Black history month is more essential these days than it has been for a while given Trump’s desire to erase it. Black writers are important in keeping it alive.
Tag Archives: racism
Fighting the Erasure of History
Simone Biles Rises
Gymnast GOAT Biles has a tattoo of a line from Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” to inspire her.
Blake on Racism and Child Abuse
Blake’s “Little Black Boy,” quoted by Lamott in her latest book, is a complex exploration of racism.
Caste in a Multicultural Democracy
To grapple with Wilkerson’s understanding of racism as a caste system, I turn to Langston Hughes, Twain, and Arundhati Roy.
Tim Scott’s Self-Debasement
Sen. Tim Scott’s self-abasement before Donald Trump brings to mind various “Uncle Tom” poems written by Black authors.
Trump, “Vermin” and Terry Pratchett
In “Snuff” one of Terry Pratchett’s angriest book, the author takes on racism, ethnocentrism, and intolerance.
Clifton’s Poem about a Lynching Victim
Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of a Jasper, Texas lynching. Lucille Clifton has a poem about victim James Byrd.
Morrison on the Death of Emmett Till
In “Song of Solomon,” Morrison has the men in the community grapple with what the death of Emmett Till means.
Tony Bennett, WWII, and Race Activism
Learning about late singer Tony Bennett’s life has opened up new insights into my father, also a World War II vet and civil rights activist.