Living While Black: Portraits of Everyday Resistance

(Hardback)

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Description

Laughing. Grieving. Being a kid. Even the purest expression of pleasure, the most human display of sorrow, or the simplest delight of childhood is an act of resistance if you happen to be Black.

This immersive hardcover book features forty defiantly joyful illustrations by artist and educator Ajuan Mance, each artwork depicting a person of African descent going about their everyday business. Begun as Mances personal response to the groundswell of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020,Living While Black denounces the excessive surveillance, harassment, and violence aimed at Black folks engaged in the activities of everyday life and celebrates the courage and resilience of the Black community.

Fittingly, the book also features a foreword from Alicia Garza, BLM founder and principal at the Black Futures Lab. Mances thoughtful meditation on what its like to be Black in America makes a wonderful tool for teachers, students, activists, and parents navigating conversations about racism and resistance.

Author Bio

Ajuan Mance is a professor of African American literature at Mills College in Oakland, California. A lifelong artist and writer, Mance uses humour and bright colours to explore race, gender, power, and people, and the places in which they intersect. She lives in the Bay Area.