But you are a black boy, and you must be responsible for your body in a way that other boys cannot know. Indeed, you must be responsible for the worst actions of other black bodies, which, somehow, will always be assigned to you.
“envision goals in a hierarchy.”
― Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
― Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
“It occurred to me then, as it occurs to me frequently, that one never really knows a person properly. Especially ourselves.”
― My Husband's Wife
― My Husband's Wife
“Learn from your past and be better because of your past,” she would say, “but don’t cry about your past. Life is full of pain. Let the pain sharpen you, but don’t hold on to it. Don’t be bitter.”
― Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
― Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
“I never let the memory of something painful prevent me from trying something new.”
― Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
― Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
“To maintain power in the face of the country’s rising and restless black majority, the government realized they needed a newer and more robust set of tools. They set up a formal commission to go out and study institutionalized racism all over the world. They went to Australia. They went to the Netherlands. They went to America. They saw what worked, what didn’t. Then they came back and published a report, and the government used that knowledge to build the most advanced system of racial oppression known to man. Apartheid was a police state,”
― Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
― Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Sheereen’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Sheereen’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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