Critically-acclaimed author and cultural historian Jabari Asim presents eight essays that seek to reclaim the narrative of Black history and culture in America, focusing on how Black bodies, Black words, and Black culture and society have been policed, punished, and stolen for hundreds of years. In We Can't Breathe Jabari Asim takes what Toni Morrison has called "The Master Narrative" and rewritten it - whether it is the history of jokes, black fatherhood, black literature, or "strutting," to create a more accurate and empowered view of Black history in America. Asim emphasizes the power of narrative capital, which he see as critical to Black Americans' well-being along with intellectual capital, economic capital and social capital. We Can't Breathe points to the insidious nature of racism in centuries of American history, but it also highlights the vibrant and sustaining nature of Black culture and Americans who persist and thrive.
Author Biography
JABARI ASIM was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. For eleven years, he was an editor at The Washington Post, where he also wrote a syndicated column on politics, popular culture and social issues, and he served for ten years as the editor in chief of Crisis magazine, the NAACP's flagship journal of politics, culture and ideas. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in Creative Arts and the author of six books for adults, including The N Word, and nine books for children.
