The Trayvon Generation

Starred review from January 31, 2022
Poet and memoirist Alexander (The Light of the World) expands on her New Yorker essay in this vigorous and inspiring reflection on how Black art reckons with the traumas of racism and racial violence. Contending that the “war against Black people feels as if it is gearing up for another epic round,” Alexander highlights how Black poets, artists, authors, and musicians have “continuously articulated the problem, the hope, and the possibility of America.” She lucidly analyzes poems by Amiri Baraka, Lucille Clifton, and Clint Smith, among others, and describes the political battle over historian John Hope Franklin’s eighth-grade textbook, Land of the Free, written in 1966, as an antecedent to today’s fights over critical race theory. Elsewhere, Alexander discusses how the “worldview” of African Americans who grew up in the past 25 years has been shaped by the killings of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, George Floyd, and others, and spotlights music videos by Kendrick Lamar and Flying Lotus that “bring together the naturalistic and the visionary” to showcase the “reanimating” power of Black joy and community. By capturing the rich spectrum of Black culture in America, Alexander offers hope and instruction for younger generations. The result is a thought-provoking must-read. Agent: Faith Childs, Faith Childs Literary Agency.

Starred review from March 1, 2022

Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet and scholar of African American studies Alexander (The Light of the World) eloquently writes about the importance of bearing witness to the violence directed against Black people in the United States. She addresses parenting and protecting the young people whom she calls the "Trayvon Generation," who witnessed the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner and many others via videos on their cell phones. Alexander deftly touches on many other important topics related to violence against Black people, by examining how American society normalizes white supremacy--a fundamental problem that Black people have faced since enslaved people were brought to the U.S. Alexander cleverly reminds readers that Confederate flags flew at the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, while throughout the country, Americans are constantly surrounded by portraits of slaveholding Founding Fathers and university founders. What is most striking is the way Alexander incorporates the value of public art, poetry, dance, and writing as central to memorializing and commemorating Black history and events. Alexander argues that white supremacy in the United States cannot be fixed by Black people alone; it must be reckoned with by all of society. VERDICT A very moving short book that seeks to challenge readers' assumptions about American society; highly recommended for all libraries and for reading groups.--Amy Lewontin

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 15, 2022
An artful book-length essay on generational trauma in Black youth. Weaving together prose, poetry, and artwork, prizewinning educator, poet, and cultural advocate Alexander, who recited a poem at Barack Obama's first inauguration ceremony, depicts in sharp relief the realities of living as a Black youth in today's America. In this short yet poignant book, the author notes the ways in which Black people have always been marginalized, but she looks specifically at the difficult experiences of those who have come of age in the past 25 years. Citing such problems as depression in youth, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and how police brutality has become more apparent in the age of social media, Alexander paints a vivid portrait of a societal landscape that is fundamentally different depending on race, class, and other demographic markers. While recounting her personal story--including her 15 years as a professor at Yale, which, like many older colleges, has a problematic history with the slave trade--the author roots the text in history, looking at the legacies of enslavement and Confederacy movements and touching on key figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr., and Zora Neale Hurston. The text is punctuated with gripping pieces of art that complement the text. Each piece is compelling in its own right as they entwine with the representation of human experience that Alexander demonstrates for readers. In one of the most significant sections, the author references a letter to Du Bois in which a scholar asked him "whether the negro sheds tears," and "if so, under what general conditions--anger, fear, shame, pain, sorrow, etc." At its core, this is a powerful treatise on the humanity of Black Americans and how it has been denied, how generations of people have persisted despite that fact, and how it continues to be one of the most pressing issues we face as a nation. A dynamic critique on the sprawling effects of racism and its effects on today's youth.

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Starred review from February 1, 2022
Poet and memoirist Alexander (The Light of the World, 2015) deftly blends family history and cultural criticism in this bittersweet essay collection on race, memory, and memorialization. A Yale professor intimately familiar with the contradictions of a wealthy, world-class university taking but not sharing space in a largely Black and poor town, Alexander is a thoughtful and eloquent chronicler of racial anxiety and pain. She notes the power of monuments as indicators of value, as in the overpowering white supremacist defiance of Stone Mountain, Georgia. Black artists, writers, and musicians push back, striving to affirm Black values by memorializing the lost lives of slaves, while libraries serve "as cemeteries for the illustrious Negro dead." Alexander longs to lift the burden of racial responsibility from her two young adult sons and see them become "free black men," carefree and confident, so secure in their identity and self-worth that the idiocy of racism has no power over them. Yet for those growing up in the shadow of Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, and George Floyd, freedom and a sense of self-worth can be lethal. Illuminated and illustrated with poetry and art by Lucille Clifton, Gwendolyn Brooks, Kerry James Marshall, Kara Walker, and many more, Alexander's piercing inquiry merits a place in the ongoing social justice conversation.

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Starred review from September 1, 2022

Poet and memoirist Alexander (The Light of the World) narrates her own work, expanding on a piece that she wrote for The New Yorker during the tumultuous summer of 2020. That June, the United States witnessed the death of a Black man, George Floyd, at the hands of a white police officer, an incident that became a tipping point of racial injustice. This work, which interweaves prose, poetry, and art, is a lyrical response to the centuries-long violence meted out to Black Americans. Alexander discusses the expansive and lasting aftereffects of witnessing targeted, racially motivated violence and what that means for the generations growing up amidst this shadow of chaos and tension. Alexander's powerful book proves that poetry is the ultimate vehicle for exploring this truly painful subject. Hearing the poet's words read in her own voice, full of sorrow and anger, makes for an incredible listening experience. VERDICT Hearing this work is a simultaneously motivating and heartbreaking experience. An absolute must-listen and essential purchase for all libraries.--Anna Clark

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.