Jen R.’s Reviews > A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance > Status Update
Jen R.
is on page 245 of 320
What if I told you that when my parents were angry, and contemplating all modes of punishment, I would try to make them laugh? This is the first and only fight. On the ground floor. The one that says I would like to avoid my worst impulses, and I want you to help me.
— Feb 14, 2026 12:58AM
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Jen’s Previous Updates
Jen R.
is on page 273 of 320
When you find yourself chasing the tail of representation at all costs, you'd be surprised what speeds past you while you aren't even looking. And you'll be surprised by what you'll accept for yourself when you get the narrowest idea of representation fulfilled.
— Feb 14, 2026 10:27AM
Jen R.
is on page 240 of 320
What is tucked underneath the exchange between the comic and the audience is a desire not only to laugh, but also to make sense of the otherwise unexplainable absurdities of the world outside. The stakes are higher for a comedian, who is all at once a vehicle for jokes, a therapist, and a storyteller.
— Feb 14, 2026 12:25AM
Jen R.
is on page 211 of 320
I am interested most in a reparations that is rooted in the structural: abolition, reformatting and reimagining ways to build a country on something other than violence and power.
But if I can't yet have that, I just need a place to be afraid and comfortable in my fear until I can bury it with another emotion.
— Feb 12, 2026 09:50PM
But if I can't yet have that, I just need a place to be afraid and comfortable in my fear until I can bury it with another emotion.
Jen R.
is on page 195 of 320
There were people who thought [Merry] Clayton's great flaw was that she could never pull away from her instincts to take people to church, no matter what a song's content was asking of her. Imagine that, your greatest flaw being that you sing every word as if it were delivered to you by God.
"Gimme Shelter" required the divine.
— Feb 12, 2026 11:33AM
"Gimme Shelter" required the divine.
Jen R.
is on page 185 of 320
(On the Green Book, the actual book, not the movie:) The Green Book is fascinating as a not-so-distant relic because it pushes back against that particular American notion. For whom is exploration treacherous? When is it a good idea to maybe not venture out into the vast unknown, and what is the return on the investment of curiosity?
— Feb 12, 2026 10:27AM
Jen R.
is on page 181 of 320
The love I have to give is malleable, but it has its limits. All of our love has its limits, and it should. I choose to love my people, and their people. And sometimes I might also choose love with your people. But other times, I choose whatever keeps me safe, and that isn't necessarily hate, but it might be if it gives me a comfortable enough distance.
— Feb 12, 2026 12:27AM
Jen R.
is on page 180 of 320
When the entire architecture of a land is built on a chorus of violences, it takes an unnatural amount of work to undo every lineage of harm and then honor the harmed parties with anything resembling equity. Some of the first steps in that direction almost certainly rely on an honest assessment of not only the history, but the ways that history has generational impact.
— Feb 12, 2026 12:17AM
Jen R.
is on page 160 of 320
just as there are many ways to be of a place, there are many ways to slowly be erased from it. One way or another, detached from the ground you first danced on.
🖤
— Feb 11, 2026 11:14AM
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Jen R.
is on page 156 of 320
(from a Josephine Baker speech:) I have never been ashamed of my childhood surroundings. On the contrary, I have been very proud of my start, because it has made me remain human, and in that way understand my fellow brothers of misery. Friends, did not our Lord Jesus Christ live in poverty? Did he not? Then I believe it a great privilege to have suffered during my childhood.
— Feb 11, 2026 10:53AM
Jen R.
is on page 145 of 320
(On Josephine Baker:) It is possible to teach dance, of course. But it is impossible to teach a natural ability to calculate the many ways you can get an audience to watch you, mouths hanging open, unable to speak.
— Feb 11, 2026 08:42AM
