Aint Never Not Been Black [Paperback]

Ain't Never Not Been Black foregrounds Black pleasure Black pain and Black love in unflinchingly Black ways.Engaging with themes of masculinity, racism, love, and joy, Johnson is at once critical and creative. His spoken word performance transfers effortlessly to the page, with poems that will encompass you.This is a book about blackness and survival, and how in America these are inseparable. In a world of individualism, who can you hold close? In a world of danger, what makes you feel safe?From a poem written in the form of a syllabus, to another about the time his grandmother literally saved his life, Johnson's creative expression is constantly enacting the feminist mantra, the personal is political."And...my single mother raisedtwo Black boys in gang ridden,crack infested 1980s south central,los angeles. when speaking of usshe often says, Im so happymy boys are still alive,not in jail. Theyre doing well.she never startswith my phd from northwestern,my brothers masters in business from usc.she knows how easyour graduations could have been funerals.all pomp and circumstance. being a Blackmother means playing russian rouletteeverytime you send your kids outthe front door for school,for skittles and tea,for groceries,or to just...