We were supposed to be reading some book, about some subject, for some test. My inability to remember which book, for what purpose, and its connection to whatever test, shows how important all of this really was—it wasn’t. But our eighth-grade English teacher canonized this book as if it was going to save the world,…
Many months have passed since “Stand Your Ground” was published and Bed-Stuy is still in transition. In my earlier essay, I attempted to show the complicated, and at times complicit, forces behind gentrification. The forces, which place us at the point of gentrification are larger than any personal narrative—mine included—but it is the only way…
I begged my mother over the Christmas break to get me a pair of Timberlands. She said no. More depressing than her no, was what “no” meant: we did not have money to spend on a $135 pair of construction boots, especially when “any other boot would keep your feet warm just fine.” That, even…
The Negro’s mind has been brought under the control of his oppressor. The problem of holding the Negro down, therefore, is easily solved. When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find…