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The Trayvon Generation
The Trayvon Generation | Elizabeth Alexander
6 posts | 6 read | 4 to read
*Named one of TIME magazine's Most Anticipated Titles of 2022* From a Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author and poet comes a galvanizing meditation on the power of art and culture to illuminate America's unresolved problem with race. In the midst of civil unrest in the summer of 2020 and following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, Elizabeth Alexanderone of the great literary voices of our timeturned a mother's eye to her sons and students generation and wrote a celebrated and moving reflection on the challenges facing young Black America. Originally published in the New Yorker, the essay incisively and lovingly observed the experiences, attitudes, and cultural expressions of what she referred to as the Trayvon Generation, who even as children could not be shielded from the brutality that has affected the lives of so many Black people. The Trayvon Generation expands the viral essay that spoke so resonantly to the persistence of race as an ongoing issue at the center of the American experience. Alexander looks both to our past and our future with profound insight, brilliant analysis, and mighty heart, interweaving her voice with groundbreaking works of art by some of our most extraordinary artists. At this crucial time in American history when we reckon with who we are as a nation and how we move forward, Alexander's lyrical prose gives us perspective informed by historical understanding, her lifelong devotion to education, and an intimate grasp of the visioning power of art. This breathtaking book is essential reading and an expression of both the tragedies and hopes for the young people of this era that is sure to be embraced by those who are leading the movement for change and anyone rising to meet the moment.
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ncsufoxes
The Trayvon Generation | Elizabeth Alexander
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Mehso-so

I loved this small & powerful book. The book is comprised of poetry, artwork & essays. The author, a professor, discusses the impact of the last 25 years has had on Black children growing up in the US. She calls them the Trayvon Generation since they have been so exposed to & hear about the violence that happens. “They always knew these stories. These stories formed their worldview. These stories helps instruct young African Americans about

ncsufoxes their embodiment and their vulnerability. The stories were primers in fear and futility. The stories were the ground soil of their rage. The stories instructed them that anti-Black hatred and violence were never far.” The section on Angola prison in Louisiana is just heartbreaking. #bookspin 1mo
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 1mo
CBee Sounds like a super intense but important book ♥️ 1mo
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Pinta
The Trayvon Generation | Elizabeth Alexander
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Pickpick

Essays. Mothering Black boys in US, surviving anti-Black violence. Beautiful reproductions of artwork by Jennifer Packer, Lorna Simpson, Kara Walker. 2022

P64 “Do I really believe that cultural expression can somehow shape a world where our children are safer?”
P73 “No matter how intellectual and multicolored motherhood becomes as children grow older, the part that says, ‘My purpose on earth is to keep you alive‘ has never totally dissipated.”

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Robotswithpersonality
The Trayvon Generation | Elizabeth Alexander
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Pickpick

Incredible work.
Something of a mashup between activist art compilation piece and call to action via delivery of the facts.
Analysis of works of art, academia, history, as a way to push acknowledgement of pervasiveness of white supremacy, the harms of systemic racism, as a way to see those whose voices have too often been silenced, ignored, and how they are remembered through these forms. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? Featuring collection of incredibly powerful poetry, stunning art by Black poets and artists.
Convinced me to request a collection of Lucille Clifton's poems from my library.
5mo
Robotswithpersonality 3/3 On a personal note: This book is understandably USA-focused, I need to do more investigating to find an equivalency for Canada. I've read some nonfiction regarding the many injustices indigenous populations face here, but not read into what the Black people (or other minority people of colour populations) of my country face, and though there may be similarities across the North American continent, it feels important to seek out specific voices and experiences. 5mo
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Robotswithpersonality
The Trayvon Generation | Elizabeth Alexander
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❤️📚📢

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swynn
The Trayvon Generation | Elizabeth Alexander
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(2022) Here's a collection of essays on being Black and raising Black children in America. Observations on the ways that public monuments, schools, law enforcement, and correctional institutions rely on the diminishment of Black lives, are presented with poetry and artwork by Black artists. It's a powerful volume, with necessary themes.

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Bookalong
The Trayvon Generation | Elizabeth Alexander
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5☆ A smartly written and profound meditation on the challenges Black youth face in America today. This slim book packs a punch! An extension of a viral essay, Alexander brilliantly and insightfully looks at the past and future of the Black experience in America, the ongoing issues of race, brutality, perseverance, and the power of art and poetry. Highly reccomend this one! #bookreview #bookblogger

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