We Can't Breathe

June 1, 2018

The author of The N Word upends the standard narrative of African American history and culture in America, told from the perspective of whites, and offers a more accurate understanding of that culture by emphasizing its vibrancy.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 27, 2018
In this small but expansive collection of essays, writer and cultural critic Asim (Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis) draws on the full breadth of black history in the United States, illuminating the story of black resilience through the centuries. “Along with brutality, torture, and murder, a principal step in oppression, American style has long involved getting between the oppressed and their stories,” he writes. To combat this oppression, he discusses depictions of blackness in art, black fathers and father figures, the meaning of representation in literature, the racist roots of neighborhood watch squads, and the limits of respectability politics. In one heartfelt essay, he wonders at the power of a brick wall—built in a Massachusetts town by an enslaved artisan in 1765—to act as a physical reminder of great sacrifice. In Asim’s telling, Trayvon Martin, the black teenager who was murdered by a white neighborhood watch volunteer in 2012, lives alongside Pomp, the man who built that wall. Melding the personal with the national and cultural, this collection is a must-read for history buffs, activists, and students of societal power dynamics.

November 1, 2018

Acclaimed writer Asim (associate professor, director, creative writing, Emerson Coll.; Preaching to the Chickens; A Taste of Honey: Stories) writes an insightful, compact volume featuring eight pivotal essays that redress African American history and culture as it's commonly represented in America today. This latest work eloquently weaves a narrative rich with black philosophers, artists, and writers, juxtaposing the standard offerings of black history found in present-day classrooms. His essays transverse the difficulties of racism, violence, and oppression; however, a keen mastery of language and storytelling positively illuminates how African Americans continue to resist against injustice. Asim effortlessly opens the dialog by widening the lens on various issues such as black fathers as leaders, the appropriation of black tragedy by white artists, how the stories of African American heroes come to be misrepresented, and the misconception that love is enough to fight injustice. VERDICT A highly accessible book that would serve high school and college classrooms well in continuing the conversation about civil rights and social justice.--Angela Forret, Clive, IA

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.