Jabari Asim: We Can’t Breathe, On Black Lives, White Lies, and the Art of Survival

Jamaica Plain Forum presents Jabari Asim. Asim’s new book, We Can’t Breathe, On Black Lives, White Lies, and the Art of Survivalare Insightful and searing essays that celebrate the vibrancy and strength of the black experience in America. It is a sharp vision that challenges readers to shift perspective and examine conventional narratives.

In We Can’t Breathe, Jabari Asim disrupts what Toni Morrison has exposed as the “Master Narrative” and replaces it with a story of black survival and persistence through art and community in the face of centuries of racism. In eight wide-ranging and penetrating essays, he explores such topics as the twisted legacy of jokes and falsehoods in black life; the importance of black fathers and community; the significance of black writers and stories; and the beauty and pain of the black body. What emerges is a rich portrait of a community and culture that has resisted, survived, and flourished despite centuries of racism, violence, and trauma. These thought-provoking essays present a different side of American history, one that doesn’t depend on a narrative steeped in oppression but rather reveals black voices telling their own stories.

Learn more here: https://jamaicaplainforum.org/event/jabari-asim-we-cant-breath/

Event is Free and Open to All.