Welcome to Litsy!

I loved this small & powerful book. The book is comprised of poetry, artwork & essays. The author, a professor, discusses the impact of the last 25 years has had on Black children growing up in the US. She calls them the Trayvon Generation since they have been so exposed to & hear about the violence that happens. “They always knew these stories. These stories formed their worldview. These stories helps instruct young African Americans about

Essays. Mothering Black boys in US, surviving anti-Black violence. Beautiful reproductions of artwork by Jennifer Packer, Lorna Simpson, Kara Walker. 2022

P64 “Do I really believe that cultural expression can somehow shape a world where our children are safer?”
P73 “No matter how intellectual and multicolored motherhood becomes as children grow older, the part that says, ‘My purpose on earth is to keep you alive‘ has never totally dissipated.”

Incredible work.
Something of a mashup between activist art compilation piece and call to action via delivery of the facts.
Analysis of works of art, academia, history, as a way to push acknowledgement of pervasiveness of white supremacy, the harms of systemic racism, as a way to see those whose voices have too often been silenced, ignored, and how they are remembered through these forms. 1/?

❤️📚📢

(2022) Here's a collection of essays on being Black and raising Black children in America. Observations on the ways that public monuments, schools, law enforcement, and correctional institutions rely on the diminishment of Black lives, are presented with poetry and artwork by Black artists. It's a powerful volume, with necessary themes.

5☆ A smartly written and profound meditation on the challenges Black youth face in America today. This slim book packs a punch! An extension of a viral essay, Alexander brilliantly and insightfully looks at the past and future of the Black experience in America, the ongoing issues of race, brutality, perseverance, and the power of art and poetry. Highly reccomend this one! #bookreview #bookblogger