The Beast Side is a collection of loosely-connected essays that offers Watkins' take on race, class, poverty, and education in this country. He has a unique eye; born and raised in East Baltimore, he grew up poor but happy until he saw his first murder as a young child. Smart, wise, willing to fight but unwilling to kill, Watkins went to college, only to drop out within months when it failed to enlighten, inspire, and challenge him. He turned to selling drugs, made all kinds of money, changed, saw more friends die, and miraculously, managed to get out of the game (read his riveting The Cook Up: A Crack Rock Memoir to learn more about this). And now he's back in his neighborhood, barely scraping by as an adjunct professor, doing everything he can to hold his neighborhood together and promote literacy while sharing what life is really like for the denizens of Bodymore, Murderland.
Listen to him. Watkins is incapable of dishonesty, and essay after essay is filled with difficult, fascinating, disturbing truths. You'll learn just how hard everybody works in the 'hood, shattering stereotypes of lazy poor folks and "welfare queens." You'll learn how deeply the system is rigged, making it all but impossible for black men and women to escape poverty. You'll learn of the lack of dietary options in black neighborhoods that lead people to ingest the simple carbs, sugars, and saturated fats that lead to so many health problems. You'll learn about the stress of surviving in a world where shootings are common, violence goes down everywhere, and basic pop culture knowledge is a luxury out of reach for most. You'll learn how the school system discourages black kids from reading by refusing to assign books relevant to their lives - and you'll understand why literacy is what these kids, and adults, really crave. You'll learn.
And most importantly, you'll learn why relations between black people and the police are so bad in poorer neighborhoods. Watkins, like all non-white denizens of the poorer sections Baltimore, has seen police physically and verbally abuse innocent people. He's seen them take bribes (often, his bribes) and place bets on popular "junkie fights" between husbands and wives. He's had his face slammed against cars and the sidewalk. He's had guns drawn on him for entering his own house. And he learned at a very young age never to call them. You don't have to agree with Watkins' view, but if you're listening, you'll understand how his experiences with police have led to resentment and distrust - and you'll realize he's far from alone.
I hope I haven't made The Beast Side sound pedantic or preachy. It's entertaining as hell, propelled with vivid language and sharp, smart detail. Watkins is a strong, clear writer, but he's unafraid to use heightened, even poetic language when called for. He injects energy, color and humor into everything he documents, bringing street scenes, college basketball games, and poker games to vivid life. Really, the only fault with The Beast Side is its brevity, and that's the fault of the publisher, who claims from the start he's keeping this series of books to under 150 pages. So as soon as you read the last word in The Beast Side, you'll jump online, hoping he's published a new essay or two. Yes, there is hope in these pages, if you know how to look for it.
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