Smith, Mychal Denzel

". . . exposes the contradictions at the heart of American life - between patriotism and justice, between freedom and inequality, incarceration, police violence. In a series of essays, [the author] holds us to account individually and as a nation . .. examines shortcomings, grapples with the anxiety of feeling stuck, and looks in new directions for the tools to build a just America . . . questions whether Martin Luther King, Jr. can ever really be the hero we need in our time, untangles the persistent cultural power of Bill Cosby, and weighs the value of police and prison abolition"--Provided by publisher.

A journalist describes his education and the experience of young black men against a backdrop of the Obama administration, the death of Trayvon Martin, the career of LeBron James, and other pivotal influences that have shaped race relations in contemporary America.