Magically Black and Other Essays

*** Finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay**** ****Semi-Finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor**** ****Finalist for the New England Book Award**** ****Longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award**** In this engaging follow up to How to Make a Slave and Other Essays, the recipient of PEN New England Award for nonfiction and finalist for the National Book Award sharply examines and explains Black life and culture with equal parts candor and humor. In Magically Black and Other Essays Jerald Walker elegantly blends personal revelation and cultural critique to create a bracing and often humorous examination of race in America. He thoughtfully addresses the inherent complexities of topics as eclectic as incarceration, home renovations, gentrification, the crip walk, pimping, and the rise of the MAGA movement, approaching them through various Black perspectives, including husband, father, teacher, and writer. This powerful collection of nonfiction essays captures its overarching theme in the titular essay, which examines the culture of heroic action African Americans created in response to their enslavement and oppression, giving proof to Albert Murray’s observation that the “fire in the forging process . . . for all its violence, does not destroy the metal that becomes the sword.” How does one navigate race, family, and identity in a world of absurd contradictions? Sharp Social Commentary: From the rise of the MAGA movement to the complexities of gentrification, Walker applies a razor-sharp wit to the most pressing issues of our time. Candid Personal Essays: Explore the author’s journey from a childhood in a white supremacist doomsday cult to navigating fatherhood and academia as a Black man in America. Humor as a Survival Strategy: Discover a voice that finds searing humor in the face of absurdity, whether it’s dealing with incompetent landscapers or confronting police.