"You go down there looking for justice, that's what you find, just us." ~ Richard Pryor
And so begins Just Us: An American Conversation. Way to set the tone!
There is so much conversation to be had among Americans, as Claudia Rankine points out in this new release. Hard topics such as whiteness in America, what reparations may look like, refugees fellow citizens' rights, vulnerability to white dominance, complicit freedoms and the "toomuchness" of our present reality.
This non-fiction book is comprised of essays, poems, documents, images, quotes, and even rebuttals. My first thought upon picking up my reserved copy from the library was that it's beautiful and heavy—in both the literal and figurative sense.
After reading Just Us, I am less angry and more focused. I am aware of my nonwhite fragility. I am motivated to hop on Zoom and talk about it. Quick to open my Twitter app and quote tweets with an educated opinion. Post images on my IG story for awareness. Now is not the time to be silent or to worry about who may disagree. It is due time to have the gut-punch, throat chop conversation. Because the alternative is a terrifying thought: what if nothing changes?
"What I know is that an inchoate desire for a future other than the one that seems to be forming our days brings me to a seat around any table to lean forward, to hear, to respond, to await response from any other."
And so ends Just Us: An American Conversation. What a call for a strategy!
Author: Claudia Rankine
Published: September 2020
Pages: 342
Edition: Hardcover
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤
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