Tawallah's Reviews > A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance

I liked this latest work by Hanif Abdurraqib which examined Afro-American culture through art - dance, music, comedy, movies, TV shows. This felt like a friend sitting and chatting over time about a culture that they love and offering both insightful view on certain events. At the end of the exchange you walk away thinking about the backstory to events you may have casually watched and thinking about Hanif. Naturally, some essays will have more impact than others. My top ones are :
- This one goes out to All the Magical Negros
- Sixteen Ways of Looking at Blackface
- On the Certain and Uncertain Movement of Limbs
- The Josephine Baker Monument Can Never Be Large Enough
- My Favorite Thing About Don Shirley

The writing is definitely quite poetic at times which suits the content and tangents these essays take.

You definitely walk away knowing that Blackness is not a monolith. Some of us can't dance, sing and some of us like punk/rock music. But we are more than angry people and we are not the only ones to fix a broken system as if we are the superheroes.

This was a great introduction to a young Black male author who loves Black performers and is vulnerable enough to share his insights and honor his elders.