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Book

Magically Black and other essays

Call Number

  • 305.896 W1814.1 (CEN, OSH)

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Edition

First edition.

Publication Information

New York, NY : Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2024]

Physical Description

162 pages ; 22 cm

Uniform Title

Essays. Selections

Summary

In Magically Black and Other Essays Jerald Walker elegantly blends personal revelation and cultural critique to create a bracing and often humorous examination of Black American life. He thoughtfully addresses the inherent complexities of topics as eclectic as incarceration, home renovations, gentrification, the crip walk, pimping, and the rise of the MAGA movement, approaching them through various Black perspectives, including husband, father, teacher, and writer. The collection's overarching theme is captured in the titular essay, which examines the culture of heroic action that African Americans created in response to their enslavement and oppression.

Contents

  • The Curse
  • Magically Black
  • Stopped by the police
  • Lost
  • Good help
  • Crisis
  • The Blessing
  • Combat mode
  • This math
  • The Slip
  • On getting along
  • Minstrel I
  • Minstrel II
  • A Doctor near me
  • It's hard out here for a memoirist
  • Choose your own adventure : Master of the lawn
  • Turning the page.

Subjects