Right on time for Black History month, comes a new book of essays, Black Lives, American Love, by cultural anthropologist D.B. Maroon. Black Lives, American Love is a powerful first-person account of how racial conflicts and rising white nationalism play out in the lives of individuals and communities across America.
Stories in this collection cover the challenges of racialized inequality and the possibilities of transformation. These essays probe questions of race and reconciliation in America. What does it feel like for a Black woman to have White Nationalist neighbors? How do new laws preventing teachers from telling true stories of American history affect children and communities? How do victims of police brutality overcome their trauma? How can anti-racist activists balance self-preservation while pursuing social justice? The golden thread of each essay in Black Lives, American Love is a call to greater truth as the first step toward racial reconciliation.
The book’s author, D.B. Maroon, is an anthropologist and the CEO of Polis Institute, a social research nonprofit dedicated to building equity in communities of color by working directly with community members and grassroots leaders.
D.B. Maroon says she “wrote Black Lives, American Love to share with readers what I have seen and learned as a Black woman working for justice on the frontlines in America. This book tells our lived stories because it’s in the storytelling that we get to the heart and soul of the human experience and find the true pathways to inspiring change.”
“When we see headlines about racial violence or about laws that say you can’t teach Black history or use the words diversity, equity, inclusion, there are lives impacted, there are people and communities behind those headlines. The essays in Black Lives, American Love offer readers intimate stories about what it feels like on the ground as America’s racialized conflicts accelerate,” says Maroon.
Critics have lauded the book for its refreshing first-hand account of today’s most pressing racial issues. Ms. Magazine describes Black Lives, American Love as “candid, provocative, and transformational.” Kirkus Reviews praises its “engaging reckoning with the complexities of Black experience.” Author of Village, LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs, says Maroon’s writing aligns “with her literary ancestors Hurston, Lorde, Morrison, and hooks.” In her review, Diggs writes, “This book is a gift for the now and for generations long after us.”
D.B. Maroon holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from UC Santa Cruz and has been published in Spirit and Flame: An Anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry; Spirited: Affirming the Soul and Black Gay Lesbian Identity; and Publics, Politics, and Participation. For over fifteen years, she has designed and supported equity-based initiatives nationwide. Now, as CEO of Polis Institute, she works with the Town of Eatonville, following in the footsteps of anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston.
Black Lives, American Love is available now for $27.00 through Lawrence Hill Books, an Imprint of Chicago Review Press (Copyright 2024).
D.B. Maroon is the author of Black Lives, American Love, a book of hard-hitting essays on American culture, race, and the path to reconciliation within. She is the CEO of Polis Institute, a social research institute located in Florida. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from UC Santa Cruz.
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Website: dbmaroon.com
Black Lives, American Love
Lawrence Hill Books, an Imprint of Chicago Review Press
Price: $27
ISBN #978-1-64160-932-6
Available Now
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