesto and the wrong thinking of one individual who challenged the LAPD machine. I pray for the families affected by the violence that God will grant you a peace that will surpass all understanding. I, too, was betrayed and beaten down by the LAPD system. I was wrongly charged with giving false and misleading statements and ordered to an arbitrary and capricious Board of Rights (BOR).
The BOR members are LAPD command staff officers and have a vested interest in adjudicating personnel complaints in a manner which protects the department and the City of LA, by any means necessary. These biased BOR decisions have resulted in numerous civil suits by officers, BOR termination reversals, and officer reinstatements. LAPD’s problems and internal struggles, which precipitated the creation of the Christopher Commission in 1991, are the same issues facing the department in 2013; they’re cultural and systemic.
The department crafts an image of any officer who complains in such a way that makes that officer appear distasteful, and therefore anything that they say or do is rejected. However, I am an honorably retired police sergeant who’s willing to expose the department’s two-tiered system of discipline and the manner in which the LAPD condones acts of sexism, racism, and reverse racism. I could have created a manifesto—I chose a different path.
Reviews:
Cheryl Dorsey decided at a young age to plan her future. She wanted to live a comfortable life and retire at an early age. After landing a job at the Department of Justice, she got a small taste of doing some agent work. It was there that a desire for a law enforcement career was born. She entered the wicked machine of the LAPD in August 1980. Young, black, female, determined, a will made of iron, fashionably overt + the LAPD = trouble.
Growing up as a teenager in the gang culture, I can now pare this new information that Dorsey so truthfully dispenses in “Black and Blue (Creation of a Manifesto)” with what I already knew about some of those who protect and serve - especially in the LAPD. The lyrics of some of the most notorious rap songs can be confirmed in the pages of this book. Dare I say the LAPD is a gang itself?
Cheryl Dorsey is an alpha female and it is clear and obvious from the beginning of this novel. At times I liked her, at times I didn’t, but most of all, I understood her. She writes with ease and quick wit that sometimes gives pause. She maneuvers us through the story of her life in the LAPD effortlessly. She captured my interest from the first few paragraphs. While reading “Black and Blue (Creation of a Manifesto)” I smiled, I frowned, I scolded her and I cheered her on. This was very well done and I am waiting on 2.
