My friends, what a joy this month has been. This first iteration of “Black History, Uncensored” has served its purpose. But rest assured, there’s more in store.
We set out to defy conservative bigotry and narrow-mindedness. Doing this meant not only reading the authors they discourage reading, but exploring these authors’ works with more depth and empathy than right-wing book-banners have been willing to offer.
Each of these authors has laid out a more worthy vision of what the United States ought to be than anyone in today’s Republican Party.
And in today’s political climate, looking at these authors holistically is an act of revolution. Many Republicans would much rather we, as readers, cherrypick the authors’ most provocative lines and infer the worst things imaginable about them. And I think the past month of coverage has shown why.
Far from the anti-American hell-raisers conservatives make them out to be, each of these authors has laid out a more worthy vision of what the United States ought to be than anyone in today’s Republican Party. The authors all speak and write of antiracism not as an end goal, per se, but as a step toward a more fulfilling life for the victims and perpetrators of racism. And fervent attempts to hide their work suggests this revelation is dangerous to a conservative movement obsessed with white, racist grievance.
But they won’t win. I was affirmed of this a few weeks back when an adolescent cousin of mine recommended I watch a poem his class screened, written and performed by the author Jason Reynolds.
That is, award-winning author Jason Reynolds, whose works have been targeted with right-wing book bans. (One of them, “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You,” is co-written by Ibram X. Kendi, who was also featured in this Black history series.)
The poem, titled “For Every One,” is an ode to dreamers. And one particular passage, about overcoming fear and self-doubt, has stuck with me since I first read it a few weeks…
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