The Fire This Time

Before the end of the month, I wanted to mention the final book I read for Black History Month, The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race, edited by Jesmyn Ward. I know that this is a current sort of book, talking about the Black experience and psyche in today's America but I do feel that reading about what happened yesterday is just as important as studying what happened in 1965. This collection of essays and poems range from topics such as slavery and police profiling, to family and music. Together, they begin to paint a picture of the required mindset and physical realities of being Black in America today.

There were so many beautiful and sorrowful pieces in this book. There were small glimmers of hope for a better future, especially for today's children, but these were all also tempered with a dose of reality. I personally found it to be a call to action -- both to be a better and truer ally to communities of color and to work harder to change the system through civil and political action so that everyone can truly know that they "have a right to be here" (Edwidge Danticat).

With a heavy heart,
K