Preface by Tracy K. Smith
Patricia Smith, Salutation in search of
Randall Kenan, Learning from the ghosts of the Civil War
Edwidge Danticat, Mourning
Su Hwang, Why the rebellion had to begin here
Michael Kleber-Diggs, On the complex flavors of Black joy
Amaud Jamul Johnson, Letter from the fault lines of Midwestern racism
Layli Long Soldier, I cannot stop: a response to the murder of George Floyd
Sofian Merabet, Be safe out there (and other American delusions, rhetorical and otherwise)
Nyle Fort, I hated that I had to see your face through plexiglass
Daniel Pena, Let these protests bring light to America
Claudia Castro Luna, Letter from a Seattle protest
Pitchaya Sudbanthad, Finding justice in the streets
Indigo Moor, A riotous anodyne
Tracy K. Smith, A letter to Black America
Joshua Bennett, Where is Black life lived?
Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, On the endless mourning of the present
Ali Black, On protest, laughter, and finding breath
Gregory Pardlo, Letter to Juneteenth
Major Jackson, Letter from Burlington
Indrissa Simmonds-Nastili, Black motherhood in sleepless times
Cynthia Tucker, Letter to a mother who survived and thrived
Jasmon Drain, "Maybe" (letter to a daughter wo will wear two masks)
Camille T. Dungy, This'll hurt me more
Ross Gay, Have I ever told you all the courts I've loved
Samiya Bashir, Letter from exile: finding home in a pandemic
Hector Tobar, A generational uprising
Oscar Villalon, When the shadow is looming
Manuel Munoz, From plagues to protests to wildfires
Craig Santos Perez, Postcards from a quarantined paradise
Julia Alvarez, Three liberties: past, present, yet to come
Nikky Finney, Letter to John Robert Lewis
Reginald Dwayne Betts, Kamala Harris, mass incarceration, and me
Lilly Wachowski, Rufus fascism, at the ballot box and in the street
Monica Youn, Why I'm getting out of the boiler room this election
Keenga-Yamahtta Taylor, Voting Trump out is not enough
Francisco Goldman, The fall of Trump: on presidents, dictators, and life after a regime
Sasha LaPointe, Thunder song
Kirsten West Savali, On motherhood and ancestral resistance.
