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FEBRUARY 2022
Stories and Songs for Black History Month By Donna Ruth Morgan
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n February we focus on African American contributions to history. African Americans contribute to our country, our community, and our centers every day, but we set aside this month to mark their essential role in our past and to examine how they are shaping American life now. All these books are available to Brunswick County libraries, and February is a great month to stay home and read. Will by Will Smith and Mark Manson (2021) takes us from the performer’s childhood in Philadelphia to recent events. It’s a fascinating look into a “charmed life” as it plays out in a series of lessons, personal striving, and determination. Living a public life requires a strong ego, but at times Will’s braggadocio seems a cover for personal inadequacies. Nutshell review: The author wraps motional catharsis and self-promotion in sincerity that invites readers to identify with him.
Will Smith is a popular actor, rapper, and film producer. He has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards, and has won four Grammy Awards. His autobiography is reviewed above.
Photo by Gage Skidmore
The Other Black Girl (2021) was touted as a psychological thriller plus science fiction in literary realism style. Debut novelist Zakiya Dalila Harris moves beyond commentary on racism in the workplace, mocking office politics and coworker drama and culminating in a zany scheme of brain manipulation to create compliant Black women employees. Snarky and satirical, but too many characters and a meandering storyline detract from the entertainment. Nutshell review: Genrebending with intriguing concepts. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois (2021) is an epic read—816 pages spanning 200 years with a focus on Black and Indigenous women. Honoree Fanonne Jeffers’ novel is full of trauma, tragedy, and triumph in an ever-shifting timeline. Parallel excerpts from Du Bois’ works (songs) precede chapters that chronicle an American family from colonial slave trading through the Civil War to the present. Nutshell review: Heavy read, physically and psychologically. Kaia Alderson’s Sisters in Arms (2021) follows two fictional women from Harlem serving in the factual Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps during WWII. They fought the Nazis and their own cultural biases while overcoming misogyny and racism. Their deployment was with the All-Black 6888th Battalion in Europe, which was tasked with clearing warehouses of undelivered mail to ensure soldiers at the front heard from their loved ones. Nutshell review: Rather disappointing in its paucity of actual occurrences to address underrepresented Black History.
