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Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People cover

Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People

Imani Perry

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Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People

Black in Blues won the National Book Award. Throughout history, the concept of Blackness has been remarkably intertwined with another color: blue. In daily life, it is evoked in countless ways. Blue skies and blue water offer hope for that which lies beyond the current conditions. But blue is also the color of deep melancholy and heartache, echoing Louis Armstrong's question, "What did I do to be so Black and blue?" In this book, celebrated author Imani Perry uses the world's favorite color as a springboard for a riveting emotional, cultural, and spiritual journey—an examination of race and Blackness that transcends politics or ideology. Perry traces both blue and Blackness from their earliest roots to their many embodiments of contemporary culture, drawing deeply from her own life as well as art and history: The dyed indigo cloths of West Africa that were traded for human life in the 16th century. The mixture of awe and aversion in the old-fashioned characterization of dark-skinned people as "Blue Black." The fundamentally American art form of blues music, sitting at the crossroads of pain and pleasure. The blue flowers Perry plants to honor a loved one gone too soon.

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Publisher
HarperCollins
Year
2025
ISBN-13
9780062977427
Genre
Biography & Memoir
Topics
Black history and cultureRace and identityCultural symbolism of color

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