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Everything and nothing at once : a Black man's reimagined sountrack for the future / Joél Leon.

Daniels, Joel L., (author.). Leon, Joél (Added Author).

Summary:

Growing up in the Bronx, Joél Leon was taught that being soft, being vulnerable, could end your life. Shaped by a singular view of Black masculinity espoused by the media, by family and friends, and by society, he learned instead to care about the gold around his neck and the number of bills in his wallet. He absorbed the "facts" that white was always right and Black men were seen as threatening or great for comic relief but never worthy of the opening credits. It wasn't until years later that Joél understood he didn't have to be defined by these things. Now, in a collection of wide-ranging essays, he takes readers from his upbringing in the Bronx to his life raising two little girls of his own, unraveling those narratives to arrive at a deeper understanding of who he is as a son, friend, partner, and father. Traversing both the serious and lighthearted, from contemplating male beauty standards and his belly to his decision to seek therapy to the difficulties of making co-parenting work, Joél cracks open his heart to reveal his multitudes. "I learned that being Black is an all-encompassing everything...To be Black, to be a Black man in the era I grew up in, was easily everything and nothing at once." Crafted like an album, each essay is a single that stands alone yet reverberates throughout the entire collection. Pieces like "How to Make a Black Friend." consider challenging, delightful and absurd moments in relationships, while others like "Sensitive Thugs All Need Hugs" and "All Gold Everything" ponder the collective harms of society's lens. With incisive, searing prose, Everything and Nothing at Once deconstructs what it means to be a Black man in America.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781250887108
  • ISBN: 1250887100
  • Physical Description: 288 pages ; 22 cm
  • Edition: First edition
  • Publisher: New York, New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2024.

Content descriptions

Formatted Contents Note:
What Kind of Black Are You? -- Belly -- Sensitive Thugs You All Need Hugs -- All Gold Everything, Feat. Mr. T, Slick Rick, Michael Jordan -- How to Make a Black Friend, Feat. Ty -- Homecoming, Feat. Nipsey Hussle -- The Sound a Slap Makes, Feat. Will Smith, Chris Rock -- For Black Boys Contemplating Suicide -- Good Art, Bad Art, Black Art, Feat. Donald Glover, Jerrod Carmichael, Tyler Perry -- Black Republicans, Feat. Jay Z -- The Postpartum Tree Whisperer, Feat. Q, Camille Dungy, Gary Martin -- A Conversation on Afro-Normalism -- Death by Visibility, Feat. Kanye West, Rodney King -- The Eulogy of Charles Lorenzo, Feat. Charles Lorenzo -- Our Poetry Will Save the World.
Subject: Daniels, Joel L.
African American men > New York (State) > New York > Biography.
African Americans > New York (State) > New York > Biography.
African American celebrities > United States > History > 21st century.
African American celebrities > United States > History > 20th century.
Masculinity > United States.
United States > Race relations.
New York (N.Y.) > Biography.
Genre: Autobiographies.

Available copies

  • 15 of 15 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
  • 1 of 1 copy available at Rockingham County Public Library.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 15 total copies.
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Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Eden Library 305.388 D (Text) 31554011802161 Adult Nonfiction Available -