Jabari Asim – författare

“Provocative and compelling.” —New York Newsday

“Both entertaining and insightful.”—Washington Post Book World

“It should be on the required reading list.” —Chicago Sun-Times

What Obama Means by Jabari Asim, renowned cultural critic and author of The N Word, is a timely and sharp analysis of how the “Obama phenomenon” exhibits progress in American politics and society. A frequent guest and commentator on “The Colbert Report,” “The Today Show,” NPR’s “Diane Rehm Show” and many other media programs, Asim also examines how cultural and political forces led to the watershed 2008 presidential election while indicating what the election means for every American.  

Patrick Dorismond, Abner Louima, and Amadou Diallo -- hear what a jury of prominent African Americans has to say about the black man's struggle for justice in America

Prompted by the killing of Amadou Diallo and the acquittal of the four New York City police officers who mistook him for an armed criminal, this collection of essays by prominent black male writers offers twelve unique and startling perspectives on what it's like for a black man living in an inherently racist society.

Coming from a broad spectrum of economic and social backgrounds, the poets, journalists, lawyers, writers, and academics that make up this jury write forcefully and eloquently about growing up and raising sons, identifying with others and yearning to be set apart, attempting reasonable discourse, and succumbing to unspeakable anger. Together these essays deconstruct the monolithic myths that shroud our nation's black men and offer small rays of hope that on the streets, at school and work, and in the courtroom justice will be served.

A Finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay Insightful and searing essays that celebrate the vibrancy and strength of black history and culture in America by critically acclaimed writer Jabari Asim"A fantastic essay collection...Blending personal reflection with historical analysis and cultural and literary criticism, these essays are a sharp, illuminating response to the nation’s continuing racial conflicts."—Ron Charles, The Washington Post 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.

In The N Word, a renowned cultural critic untangles the twisted history and future of racism through its most volatile word.

In 2003, the book Nigger started an intense conversation about the use and implications of that epithet. The N Word moves beyond that short, provocative book by revealing how the word has both reflected and spread the scourge of bigotry in America.

Asim claims that, even when uttered by hipsters and hip-hop icons, the slur helps keep blacks at the bottom of America’s socioeconomic ladder. But he also proves there is a place for this word in the mouths and on the pens of those who truly understand its twisted history—from Mark Twain to Dave Chappelle to Mos Def. Only when we know its legacy can we loosen this slur’s grip on our national psyche.