racism against black people

"Distant lovers. Shady friends. Racist strangers. Estranged parents. Insufferable bosses. Who says your twenties are fun? Julian Strickland is seemingly the lone Black man in the hipster dreamland of Portland, Oregon. To his friends, he's the coolest member of the scene: the soulful drummer from Chicago in an indie rock band that's just about to break through. But to himself, he's a sheltered Christian homeschool kid who used to write book reports on Leviticus. A virgin until the night of his marriage, divorced at twenty-four, he's still in disarray two years later - pretending to fit in, wondering if any of his relationships are real, estranged from his family, and struggling to reconcile his strict religious background. Then he meets Ida Blair, a Black painter at the start of a promising career. They begin a tentative romance, and Ida seems to offer Julian relief from his confusion. Until suddenly she stops responding to his texts. Things only get worse when Julian's best friend mysteriously turns on him, his house burns down, and the band considers breaking up on the eve of their most important show yet. It seems the only thing Julian has left - the only thing he's ever had, really - is the weight he is carrying. Jeff Boyd's beguiling first novel is a piercing exploration of faith, racial identity, love, and friendship - woven of acid humor, disarming vulnerability, and unforgettable poignance."--.

"In the summer of 1995, ten-year-old Joan, her mother, and her younger sister flee her father's violence to the only place they have left: her mother's ancestral home in Memphis. Half a century ago, Joan's grandfather built this majestic house for her grandmother--only to be lynched, days after becoming the first Black detective in Memphis, by his all-white police squad. This wasn't the first time violence altered the course of Joan's family's trajectory, and given who lives inside this house now, she knows it won't be the last. When her aunt opens the door, Joan sees the cousin who once brutally assaulted her. Over the next few years, she is determined not just to survive, but to find something to dream for. Longing to become an artist, she pours her rage and grief into sketching portraits of the women in her life--including old Miss Dawn from down the street, who seems to know something about curses"--Provided by publisher.

"Writer Ian Williams brings a fresh point of view and new insights to the urgent conversation on race and racism in these illuminating essays born from his own experience as a Black man in the world" --Amazon.com.