Colson Whitehead

Misidentified. And if she hadn't been in the backseat, would I have spent the night in the tombs, the local New York jail? And once I'm there, who knows whether my life goes this way or that way. So that opportunity for tragedy is always there, I think, when it comes – for people – between people of color and white law enforcement and that's sort of our reality.

Sure. The kids in the black school across town get their secondhand books from the white school, which is well-funded, as usually is the case. And the white students, knowing that their school books are going to the black part of town, write epithets, F-U, the N-word, for their black neighbors to enjoy when they open up the books on the first day of school.

Sure. The kids in the black school across town get their secondhand books from the white school, which is well-funded, as usually is the case. And the white students, knowing that their school books are going to the black part of town, write epithets, F-U, the N-word, for their black neighbors to enjoy when they open up the books on the first day of school.

Sure. The kids in the black school across town get their secondhand books from the white school, which is well-funded, as usually is the case. And the white students, knowing that their school books are going to the black part of town, write epithets, F-U, the N-word, for their black neighbors to enjoy when they open up the books on the first day of school.

And Mr. Hill, Elwood's teacher, is the first person to say, mark those out. They've taken the abuse for granted for a generation, year after year. And he And Mr. Hill, who's a freedom writer, is the first person who says, you're decent people. Scratch that out and let's start – let's make these books fresh.

And Mr. Hill, Elwood's teacher, is the first person to say, mark those out. They've taken the abuse for granted for a generation, year after year. And he And Mr. Hill, who's a freedom writer, is the first person who says, you're decent people. Scratch that out and let's start – let's make these books fresh.

And Mr. Hill, Elwood's teacher, is the first person to say, mark those out. They've taken the abuse for granted for a generation, year after year. And he And Mr. Hill, who's a freedom writer, is the first person who says, you're decent people. Scratch that out and let's start – let's make these books fresh.

He's one of these very optimistic and idealistic sorts who thinks that if he wants to do it, he can do it. If you march, if you raise your voice, if you stand up, you can change the world. And if you devote your energies, you can fight back the vast machinery arrayed against you. And so he sees himself going to college.

He's one of these very optimistic and idealistic sorts who thinks that if he wants to do it, he can do it. If you march, if you raise your voice, if you stand up, you can change the world. And if you devote your energies, you can fight back the vast machinery arrayed against you. And so he sees himself going to college.

He's one of these very optimistic and idealistic sorts who thinks that if he wants to do it, he can do it. If you march, if you raise your voice, if you stand up, you can change the world. And if you devote your energies, you can fight back the vast machinery arrayed against you. And so he sees himself going to college.

He sees himself joining the Natalie-dressed people of SNCC and CORE, marching on Washington, doing sit-ins, desegregating all the various venues. And his one big moment before he goes off to Dozier happens in the late school year. when he protests the segregated movie theater in Tallahassee, which is a real protest. And they hand him a sign. They give him the slogans.

He sees himself joining the Natalie-dressed people of SNCC and CORE, marching on Washington, doing sit-ins, desegregating all the various venues. And his one big moment before he goes off to Dozier happens in the late school year. when he protests the segregated movie theater in Tallahassee, which is a real protest. And they hand him a sign. They give him the slogans.

He sees himself joining the Natalie-dressed people of SNCC and CORE, marching on Washington, doing sit-ins, desegregating all the various venues. And his one big moment before he goes off to Dozier happens in the late school year. when he protests the segregated movie theater in Tallahassee, which is a real protest. And they hand him a sign. They give him the slogans.

And the white deputies and riffraff gaze upon them. The protesters stare, raise their fists. And this is this real sort of moment of the person he can actually be. Um, he's a bit of a miracle, you know, he's an unlikely person.

And the white deputies and riffraff gaze upon them. The protesters stare, raise their fists. And this is this real sort of moment of the person he can actually be. Um, he's a bit of a miracle, you know, he's an unlikely person.

And the white deputies and riffraff gaze upon them. The protesters stare, raise their fists. And this is this real sort of moment of the person he can actually be. Um, he's a bit of a miracle, you know, he's an unlikely person.

And I think I was struck when I was going back, you know, reading about Martin Luther King and the early civil rights struggle, how unlikely all those people were, you know, to believe that they could, uh, beat back 200 years of, uh, systematic oppression. And they did it, um, you know, sort of action by action. And so, um, definitely I was writing, you know, Elwood seemed like a very rare sort.

And I think I was struck when I was going back, you know, reading about Martin Luther King and the early civil rights struggle, how unlikely all those people were, you know, to believe that they could, uh, beat back 200 years of, uh, systematic oppression. And they did it, um, you know, sort of action by action. And so, um, definitely I was writing, you know, Elwood seemed like a very rare sort.

And I think I was struck when I was going back, you know, reading about Martin Luther King and the early civil rights struggle, how unlikely all those people were, you know, to believe that they could, uh, beat back 200 years of, uh, systematic oppression. And they did it, um, you know, sort of action by action. And so, um, definitely I was writing, you know, Elwood seemed like a very rare sort.

Um, But he was not alone. He's part of a generation that really did change the country in an important way. Of course, we slide back a bit, but they really did pull off miraculous things.