if nothing else, the title of this book gives me so much to think about. i could sit in that space - of black men's invisibility while simultaneously being scrutinized - for a good long while. (it comes from a mos def song.) i appreciated his honesty. (as a parallel: he talks about his difficulty with gayness, and really owns that he is trying hard to overcome his prejudice; when mitchell s jackson tried to do something similar in survival math regarding his view of women, he only managed to come across as a total misogynist who wanted props for not being even worse. this was a nice contrast. he has growing to do, but he's aware and he's trying, and it seems he is honest about who he is and the work he is doing.)

i feel like this book made me finally understand some of the critique i've been reading about barack obama. i don't know if it was hearing it a certain number of times or the way he explained it, but it made more sense to me this time around.

this came at a really interesting time. he mentions so many people in this book who are back in the news now (dave chappelle, bill cosby, kanye west) for different reasons. i really wonder what he'd think of chappelle now. his explanation for chapelle's comedy from years ago did make me almost see chappelle in a different light. (but i just can't discount the hurt he is causing now.)

this is an interesting book and it's well done.

"You don't need to hate black men in order to believe ... [the stories white supremacy has always told about black boys and men in America]. Black men's humanity only need be invisible to you, so you never question where these stories came from and why they exist."

"When you're introduced to a martyr as a result of their death, they aren't a whole person. They are a name and a story. They ar ea set of symbols and projections. Their lives are flattened for our consumption..."

"Anger is what makes our struggle visible, and our struggle is what exposes the hypocrisy of a nation that fashions itself a moral leader. To rise against the narrative and expose the lie gives opportunity to fhose whose identity depends on the lie to question and, hopefully, change."

"For public relations purposes, it would be ideal if eery victim of injustice was a person of unimpeachable character. If everyone was caught at the wrong place at the wrong time and was a rebuke to racist descriptors, half the work of reclaiming the victim's humanity would already be done. But the system isn't filled with a bunch of doe-eyed innocents, and that doesn't make them any less worthy of justice.They shouldn't be discarded as people on the basis of their mistakes."

"...we [need to] recognize that liberation for black men based in patriarchy and male dominance is liberation for no one, least of all black women, but not for black men either. It turns us into the very oppressors we claim to be fighting against. It makes us deny parts of ourselves in service of an idea of masculinity that does more to destroy than build."

"We shouldn't be seeking the respect of an unjust system that will not respect us on the basis of our humanity alone." ( )

Honest, challenging, and grand, Smith's book describes his upbringing as a young, black millennial. I couldn't put this book down. Chapter 4, in which he discusses his reaction to the Jena 6 is both a devastating indictment on the role race plays in America, and one of the most brilliant pieces of writing I've read. Totally appreciated his broad view on equity to include gender and sexual orientation. ( )

The author has a professional, lucid writing style. I believe he would make a very good news reporter. However, this is not reporting. It's really a lengthy personal blog piece by a black millennial (emphasis on the millennial and not the black, despite what even he may think) reflecting on his growing up and becoming a man. He shows a heavy interest in and powerful influence from popular culture, giving great authority to celebrities, at least the ones he likes. He seems to be unaware of how often he points out a so-called popular "truth" about our society, admitting its validity and then says something disqualifying the same point, seemingly for no other reason then he found a rationale why it could be viewed as wrong, thus negating anything that said otherwise. By merely giving more weight to one point, in his mind, he simply discounts the other points without much further analysis. I'll admit I was expecting something much closer to Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me, perhaps with a less intense temperament. Certainly, the style, and arguably his approach, is different, but, unlike the Coates work which I felt as much as read, this book struck me as merely a generally smart young man struggling with his world, with much of that struggle due to his own lack of experience, plus an unwillingness to look beyond his pop cultural heroes for insight. Frankly, I don't see why his musings are getting so much more attention than a host of other younger adults, black or otherwise. ( )

I loved this book! It's one young black man's process of growing up and analyzing himself and the world he lives in. However, it's not a traditional "coming of age" story with everyday minutiae. Smith includes his inspirations, frustrations, role models, and perspective on current events. It's a politically conscious memoir.

I expected discussion of the Obama presidency, Trayvon Martin, and maybe even Malcolm X. What I was pleasantly surprised by was the insight Smith brings to the realities of being a black woman or a gay black man in today's world. He stands up for both groups in a twenty-first century, open-hearted way.

Smith also addresses his own humanity unflinchingly, never shying away from describing the deep depression that caused him to drop out of college. Then he goes on to place his experience in the larger context of men, especially black men, expressing emotions. Or, more accurately, being taught not to talk about or treat their emotions.

Smith writes in a smooth and seemingly effortless way. He's honed his craft since writing and editing his college newspaper. He walks the perfect line between angry black man, and being "twice as good," as his parents encouraged. Some moments he bumps into an expressive, controlled rage. Others he's self-deprecating. Throughout the book, he opens his mind and his heart to his readers. I, for one, finished the book feeling like I'd gained a lot of insight into one man's experiences. ( )

Smith's writing is sometimes disorganized and very occasionally his thoughts don't seem fully formed, but overall this is excellent. His writing is searching and authentic. He never minces words or hesitates to share his own fears, mistakes, and challenges. The chapters on intersectionality of race issues with issues of gender or sexual orientation are really stellar. Smith weaves his personal narrative with political consciousness in a way that works really well, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's next for him. ( )