Status Updates From After Story

“It is a curse of its own, the attempt to reach the point of being acceptable to the people who think you are inherently unacceptable, to show them you’re an ‘exception’, as if it will prove all their underlying prejudices are wrong.”

‘Uplift suasion’ described by Ibram X. Kendi as an assimilationist racist idea sometimes presented and championed by activists against racism.

“ … She thought the name sounded like a precious jewel.’
I told her about an experiment that showed how job applicants with African American names, like Lakisha and Jamal, had to send out fifteen resumes to get one call-back, while those with the names Emily and Greg only had to send ten.
‘I don’t know how those facts mean more than what’s in your mother’s heart?’ she asked, puzzled.”

“I could have sworn I saw Professor Finn smirk with satisfaction and I was reminded of something Aunty Elaine used to say when she thought I should show more self-belief: ‘Hold yourself with the confidence of a mediocre white man.’”

“… I still slept in the bed with the girls from time to time if they wanted to. It always made me feel safe and I thought it must have done the same for them. At least I hoped it did. And I loved it - those moments when my whole world seemed made up of just the people with me on the mattress like it was a lifeboat in the ocean. I’d get a flush of feeling that I could only describe as a clean, pure happiness.”

Poétique

Very highly rated can’t wait to read

I really appreciate how different the voices of Jazzie and her mum are, it provides a deeper sense of authenticity to their stories