On Tuesday, Gabrielle Union released her fourth book and second memoir, You Got Anything Stronger?, a spiritual successor to her 2017 New York Times bestseller We’re Going to Need More Wine. Union’s newly released book features more never-before-shared first-person narratives about the famous actress’ life, including stories about motherhood and supporting Dwyane Wade through his retirement.
Some of the stories recounted in You Got Anything Stronger? offer a much more intimate look at Gabrielle Union’s journey over the past years, and according to the L.A.’s Finest actress, she recently experienced a “heartbreaking and terrifying” racist encounter in Croatia.
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According to People, Gabrielle Union and a group of friends we visiting the European country in 2019 on a work trip, and in their free time, they collectively decided to go on a Game of Thrones-inspired trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia. “We wanted to recreate Cersei’s steps from Game of Thrones,” Union told People about their Croatian trip gone wrong.
In her new memoir, Union walks readers through the entire incident, which at one point found her and a group of friends entering a bar that was filled with racist Jim Cow and Neo Nazi memorabilia. Upon noticing this, the group got uncomfortable and decided to leave, but immediately after exiting the bar, they were closely followed by a menacing group of bar patrons.
“I’ve never experienced that level of hatred and the threat of physical violence,” Union states in You Got Anything Stronger?. “It was such a jolt. And the fear and adrenaline of what happened left us all numb.”
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Described as “heartbreaking and terrifying,” the frightening racist encounter in Croatia isn’t the only incident that Gabrielle Union discusses in her memoir. “To go through every instance is to take you through every day of my life,” she writes. “There are microaggressions and there are all out assaults. That’s what it is to be a person of color in this country.”
Union also criticizes popular culture’s belief in a prevailing post-racial world, saying, “We think we’re post racial but we’re not. And that is beyond disappointing. I don’t think people understand the violence that comes with racism, whether it’s if you’re being chased or you’re having to watch someone wear blackface to collect a paycheck. It’s violent.”
Does Gabrielle Union’s book sound intriguing to you? If so, you can look into it here.
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