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African American Authors Book Group

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African American Authors Book Group All Adults Are Welcome February Title: South to America : A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation / Imani Perry

African American Authors Book Group Meets the Last Thursday of the month.


All Adults Are Welcome

February Title: South to America : A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation / Imani Perry

Join us for the discussion of this Southern bound travelogue written by Princeton professor Dr. Imani Perry. 

"An essential, surprising journey through the history, rituals, and landscapes of the American South--and a revelatory argument for why you must understand the South in order to understand America"-


Book Reviews

"We all think we know the South. Even those who have never lived there can rattle off a list of signifiers: the Civil War, Gone with the Wind, the Ku Klux Klan, plantations, football, Jim Crow, slavery. But the idiosyncrasies, dispositions, and habits of the region are stranger and more complex than much of the country tends to acknowledge. In South to America, Imani Perry shows that the meaning of American is inextricably linked with the South, and that our understanding of its history and culture is the key to understanding the nation as a whole."

"This is the story of a Black woman and native Alabaman returning to the region she has always called home and considering it with fresh eyes. Her journey is full of detours, deep dives, and surprising encounters with places and people. She renders Southerners from all walks of life with sensitivity and honesty, sharing her thoughts about a troubling history and the ritual humiliations and joys that characterize so much of Southern life."

"Weaving together stories of immigrant communities, contemporary artists, exploitative opportunists, enslaved peoples, unsung heroes, her own ancestors, and her lived experiences, Imani Perry crafts a tapestry unlike any other. With uncommon insight and breathtaking clarity, South to America offers an assertion that if we want to build a more humane future for the United States, we must center our concern below the Mason-Dixon Line."  

This book is available in many formats regular print, eBook and as an eAudio book