Black skinhead : reflections on Blackness and our political future

Author

Brandi Collins-Dexter

Call Number

• 305.896 C7135 (CEN)

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Edition

First edition.

Publication Information

New York, NY : Celadon Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers, 2022.

Physical Description

xxviii, 274 pages ; 25 cm

Summary

"For fans of Bad Feminist and The Sum of Us, Black Skinhead sparks a radical conversation about Black America and political identity. In Black Skinhead, Brandi Collins-Dexter, former Senior Campaign Manager for Color Of Change, explores the fragile alliance between Black voters and the Democratic party. Through sharp, timely essays that span the political, cultural, and personal, Collins-Dexter reveals decades of simmering disaffection in Black America, told as much through voter statistics as it is through music, film, sports, and the baffling mind of Kanye West. While Black Skinhead is an outward look at Black votership and electoral politics, it is also a funny, deeply personal, and introspective look at the fragility of Black culture and identity, ultimately revealing a Black America that has become deeply disillusioned with the failed promises of its country. We had been told that everything was fine, that America was working for everyone and that the American Dream was attainable for all. But for those who had been paying attention, there had been warning signs that the Obamas' version of the American Dream wasn't working for everyone. That it hadn't been working for many white Americans was immediately and loudly discussed, but the truth--and what I set out to write this book about--was that it hadn't been working for many Black Americans either. For many, Obama's vision had been more illusion than reality all along. When someone tells you everything is fine, but around you, you see evidence that it's not, where will the quest to find answers lead you? As I went on the journey of writing this book, I found a very different tale about Black politics and Black America, one that countered white America's long-held assumption that Black voters will always vote Democrat--and even that the Democratic party is the best bet for Black Americans. My ultimate question was this: how are Black people being led away--not towards--each other, and what do we lose when we lose each other? What do we lose when, to quote Kanye West, we feel lost in the world"--

Contents

• Prologue: The stories we die with
• Introduction: Where are we going?
• Black people love me, and other things you should not assume about Black voters
• Are you being served?
• Who will survive in America?
• Interlude: Feminism for Black girls who have stopped caring about what you think
• Obama for America
• Kanye was right-ish
• Hard times
• Interlude: Because we are not who they say we are...
• Hood vampires
• The Bay Area Hustlers
• Basement politics
• Interlude: Awkward adventures on OnlyFans
• An abomination of Obamanation
• My beautiful dark twisted fantasy
• Interlude: Traditions, triggers, and keys
• The stories we live with
• Conclusion: Maggot brain.