Imani Perry

And so to then look to the sky and the water and think, well, maybe something there, right? Maybe there's something there. Maybe there's, maybe that's a path to return, right? And it's understandable and I think offers something much more kind of complex than simply saying people chose to end their lives because I do think it was a much more complex reality.

And so to then look to the sky and the water and think, well, maybe something there, right? Maybe there's something there. Maybe there's, maybe that's a path to return, right? And it's understandable and I think offers something much more kind of complex than simply saying people chose to end their lives because I do think it was a much more complex reality.

And so to then look to the sky and the water and think, well, maybe something there, right? Maybe there's something there. Maybe there's, maybe that's a path to return, right? And it's understandable and I think offers something much more kind of complex than simply saying people chose to end their lives because I do think it was a much more complex reality.

Yeah. So, I mean, there's almost, you know, an immediate backlash to the gains of the civil rights movement. And you get that in the context of the Reagan era pretty aggressively and, of course, an attack on the social safety net at the same time. And then much like the post-Reconstruction period, you also have this flourishing of Black art.

Yeah. So, I mean, there's almost, you know, an immediate backlash to the gains of the civil rights movement. And you get that in the context of the Reagan era pretty aggressively and, of course, an attack on the social safety net at the same time. And then much like the post-Reconstruction period, you also have this flourishing of Black art.

Yeah. So, I mean, there's almost, you know, an immediate backlash to the gains of the civil rights movement. And you get that in the context of the Reagan era pretty aggressively and, of course, an attack on the social safety net at the same time. And then much like the post-Reconstruction period, you also have this flourishing of Black art.

And in particular, in the 80s, on the one hand, you have hip-hop, which is largely kind of a masculinist form. And you also, on the other hand, you have literature, which is heavily being made by Black women, these extraordinary novelists, the ones we all know and love, you know, from Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, Paula Marshall, and

And in particular, in the 80s, on the one hand, you have hip-hop, which is largely kind of a masculinist form. And you also, on the other hand, you have literature, which is heavily being made by Black women, these extraordinary novelists, the ones we all know and love, you know, from Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, Paula Marshall, and

And in particular, in the 80s, on the one hand, you have hip-hop, which is largely kind of a masculinist form. And you also, on the other hand, you have literature, which is heavily being made by Black women, these extraordinary novelists, the ones we all know and love, you know, from Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, Paula Marshall, and

and Tezaki Shange, they're producing this tradition in that period. Part of the reason, of course, in this book that I had to talk about it is blue appears frequently in that work. But it's also just this remarkable period, even as there is this full-scale attack on, in many ways, and rejection of the progress of Black people and

and Tezaki Shange, they're producing this tradition in that period. Part of the reason, of course, in this book that I had to talk about it is blue appears frequently in that work. But it's also just this remarkable period, even as there is this full-scale attack on, in many ways, and rejection of the progress of Black people and

and Tezaki Shange, they're producing this tradition in that period. Part of the reason, of course, in this book that I had to talk about it is blue appears frequently in that work. But it's also just this remarkable period, even as there is this full-scale attack on, in many ways, and rejection of the progress of Black people and

that there is this sort of digging down insistence that we have something to say. And that work is so resilient. And I don't know, we don't necessarily describe it as such, but that period was just unbelievable. And for me, as someone who was a voracious reader and who is – Still a voracious reader. I'm a reader first in some ways and a writer second. That's the landscape in which I grew up.

that there is this sort of digging down insistence that we have something to say. And that work is so resilient. And I don't know, we don't necessarily describe it as such, but that period was just unbelievable. And for me, as someone who was a voracious reader and who is – Still a voracious reader. I'm a reader first in some ways and a writer second. That's the landscape in which I grew up.

that there is this sort of digging down insistence that we have something to say. And that work is so resilient. And I don't know, we don't necessarily describe it as such, but that period was just unbelievable. And for me, as someone who was a voracious reader and who is – Still a voracious reader. I'm a reader first in some ways and a writer second. That's the landscape in which I grew up.

Yeah, I mean, so everything that I research is under attack from many sectors in the society. And I think of it as on the one hand, you know, it's devastating, but not so much personally, but because I'm so aware of how much the generation immediately preceding mine, you know, my parents' generation, how hard they fought to have our stories and our history taken seriously.

Yeah, I mean, so everything that I research is under attack from many sectors in the society. And I think of it as on the one hand, you know, it's devastating, but not so much personally, but because I'm so aware of how much the generation immediately preceding mine, you know, my parents' generation, how hard they fought to have our stories and our history taken seriously.

Yeah, I mean, so everything that I research is under attack from many sectors in the society. And I think of it as on the one hand, you know, it's devastating, but not so much personally, but because I'm so aware of how much the generation immediately preceding mine, you know, my parents' generation, how hard they fought to have our stories and our history taken seriously.

How many of them were kicked out of school? How many of them devoted their lives to a struggle that they didn't survive to see win, didn't survive to see actually take place? This is a period where there is an effort to relitigate the 60s and 70s and all of the transformations of that period. So for me, though, as a faculty member,

How many of them were kicked out of school? How many of them devoted their lives to a struggle that they didn't survive to see win, didn't survive to see actually take place? This is a period where there is an effort to relitigate the 60s and 70s and all of the transformations of that period. So for me, though, as a faculty member,