Black Card

by Chris L. Terry

With dark humor, Chris L. Terry’s Black Card is an uncompromising examination of American identity. In an effort to be “black enough,” a mixed-race punk rock musician indulges his own stereotypical views of African American life by doing what his white bandmates call “black stuff.” After remaining silent during a racist incident, the unnamed narrator has his Black Card revoked by Lucius, his guide through Richmond, Virginia, where Confederate flags and memorials are a part of everyday life.

Determined to win back his Black Card, the narrator sings rap songs at an all-white country music karaoke night, absorbs black pop culture, and attempts to date his black coworker Mona, who is attacked one night. The narrator becomes the prime suspect and earns the attention of John Donahue, a local police officer with a grudge dating back to high school. Forced to face his past, his relationship with his black father and white mother, and the real consequences and dangers of being black in America, the narrator must choose who he is before the world decides for him.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Race, Audiobook, Music, Literary Fiction, African American

253 pages, Hardcover

First published August 13, 2019

About the author

Chris L. Terry is the author of the novel Black Card, about a mixed-race punk bassist with a black imaginary friend. NPR called Black Card, "hilariously searing." Terry's debut novel Zero Fade was on Best of 2013 lists by Slate and Kirkus Reviews, who called it, "Original, hilarious, thought-provoking, and wicked smart...not to be missed."

Terry was born in 1979 to a black father and white mother. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he teaches creative writing. His work has appeared in Best Small Fictions 2015, PANK, Very Smart Brothas/The Root, Apogee, Razorcake, and more.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

looking for great books to read during black history month...and the other eleven months? i'm going to float some of my favorites throughout the month, and i hope they will find new readers!

UPDATE: so i went to chris' reading at books are magic and it went great, and afterwards it was all compressed signing-line longtime no see catching-up: howza wife and kid and swapping freelance woes



and then O LET US POSE FOR A PICTURE TOGETHER



rude.



forgiven.

************************

chris terry wrote another book! and it is great! i loved his debut, Zero Fade, which—being a small press YA title—did not get nearly as wide a readership as it deserved, and if there is any justice in this world,* this one will garner him all the attention it oughta and encourage readers to go back and discover Zero Fade, so i can finally be that annoying hipster scoffing about how iiii read it back in 2013.

this is an adult novel, but it is about that solipsistic period of young adulthood preoccupied with identity and the perception/estimation of others. which is already plenty of meaty self-absorption to grapple with, but the existential anxiety here is compounded for our unnamed narrator—just a stereotypical halfie having an identity crisis— by having grown up biracial in virginia, so light-skinned that racists don’t always realize they’re supposed to hate him, and never feeling black enough in spite of/because of being the only nonwhite person in his social circle of punk rock skateboarders—being mistaken for white erases half of me, and happens so often that I think I’ve failed at blackness.

this struggle to balance the two sides of his genetic heritage has been lifelong, and has gone both ways:

I was excited to go to a black high school because, finally, people wouldn’t ask me about the black guy who dropped me off, or my kinky hair, or why I liked rap.

Instead, I was asked about the white lady who picked me up, and my red hair, and the rock music I liked.

he particularly frets about his blackness; how unintentionally ’passing’ for white excludes him from living an authentic african-american existence; a concern that becomes a reality when he has his (laminated) black card revoked by lucius—an arriving-on-a-cloud-of-smoke spirit guide through black expectations—forcing him to scrutinize and adjust his own mannerisms and behaviors, even down to the way he walks, for ways to earn back his card, ruminating on that age-old koan:

If a black man does something and no one sees it, how can he know if what he did was black?

he test-drives the stereotypes, studies the role models for inspiration, tries to get to the heart of how to present as a black man in america:

I wanted to turn a shade blacker every time I hit a bass string, envisioning a funk bassist with star sunglasses and a five-pointed bass; a jazz musician with his head back, the neck of his standup bass by his ear; even a lanky baseball pitcher folding himself into a crane shape on the mound before unleashing a fastball. Anything that read as black and performing.

and then he discovers he is just black enough to become a suspect in a violent crime he didn’t commit.

yay?

it’s sharp and funny and bright: all-too-realism with a whisper of magical realism, and voicey in the best possible way. go! buy! read!


* i just checked and it turns out there’s not. read these books anyway.

come to my blog!

[Paris (parisperusing) · Rating 2 out of 5]

It pains me what I have to say about Chris L. Terry's Black Card. This novel could have been so much more effective than it was, but its potential, sadly, was marred by its own exploitation every black stereotype you could imagine. That isn't, however, the bone I have to pick with Black Card — it was the lazy unwillingness to correct or debunk these stereotypes.

In an effort to win back his "Black Card" — the figurative token of black acceptance that’s made real in the book — after being a silent bystander to a racist incident, our unnamed “Tragic Mulatto” (half-white, half-black) does "black stuff" to appeal to the whims of his white friends while trying to earn the respect of a “Magical Negro” figure called Lucius, who nevertheless remains unsatisfied with his attempts to prove he is black.

The issue with these stories, unbeknownst to white people, is they are terribly predictable and formulaic, as any black person will tell you: TM employs token black person to "teach" them how to be black, TM struggles to explain their identity to all-white friend group, TM remains shockingly indifferent to blatant acts of racism against blacks, TM tries (and sometimes succeeds) to charm Mona, that one black girl in his life who he reduces to a stepping stone, TM "discovers" his blackness via "old school hip-hop and R&B,” TM confronts white person/friends to no avail whatsoever, and despite these bland efforts, TM somehow arrives at the conclusion that their mixed race doesn't negate their blackness, and that blackness itself cannot be "taught" — yet somehow forgets to correct the problematic assumptions that led him to this revelation to begin with. (How, Sway?)

This may sound cruel, but I have to be honest. What turned me off most about this book is the fact that the storyteller — who is already so far removed from the black experience as it is for being half-white and white-passing — has the unmitigated gall to mock blackness in a way with no purpose that isn't self-serving. Any time the speaker makes even the slightest endeavor to confront racism/stereotypes against black people, he essentially gives up.

Again, no correction.

There are moments in this book when the narrator cringingly inserts an awkward R&B song or hip-hop reference or bursts into bits of black sketch comedy (?), others when he and the Magical Negro are mocking Ebonics — like "practicing our 'muhfukkas'" (??) — and another when he learns something traumatic has happened to Mona — the only girl he pines after in the entire book — yet makes no real effort (besides sending a weak-ass text message) to check on her well-being. The latter incident also struck a nerve with me as the only "real" black female character in this story is subjected to violence at the hands of someone white, and with impunity at that. Did I mention there’s a "wigger" type in this story? My god…

Not a single page wastes space to indulge in black stereotypes, yet refuses to make equal efforts to deconstruct those ignorant ideas, as if to say, "It is what it is." For what it's worth, I did appreciate the narrator's (albeit short-lived) discourse with Mona in which they challenge notions of blackness being synonymous with playing into stereotypes in one's actions, speech, and behavior, which is why I was all the more disappointed this wasn't delineated upon throughout the entirety of the book.

Overall, Black Card does little to refute the very serious, very racist theories white people have about blacks as it is, but satirizing blackness, our language, and mannerisms in an effort to solicit sympathy for any tragic mulatto figure is dangerously problematic. Nothing's the matter with using satire to educate your readers, as good satire is designed to do, but if you're going to satirize stereotypes about black people you should keep that same energy when correcting them. Period.

With all due respect, though, thanks Catapult for gifting me a free copy of this book.

If you liked my review, feel free to follow me @parisperusing on Instagram.

[Traci Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of corny and sort of good and a fun little read about race. I loved the author’s voice and the main character. It sort of felt like reading Atlanta the TV show. I didn’t get it all, and some didn’t land, and it gets lost in the last 1/3 but over all I enjoyed it.

[James Spooner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Terry beat me to the punch. This book has all the stuff I’d put into a book of writing about my own life.
He writes about mixed race identity and punk rock in a way that only someone who has lived it could.
I recommend this to anyone who has an interest in either.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean...this is just a tragic ass story that had so much promise. The narrator is just tiresome and is trying to be black by playing into damn near every black stereotype. Homie even has a Magical Negro Friend who's straight up the embodiment of a hood ni**a because he thinks that what the gatekeeper of "blackness" looks like and who is the only individual who can give him his Black Card. It's a mess of stereotypes, predictable tropes, and just pointless events; which can sometimes be the biracial experience in a nutshell (and that's the only reason why I'm not giving this 1-star).

[Nia Forrester · Rating 5 out of 5]

You ever read a book that you're just happy was written? 'Black Card' is one such book for me. I mean, there have been a couple of those this year, but this one in particular felt timely and important. I read about this book long before it was released, and admit I was somewhat disappointed that it was going to be satire. I like writing, thinking, speaking, reading about race and identity, race and politics, race and relationships ... and it feels weighty, but like it deserves that weight. It feels like we don't often contemplate its meaning seriously, and hide behind platitudes like, 'race is a social construct' or 'race is a fiction', neither of which acknowledges that quite apart from the physiological or biological, race can and does have real significance. So anyway, because of that, experimental treatments of the subject usually wind up making me annoyed. But Chris L. Terry, I know, was writing in part from personal experience as a biracial man who pursued life choices not considered "Black enough." Because of Chris Terry's own experience, I understood why a satirical approach might give him both the distance and freedom to express what he wanted, no matter how outrageous others might find it. And also, he knows things about this experience that I cannot, so I can only approach his treatment of it with a completely open mind.

In 'Black Card', our unnamed protagonist is a punk rocker. As an aside, Chris Terry, like the protagonist, was a punk rocker, a choice which helped him inadvertently 'pass' as white at times. He notes that punk grew from ska, a Jamaican music form that is very much Black, but yeah ... since most people don't know that, punk gets labeled as white when its roots are not. Anyways, I digress. With his Black father and white mother, the protagonist never experienced what he believes is "real Blackness." He doesn't walk correctly, use the right slang, wear the right clothes, look completely identifiably Black (except to Black people who he says know how to recognize each other in a hostile world -- I say that all the time!!), nor listen to the "right" music. But thankfully he has "Lucius" his Blackness spirit guide who helps him earn his Black Card by critiquing his responses to occurrences both routine and exceptional in his daily life.

What would a Black man say? Do? Think? in each circumstance? Our protagonist doesn't always know, so Lucius coaches him. That coaching is by turns comic, stereotypical, tragic and poignant, distracting us from, then eventually leading us to understand both the complexity of the biracial protagonist's existence (Black, yet not; white, yet not) and the way Blackness seems to exist both within him (his father's blood) and outside of him, in the belief systems of people around him about what Black people are like.

Lucius is his externalized Blackness come to life, illustrating all of the stereotypes about Black men from the verifiable to the ridiculous (e.g., high swagger quotient, pronouces 'motherfucker' MUH-FUKKA with emphasis on the MUH); but he is also the sage who will lead our protagonist to a core realization about who he is, and what it means to be Black.

I enjoyed this book. But, if you don't enjoy experimental devices in fiction, you could find it exasperating. Almost all of the characters are there to illustrate a point about race, so it might be frustrating when their "storyline" is not tied up neatly, or even much developed beyond their utility to make that point. Nevertheless, I highlighted a lot of this book, and recommend it. It satisfied me, completely.

[Uriel Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris L. Terry’s hilariously unnerving novel, ‘Black Card,’ grapples with questions of racial identity, pitting one mixed-race, punk-rocking barista against an alarmingly racist circle of friends and strangers, a police investigation that views him as the prime suspect of a violent crime, and the existential threat of having lost his Black Card, the lone tie to his Blackness.

‘Black Card’ is probing, revelatory and deftly toes it’s way through the murky waters of the bi-racial experience. Chris L. Terry is infinitely wise and the heir apparent to the likes of Paul Beatty and Percival Everett.

[Catapult · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Card is the satirical story of a mixed-race punk rock musician who, determined to win back his coveted Black Card, is suspected of a violent crime in early 2000s Richmond, Virginia, and is confronted with the alienation and everyday aggressions experienced in an absurd world divided by race.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

BLACK CARD takes the teenage search for the self through a sharp and surreal map of punk-southern-rap-rock Virginia, drawn and crossed in racial lines and guided by the heart and wit of Chris Terry’s indelible characters. A kickflip classic.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now there’s a boom for our times. Tapping directly into the vein of the race conversation, it does something slightly different, taking it out of the traditional black and white (literary and metaphorically) territory into something more nebulous and more difficult to define, biracialism.
The protagonist of this novel, just like the author (which raises questions of how much of this is autobiographical, but then I am not invested enough to do the research), has a black father and a white mother and looks mixed in a way that can pass for either. Which causes him a number of difficulties, especially since he is living in Richmond, VA, fresh at the dawn of the 21st century, a time and place that wokeness hasn’t reached yet or possibly avoided all together in the years to come, like much of the south.
Like most books about race, this is a challenging one to review. A challenging thing to talk about, really. A conversation about race is a conversation where everyone is right, because to imply otherwise would be to deny someone their personal experience. And at least in the US, everyone has got a personal experience and opinion on race. The language might have evolved, but the mentalities have barely done so, as always lagging behind the times.
So I can review the book easily enough, talk about how it’s a good coming of age story with a compelling main protagonist, how it’s dynamic and goes by so quickly and vivid in its descriptions of the punk scene and (misguided as if there’s any other kind) youth and a quest to find a way to belong and fit in with the society at large. Talk about how refreshing it was to have such young characters that weren’t annoying. Talk about the vague and somewhat unsatisfactory ending, Sure, there, a reasonably entertaining quick read. Done.
But the larger picture…that’s more complicated. Personally, I found it to be an interesting look into the dual quality of straddling the race fence, but there was something very primitive and reductive and clichéd about both of the races were perceived. Which makes some sense if you consider that the protagonist is just barely past the drinking age and has had limited life resume, but less so if you consider that it is written by a man who has personally experienced presumably at least some of what his character goes through and is twice that age. The protagonist is given to such narrow perspective of what it means to be black and to deserve his black car and it is appears primarily to be informed by pop culture and a spirit guide straight out of the Blaxploitation movie, pimp velvet track suit and all. So that might rub some people the wrong way.
But at any rate, it was a perfectly decent read, it entertained and stirred some thoughts up. I would have loved more for the protagonist, more of an ending, more of a resolve, outside of one (interesting and imaginatively done, liked the fantasy sequence a lot, actually) realization. Worth a read.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

“it’s easy to lose it when you’re looking for yourself”
.
4.5
.
Black Card is a satirical novel that reads almost like a memoir. It delicately explores life of a mixed race man living in the old confederate capitol of Richmond Va. Terry has created a work so searing and truthful that it makes you question the very logic which it defies. Facing off against topics on the hot stove of society these days and written with such complex fury that made it so effortless to fly through these pages. I also had a personal attachment to the novel as its set in the city I live in, so I knew every road, every neighborhood and place that Terry spoke of, making it even easier to be engulfed into the story and feel like I’m walking right next to the narrator the entire time
.
The unnamed narrator of black card can be assumed to be based off of Terry himself, the son of a black man and a white woman, the latter being who he most resembles, save for his hair. He also is in a punk band and grew up skateboarding and being surrounded by all white friends. His only black friend being Lucious, his guide to the life he so struggles to identify with but so desperately wants to acknowledge. Once he finally embraces and starts to explore his black identity he finds out the real dangers and consequences that come with it, and being surrounded by the southern city of Richmond crawling with confederate statue memorials and racist history the process of navigating this newfound selfhood isn’t easy. The so called coming of age and awakening of this literary character was an absolute joy to follow. With advanced praise from Danzy Senna, Samantha Irby, and Hanif Abduraraqib, Black card is a dark horse of a book that should be added to everyones to be read list. All my Richmond friends especially need to read this book, you will LOVE it!

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had high expectations and this book totally exceeded them. I don't often laugh out loud when reading but this book got me a few times. I can't recommend it enough. I've already given away one copy as a gift and it's only been out like a week.

[Joelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can pretty much see what he was going for but this book does unfortunately suck

[Lavon Youins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I myself am biracial (Black/Korean) who lives in the South, so I know firsthand the struggle concerning confederate monuments, microaggressions committed by friends - and having them allow others to openly racially-antagonize you directly. I also know the struggle of having to atone for turning your back on the maintained struggle of one's race in favor of a better chance of a good day. I also know forgiveness of self.
What Terry has done is not just written a story that is deeply personal to him, but he's written one that is intimately shared amongst all of us who are biracial and making the trek of navigated a white world. Introspective, enlightening, funny, and *very* engaging, "Black Card" was, to me, a call to arms in affirming one's identity, no matter what the makeup is.

[Tony DuShane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super fun read right from page one.

[Sarah Langan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got an advance copy of Chris Terry's Black Card. It's a propulsive coming of age story, about a mixed race kid who doesn't know who he is, or whether he should listen to the voices in his head.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strong language.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a poignant passage near the middle of Chris L. Terry’s new novel, Black Card, in which the unnamed protagonist reflects on cultural memory in his hometown in the South.

“There are only first impressions in Richmond.”

The narrator notes how people in the capital of Virginia refer to stores and restaurants by the names of previous establishments that have long gone out of business. That tendency to hold onto the past stagnates personal growth and makes it hard to reinvent oneself.

“If the city is full of flags supporting an army that lost over a century ago, it’s not gonna forget who you were last year.”

In other words, that phase someone went through in high school wasn’t a phase—it’s who they are and, to some extent, who they’ll always be.

This is particularly troubling for our hero: A 20-something young man with a Black father and a white mother, struggling to figure out who he is. His situation is confounded by his passion for punk rock. He plays in the local band Paper Fire and not only are most of his peers in the scene white, but they see him as one of them.

Black Card poses the question: What does one do when we’re caught between two cultures? In this case, the answer is to invent someone who understands. The protagonist has an ongoing dialogue with an imaginary friend named Lucius, who ultimately serves as something of an alter ego. Lucius is unambiguously Black and engages in stereotypically Black behavior. Only by acting and thinking more like Lucius can the narrator earn his Black card. Hijinks ensue.

Not surprisingly, the more the narrator embraces his Blackness, the more likely he is to experience racism. In Richmond, it’s part of the air he breathes.

“Racism here is often fancier than the Dixie flag bumper stickers you see next to race car logos on pick-up trucks. Lee is one of four statues of famous Confederates on Monument Avenue. It’s the ritziest street in the Fan, with a wide, grassy median, beautiful new town houses, and a new monument to a famous slaver every few blocks.”

Terry’s wry sense of humor and caustic wit is reminiscent of Joe Meno’s Hairstyles of the Damned and Todd Taylor’s Shirley Wins. Black Card is a powerful reflection on race and identity that packs a punk rock punch.

[Kaitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the majority of this book in two very long sittings (one at a bar, one at the Manhattan DMV, to give you an idea of how long) and, while I actually think it might be better-suited to short spurts, like a commute, I did really enjoy immersing myself in its world for that long. And while for quite a bit of this book I was thinking more along four stars, by the end I really felt like there was something a little brilliant about the novel, though it was tough to put my finger on exactly what.

The unnamed narrator (an author proxy, but it’s fine) is a mixed punk rocker living in Richmond. He’s so light skinned that he often passes for white around white people (but not around black people); all his friends are white (as punks tend to be); and he feels wildly uncomfortable around black people, including the girl he likes, who he perceives as thinking (not altogether incorrectly, at times) that black people don’t see him as “black enough.” The narrator feels caught between cultures—he wants to be black, but doesn’t feel he’s earned it by liking “white stuff.” Enter The Black Card, which he earns as a kid after many a “training session” with his friend Lucius. But after witnessing a racist situation (a bunch of hicks using the n-word indiscriminately, because they didn’t see any black people in the area and thought that made it okay) and not intervening, Lucius takes the Black Card away. And the narrator is desperate to get it back.

Look, here’s the thing about this book—it balanced very precariously. Between humor and seriousness, between “race is a construct” and “race is very real,” between success and failure as a conceit. I was pretty much waiting around for this book to collapse in on itself—it should have. But it didn’t. It’s not perfect—for example, there’s all these characters introduced, but you really shouldn’t expect much to come of them. The book is about the narrator and his journey, and so the cast doesn’t really matter much when it comes down to it. (Although the narrator is SUPER lame when it comes to dealing with the girl he’s crushing on getting attacked, in pretty much every way—that was kind of rough to watch, but mostly because it’d be how a lot of 21-year-old kids would react. I.e., with no sensitivity whatsoever and making it about themselves. But still, hard to read.)

But what made this book a little bit brilliant was Lucius. He’s introduced as the narrator’s friend but, over time, you realize that no one ever speaks to Lucius. He’s always there, but no one notices him. Because he’s actually the narrator’s spirit guide to blackness. The narrator feels so far removed from black culture that he made himself up his own magical negro to teach him how to be black. And Lucius is every black stereotype in the book—because that’s the only definition of blackness that the narrator has to work with when manifesting him. Lucius says it best himself: “We cut on the TV and see the same mess as white people. It gets in our heads, too.” It would; media is pervasive, and very often terrible to black people—it relies on stereotypes both thoughtlessly and maliciously. Chris Terry’s Black Card engages with those stereotypes thoughtfully in order to prove his point: that race doesn’t matter, except that it really does.

[Ashton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely fantastic. The story itself is well written and progresses with ease. The actual plot points and thought exercises within the story are where the novel becomes increasingly important to the race conversations happening in America today. I cannot recommend this novel enough to anyone who is aware of social stereotypes and prejudices and interested in being an upstanding member of their community.

[Antonio Depietro · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE this book. What a total surprise. Couldn't put it down. I guess it's about racial identity, but for me it seemed like that time in life when if you're lucky you're figuring out who you are and accepting it. Good insight about the Richmond punk scene which i have no clue about.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the stock pieces of writing advice for writers is "write what you know". This dude took it to heart. It rings true, just about everything rings so sincere and tactile that it's really ridiculous. From the cringey racism of white people at karaoke night, to the logistics of dirtbag punk band touring. It's a quick read, everything moves the plot forward, and there's enough magical realism/flashbacks/diversions that nothing ever gets slowed down by real life. I've never had a struggle with racial identity, but everybody has struggled with their identity at some point. This book really helps open that door to empathizing with people with struggles some of us hadn't even thought of.

[Alexander P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best of 2019. Brilliant prose, spot-on descriptions, and a main character you wish to spend more time than this wonderfully-paced novel gives you. This is definitely a book Terry should be eating off for years to come.

[Lizenbyl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a young gentlemen trying to figure out is he "black" or is he "white." The book started out slow and had a minimally effective plot. Book was a quick read.

[Lee Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick, affecting read about a biracial person's experiences of coming to terms with their intersectional identity in Richmond, VA. Black Card challenges racist tropes and cliches through a self-aware satirical lens, while simultaneously providing levity with a touch of magical realism.

[james r. hise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do I start?!
This book was riveting. I couldn't put it down. It was powerful, emotional and completely relatable. The characters are so we'll developed I felt like I was reading a story about my friends. I can't wait to see what Chris L. Terry writes next!

[Rami Jubran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this book without knowing much about it except that i liked Chris L. Terry as a person. I did not expect to connect with this book as much as i did, especially not being black. As a person whose ethnicity is just as difficult to guess as the narrator of the book, it put into a words a lot of things i've felt throughout my life.

The book itself is fantastic and quick, its a moment in time and reminded me a lot of "The Hate U Give" as they both deal with difficult situations around race and police although that's not the point of the story, its about finding yourself and your "Us".

[Pete Hsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my kind of book! Smart, funny and heartbreaking.

The unnamed protagonist is a mixed-race black guy in Virginia who’s trying to navigate his conflicted desire to: (1) continue participating within the levels of racist America while also (2) desperately (re)claim his black identity. It’s a heartfelt and entertaining read that takes a stark turn forcing the narrator to confront what it really means to be a black man in America.

[Erika Kraus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in the giveaway! I was entertained and interested throughout the story and I already have someone in mind to pass it along to!

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

“This card entitles the brotha or sista who bears it to all black privileges, including, but not limited to: Use of the n-word, permission to wear flip-flops and socks, extra large bottles of lotion, use of this card as a stand-in for the BigJoker in a spades game, and, most important, a healthy and vocal skepticism of white folks aka crackers aka honkies. To be renewed in five years, upon evaluation.” (Pg. 7)

Getting back to a physical read and got this one a year ago (thanks Facebook Memories for the reminder of when I went to the American Book Festival and got so many free ARCs) Amazing reading day and when I picked up this non-descript plain book scheduled to be released August 2019 with the provocative title about the infamous and always elusive “Black Card” every black person carries to assimilate into the culture---
“I felt excluded from blackness, and like it was my fault that I couldn’t fix it….” (Pg. 64)

This one starts off with an unnamed narrator--a mixed race pale freckled faced reddish brown haired punk rock loving guitar playing boy just getting into his life and trying to understand where he comes from after he moves to a new neighborhood and gets a new education from his only black friend Lucius..….all right on the heels of his Black Card getting renewed...--

“Now that’s the way to laugh,” said Lucius. “We don’t cheese. They don’t need to see our teeth. This ain’t a slave auction”............”I know you been having your doubts. You were black by default growing up around all those white folks in the suburbs, but this move changed a few things. You finally got around us brothas and realized them rap tapes didn’t make you black.” (Pg. 5)

As his card is up for renewal in 2007 the most awful thing happens--on a band trip his band member's father gets flagrant out the mouth and his offense for not defending his people is the taking of his Black Card….
“It’s not your no more. You let those crackers act a fool and didn’t say a damn thing. Your pale, mixed ass just sat there like some sorta white boy. So that’s what you are. You ain’t black no more.” (Pg. 36)

The book moves through his different experiences like having a crush on a black girl for the first time and coming in contact with ‘wiggers’ or white people who acted black…
“That’s what would piss me off about Donahue, and other wiggers I encountered: their blackness was a cartoon put-on that ignored black dignity.” (Pg. 67)

After his first date with a Mona, the black girl he works with and gets into another first and that is the first time he is arrested and put in a drunk tank for the night--and if things couldn’t get any worse his date is almost raped in her apartment right after he leaves..Scared and confused Mona gives a description that resembles him and things get even crazier…

“...the minute Mona told the cops about me, she’d given me something. She’d made it so I’d never, ever doubt that I was black, no matter where I was.” (Pg. 201)

As the book nears its end so does our narrator’s journey into who he is as he realizes his cousin had been fooling him the entire time--there is no ‘Black Card’ we all have and your experiences in the skin you are make you black---

“I’d got what I’d been trying to get, but it wasn’t what I thought I wanted. “Being black isn’t a club,” I told Lucius. There are no ins and outs.” He nodded….”We’re all in, all the time,” he said. “You don’t really need black lessons from me. The world’s a goddamn black lesson.” (Pg. 239)

“You always been black. White people want you to think it feels different because they think it would. That’s how they justify treating us worse….You’re you. Only thing that should feel different is that you are always kinda mad.” (Pg. 240)

This one ends with a lot of loose ends but such is life and I appreciate it for being real and ending with so much more to say..this was not a typical book and the ‘twist’ is easy to see but needed for our narrator to see who he is and how his experiences make him black just as much as his parents do..I learned alot about punk rock and a different way of life than I have ever heard of but this was enjoyable and fast to read and learn about prejudices and microaggressions as well as the age old question--What does it mean to be black?? Ah as you learn here and everyday it varies for everyone, its empowering, dangerous, magical and amazing no matter how you experience it..An adult read that I will pass on to other reading friends--this would be interesting to get someone else’s perspective on …..