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The Trayvon Generation
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Nonfiction (2022)From a Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author and poet comes a galvanizing meditation on the power of art and culture to illuminate America's unresolved problem with race.
*Named a Most Anticipated Title of 2022 by TIME magazine, New York Times, Bustle, and more*
In the midst of civil unrest in the summer of 2020 and following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, Elizabeth Alexander—one of the great literary voices of our time—turned a mother's eye to her sons’ and students’ generation and wrote a celebrated and moving reflection on the challenges facing young Black America. Originally published in the New Yorker, the essay incisively and lovingly observed the experiences, attitudes, and cultural expressions of what she referred to as the Trayvon Generation, who even as children could not be shielded from the brutality that has affected the lives of so many Black people.
The Trayvon Generation expands the viral essay that spoke so resonantly to the persistence of race as an ongoing issue at the center of the American experience. Alexander looks both to our past and our future with profound insight, brilliant analysis, and mighty heart, interweaving her voice with groundbreaking works of art by some of our most extraordinary artists. At this crucial time in American history when we reckon with who we are as a nation and how we move forward, Alexander's lyrical prose gives us perspective informed by historical understanding, her lifelong devotion to education, and an intimate grasp of the visioning power of art.
This breathtaking book is essential reading and an expression of both the tragedies and hopes for the young people of this era that is sure to be embraced by those who are leading the movement for change and anyone rising to meet the moment.
*Named a Most Anticipated Title of 2022 by TIME magazine, New York Times, Bustle, and more*
In the midst of civil unrest in the summer of 2020 and following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, Elizabeth Alexander—one of the great literary voices of our time—turned a mother's eye to her sons’ and students’ generation and wrote a celebrated and moving reflection on the challenges facing young Black America. Originally published in the New Yorker, the essay incisively and lovingly observed the experiences, attitudes, and cultural expressions of what she referred to as the Trayvon Generation, who even as children could not be shielded from the brutality that has affected the lives of so many Black people.
The Trayvon Generation expands the viral essay that spoke so resonantly to the persistence of race as an ongoing issue at the center of the American experience. Alexander looks both to our past and our future with profound insight, brilliant analysis, and mighty heart, interweaving her voice with groundbreaking works of art by some of our most extraordinary artists. At this crucial time in American history when we reckon with who we are as a nation and how we move forward, Alexander's lyrical prose gives us perspective informed by historical understanding, her lifelong devotion to education, and an intimate grasp of the visioning power of art.
This breathtaking book is essential reading and an expression of both the tragedies and hopes for the young people of this era that is sure to be embraced by those who are leading the movement for change and anyone rising to meet the moment.
146 pages, Hardcover
First published April 5, 2022
81 people are currently reading
18861 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Alexander
104 books456 followersElizabeth Alexander is a Quantrell Award-winning American poet, essayist, playwright, university professor, and scholar of African-American literature and culture. She teaches English language/literature, African-American literature, and gender studies at Yale University. Alexander was a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard during the 2007-08 academic year.
Alexander's poems, short stories, and critical writings have been widely published in such journals and periodicals as The Paris Review, American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, The Village Voice, The Women's Review of Books, and The Washington Post. Her play Diva Studies, which was performed at Yale's School of Drama, garnered her a National Endowment for the Arts creative writing fellowship as well as an Illinois Arts Council award.
On December 17th, 2008 it was announced that she will compose a poem which she shall recite at the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama in January 2009.
Alexander's poems, short stories, and critical writings have been widely published in such journals and periodicals as The Paris Review, American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, The Village Voice, The Women's Review of Books, and The Washington Post. Her play Diva Studies, which was performed at Yale's School of Drama, garnered her a National Endowment for the Arts creative writing fellowship as well as an Illinois Arts Council award.
On December 17th, 2008 it was announced that she will compose a poem which she shall recite at the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama in January 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 320 reviews
November 21, 2022
a book-length version of a new yorker essay i already loved? what a dream.
this was concise and powerful and very worth the read.
bottom line: pick this one up.
this was concise and powerful and very worth the read.
bottom line: pick this one up.
February 18, 2023
Visceral and profound, The Trayvon Generation is a collection of essays about how young Black people have been shaped and challenged by violence and hatred against them, in this age where the prevalence of smartphones has captured myriad images and videos of police brutality against Blacks.
She arduously describes what it's like to be the mother of Black children, especially boys who become men. She writes of the all-pervasive fear that they will not be allowed to grow up, or if they are, how their lives could be stolen from them for little reason other than the color of their skin.
Ms. Alexander writes poetically and passionately and I appreciate her openness. I couldn't help but feel her words as she lay bare her thoughts and emotions.
Interspersed through the book are images of art and poetry by other Black people, and I love the added dimension they gave to the essays.
I especially appreciate her inclusion of the poem 'Your National Anthem' by Clint Black. It's a poem all white Americans can learn from. You can watch it read here.
She arduously describes what it's like to be the mother of Black children, especially boys who become men. She writes of the all-pervasive fear that they will not be allowed to grow up, or if they are, how their lives could be stolen from them for little reason other than the color of their skin.
Ms. Alexander writes poetically and passionately and I appreciate her openness. I couldn't help but feel her words as she lay bare her thoughts and emotions.
Interspersed through the book are images of art and poetry by other Black people, and I love the added dimension they gave to the essays.
I especially appreciate her inclusion of the poem 'Your National Anthem' by Clint Black. It's a poem all white Americans can learn from. You can watch it read here.
March 18, 2022
With her lyrical style, Alexander reflects on how young Black people have been shaped by the murders of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and others. I love the way Alexander includes examples of art and poetry to illuminate the trauma of racism. Wise and thought provoking.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for sending me an ARC.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for sending me an ARC.
April 22, 2022
Building on an essay written for the New Yorker in 2020, Elizabeth Alexander touches upon what appear to be the key elements of the Black experience of the past decade, or more. Her initial concern is the Trayvon generation, those young people who have come of age since Trayvon Martin was killed in 2012. This includes her two sons who are now young men. She writes of her fears as a Black mother who sends her sons out into a dangerous world, but also of her pride in their accomplishments and those of their friends. But how will this generation ever feel safe in this country after all they have witnessed since Trayvon’s death.
Using cultural stepping stones of art, music and poetry, Alexander takes us through some of the more harrowing moments of Black experience in the past century. Her stories of Angola prison are like none I’ve read before. I found myself noting names of films, books of poetry and poets that are new to me as I read.
As a white person, my life experience cannot be the same as Alexander’s but I do share a sense of horror when I see what happened to George Floyd and many other events of recent years. And her worries for her sons and other Black children feel so very real given what is happening in our world.
Alexander is a brilliant wordsmith and brings her experience and those of the people she celebrates to life in a meaningful way. I recommend this book and plan to read it again.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Using cultural stepping stones of art, music and poetry, Alexander takes us through some of the more harrowing moments of Black experience in the past century. Her stories of Angola prison are like none I’ve read before. I found myself noting names of films, books of poetry and poets that are new to me as I read.
As a white person, my life experience cannot be the same as Alexander’s but I do share a sense of horror when I see what happened to George Floyd and many other events of recent years. And her worries for her sons and other Black children feel so very real given what is happening in our world.
Alexander is a brilliant wordsmith and brings her experience and those of the people she celebrates to life in a meaningful way. I recommend this book and plan to read it again.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
March 23, 2022
I would not presume to understand how it must feel to be a Black mother of two promising, curious, loving sons who, in this day and age, must be protected from a nation that does not deserve them.
Nor can I imagine being forced to embrace a reality where children are shot carrying a bag of Skittles, playing with a toy gun in front of a gazebo, holding a cell phone, dancing like a marionette – in other words, just being kids.
The only way to move forward to confront this reality – and to do everything in our power to fix it – is through words. Elizabeth Alexander writes, “…if we believe that striving for absolute truth with the word is one of the ways that human beings an communicate deeply enough in order to overcome that which is not understood between us…might we ask: What is the power of our words? How are we responsible for them? What can we do with the , and do words move us closer to the hoped-for ideal of beloved community?”
This spare but powerful book is proof absolute that words do move us closer. By using history (which does repeat itself – the current campaign against critical race theory is almost identical to the campaign used against John Hope Franklin’s groundbreaking book in the 1960s), as well as poetry, literature, and personal experience, this Pulitzer Prize finalist and empathetic human being’s voice is ever-strong.
One of the saddest and most astounding examples she gives is a question – from an academic, no less – whether “Blacks cry.” If they don’t cry, after all, they’re not really human, are they? The answer, of course, is YES, they cry. And we should, too, for dehumanizing others for the ridiculous and trivial reason of a skin shade. Thanks to Grand Central for enabling me to be an early reader and for bringing this book to light. This is an honest review.
Nor can I imagine being forced to embrace a reality where children are shot carrying a bag of Skittles, playing with a toy gun in front of a gazebo, holding a cell phone, dancing like a marionette – in other words, just being kids.
The only way to move forward to confront this reality – and to do everything in our power to fix it – is through words. Elizabeth Alexander writes, “…if we believe that striving for absolute truth with the word is one of the ways that human beings an communicate deeply enough in order to overcome that which is not understood between us…might we ask: What is the power of our words? How are we responsible for them? What can we do with the , and do words move us closer to the hoped-for ideal of beloved community?”
This spare but powerful book is proof absolute that words do move us closer. By using history (which does repeat itself – the current campaign against critical race theory is almost identical to the campaign used against John Hope Franklin’s groundbreaking book in the 1960s), as well as poetry, literature, and personal experience, this Pulitzer Prize finalist and empathetic human being’s voice is ever-strong.
One of the saddest and most astounding examples she gives is a question – from an academic, no less – whether “Blacks cry.” If they don’t cry, after all, they’re not really human, are they? The answer, of course, is YES, they cry. And we should, too, for dehumanizing others for the ridiculous and trivial reason of a skin shade. Thanks to Grand Central for enabling me to be an early reader and for bringing this book to light. This is an honest review.
March 1, 2022
The title essay at the center of this collection is really great. Alexander writes so beautifully. The book is so short and sharp. I sometimes felt unsure while reading or disconnected, but mostly I felt moved by this work.
February 5, 2023
Trayvon Martin should be turning 28 today (2/5/23). Instead, this month marks 11 years since his young life was cut short by a racist scumbag who was never held accountable for being a murderer.
In The Trayvon Generation Elizabeth Alexander expands on her original essay published with the same title, in 2020.
“I call the young people who grew up in the past twenty-five years the Trayvon Generation. They always knew these stories. These stories formed their world view. These stories helped instruct young African-Americans about their embodiment and their vulnerability. The stories were primers in fear and futility. The stories were the ground soil of their rage. These stories instructed them that anti-black hatred and violence were never far.”
This book is thin but packs a punch. It’s a must read and includes beautiful artwork.
I also highly recommend Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin written by Trayvon’s parents. The book is moving, devastating and infuriating.
In The Trayvon Generation Elizabeth Alexander expands on her original essay published with the same title, in 2020.
“I call the young people who grew up in the past twenty-five years the Trayvon Generation. They always knew these stories. These stories formed their world view. These stories helped instruct young African-Americans about their embodiment and their vulnerability. The stories were primers in fear and futility. The stories were the ground soil of their rage. These stories instructed them that anti-black hatred and violence were never far.”
This book is thin but packs a punch. It’s a must read and includes beautiful artwork.
I also highly recommend Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin written by Trayvon’s parents. The book is moving, devastating and infuriating.
January 1, 2024
Elizabeth Alexander gives a poet-eyed view of the state of the world in the eyes of a black woman with sons 10 years after the senseless death of Trayvon Martin. How has the world changed and shockingly how much it has not. Reminiscent of Clint Smith's How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America. Poets have a way of showing absolute clarity in the prose. There were a myriad of topics discussed in the book to include the continued systemic violence against black people, racist monuments, textbooks, cemeteries, how to recapture history, prison pipeline, historical ignorance and dehumanizing of black people, a declaration that there will be black people in the future. The most affecting essay for me was "Shock of Comprehension" which describes a state of which one is oblivious to the toxicity (overt bigotry) as it has been normalized, then you finally notice it, it's like a shock to the system. And you can't unring a bell. Once you see one thing, you start noticing more and so it goes. Still. In 2023. I loved the book which is a love letter to people of color (specifically African Americans) to stay strong and strident and as Ketanji Brown Jackson said: "Persevere". It has art sprinkled throughout to give context to her points in the essays. It was quite profound and packed full of insight for such a short book. Genius!
4.5 Stars
Read on kindle
4.5 Stars
Read on kindle
November 1, 2022
this was a good book. i didn’t think it was phenomenal but the writing was great. i need to read some of this author’s poetry…
3.75 stars
3.75 stars
July 3, 2022
Brilliant! This small gem should be required reading in schools.
“Language is one of the ways we share our perspectives…language is how we say who we are…language is how we learn across difference. And language is in trouble.” Read this book.
“Language is one of the ways we share our perspectives…language is how we say who we are…language is how we learn across difference. And language is in trouble.” Read this book.
July 3, 2022
No words. No, that is wrong. Two words. Read this.
December 17, 2022
Literary scholar and skilled prose writer Elizabeth Alexander, pens a mighty meditation on the pressing issues of race in 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙫𝙤𝙣 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 that rock our nation at these crucial times. In this short, but essential work, Alexander divides her book into three distinctive parts to highlight the ways our nation has shifted and how we must learn to move forward despite the traumas we’ve endured. Part I warns us that we cannot let white supremacy reign in America as casual and normal as monuments and classrooms remained unchanged; Part II explains the inherent despair and pain of what it means to be housed in a Black body in American society; and Part III shows the future of Black life and personhood through art, creation, and healing. Alexander makes a unique contribution to history by moving us away from our wrongdoings.
At the height of this generation’s civil unrest—The George Floyd Era of 2020—America was at a turning point in our efforts to stop the brutality until riots exploded. As Alexander explains so poignantly “Black people did not create the problem; it’s a great societal head fake to look to us to solve problems not of our making and behaviors not of our doing.” Part II definitely unearthed emotions that felt chills like a second skin because police brutality is so common today—my eyes watered as I read parts. It was hard not to, which opens for an interesting segue, where Alexander includes a letter from 1905--an academic researcher asks W.E.B DuBois: “Does the negro shed tears?” So, fundamentally, are Blacks human?
Throughout 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙫𝙤𝙣 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, I love the way Alexander includes examples of visual art and poetry to illuminate the trauma of racism. Using the different artists in her work is a way to not only uplift their work, but also a way to help a culture heal and help others understand. Furthermore, Alexander contends, “Language is how we learn across difference. And [our] language is in trouble.” I believe there is a way forward in this generation, but it requires a language of love and freedom of Black life.
At the height of this generation’s civil unrest—The George Floyd Era of 2020—America was at a turning point in our efforts to stop the brutality until riots exploded. As Alexander explains so poignantly “Black people did not create the problem; it’s a great societal head fake to look to us to solve problems not of our making and behaviors not of our doing.” Part II definitely unearthed emotions that felt chills like a second skin because police brutality is so common today—my eyes watered as I read parts. It was hard not to, which opens for an interesting segue, where Alexander includes a letter from 1905--an academic researcher asks W.E.B DuBois: “Does the negro shed tears?” So, fundamentally, are Blacks human?
Throughout 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙫𝙤𝙣 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, I love the way Alexander includes examples of visual art and poetry to illuminate the trauma of racism. Using the different artists in her work is a way to not only uplift their work, but also a way to help a culture heal and help others understand. Furthermore, Alexander contends, “Language is how we learn across difference. And [our] language is in trouble.” I believe there is a way forward in this generation, but it requires a language of love and freedom of Black life.
July 6, 2023
The Trayvon Generation is a quick read for anyone wanting a better understanding of the unique plight of young black americans. This work spoke to me as I've been considering my own situation as a young black academic forced to watch as people like me are killed in the street without justice. Alexander writes from the perspective of a mother raising 2 black sons in “The Trayvon Generation". The name, derived from that of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black child killed by police in 2012, is a cold reminder of our generation's defining features. To Alexander, our generation is defined by our constant witnessing of police brutality. Through the media, we’ve learned the many names of those who were unjustly murdered by the state. I was only 11 when Trayvon was killed, but I remember it well. A young black boy shot down before he could become a young black man and I couldn't help but wonder if I would suffer a similar fate. This is the situation captured by Alexander's work as she describes how traumatizing this has been for young black America.
The glaring constraint operating on Alexander's work is she herself is not a member of the "Trayvon Generation”. While she writes in observation and empathy for her children who are, she herself cannot experience what she's describing firsthand. As a black academic, she is certainly capable of articulating their experience to a high quality, however, I would be interested in reading a similar work from her son's perspective. As I am around her son’s age, I offer my own.
The mental anguish young black America experience particularly during the summer of 2020 cannot be understated. As the entire world is suddenly isolated by the pandemic, protests erupt in a scene in some ways similar to fiction than reality. Even more suddenly, we are inundated with countless images and videos of people who look just like us being harassed and killed by police every single day. While social distancing, we took to the streets, organizing and calling for justice, summoning the strength of the murdered, and saying their names. Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. We say these names while remembering others' murders years ago, still without Justice. Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin, and many others.
What makes our experience unique is our connection to social media at this time. Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok stopped being places for innocuous social interaction and became hubs of organization for social justice movement. We watched activists acquire platforms to share when their protests would be held along with documentation of the damage done by the state. Videos of people from all walks of life peacefully marching were given equal real estate to videos that were similar but featured protesters being assaulted via arrest, rubber bullets, hoses, dogs, pepper spray, batons, and even sound cannons meant to make our eardrums burst. The use of social media was a double edge sword for us. One that connected us with resources to help make a difference but also allowed for 24/7 coverage of senseless political violence, further traumatizing a generation of individuals who already bare the weight of the world on our shoulders.
All of this considered, I’m proud to be a member of the Trayvon Generation. A generation that is more politically active and at a younger age. We are a generation that is tired. And we are a generation that is traumatized. Nevertheless, We are a generation that wants a better future.
The glaring constraint operating on Alexander's work is she herself is not a member of the "Trayvon Generation”. While she writes in observation and empathy for her children who are, she herself cannot experience what she's describing firsthand. As a black academic, she is certainly capable of articulating their experience to a high quality, however, I would be interested in reading a similar work from her son's perspective. As I am around her son’s age, I offer my own.
The mental anguish young black America experience particularly during the summer of 2020 cannot be understated. As the entire world is suddenly isolated by the pandemic, protests erupt in a scene in some ways similar to fiction than reality. Even more suddenly, we are inundated with countless images and videos of people who look just like us being harassed and killed by police every single day. While social distancing, we took to the streets, organizing and calling for justice, summoning the strength of the murdered, and saying their names. Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. We say these names while remembering others' murders years ago, still without Justice. Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin, and many others.
What makes our experience unique is our connection to social media at this time. Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok stopped being places for innocuous social interaction and became hubs of organization for social justice movement. We watched activists acquire platforms to share when their protests would be held along with documentation of the damage done by the state. Videos of people from all walks of life peacefully marching were given equal real estate to videos that were similar but featured protesters being assaulted via arrest, rubber bullets, hoses, dogs, pepper spray, batons, and even sound cannons meant to make our eardrums burst. The use of social media was a double edge sword for us. One that connected us with resources to help make a difference but also allowed for 24/7 coverage of senseless political violence, further traumatizing a generation of individuals who already bare the weight of the world on our shoulders.
All of this considered, I’m proud to be a member of the Trayvon Generation. A generation that is more politically active and at a younger age. We are a generation that is tired. And we are a generation that is traumatized. Nevertheless, We are a generation that wants a better future.
June 20, 2022
Told through art and heart.
October 15, 2022
Read it please
December 10, 2023
Breathtaking, heartbreaking, and hopeful. 🖤
April 21, 2022
16 of #20BooksByBlackWomen
March 4, 2022
The Trayvon Generation
by Elizabeth Alexander was originally an essay published in the New Yorker. The essay was a
reflection/analysis of the dangers facing young Black Americans. Now the essay has been integrated with art, poetry, and even a letter. The book looks at America’s unresolved problem with race. Parts of it broke my heart. It goes back in history and then ends with current events. On page 101 of the advanced copy is a 1905 letter from a man at a university asking for information on “whether a negro sheds tears”. This guy was seriously researching feelings. I cried at the poem on page 111 titled The Boy Died in My Alley. The artwork is kind of hard to see in the black and white printed ARC but the pieces of art are easy to look upon the internet to get the full feeling. My favorite piece is on page 17 by Mary Sibande titled The Reign. This is a small book that packs a powerful punch to the gut. Thank you Grand Central for sending me this to open my mind and heart to more understanding.
by Elizabeth Alexander was originally an essay published in the New Yorker. The essay was a
reflection/analysis of the dangers facing young Black Americans. Now the essay has been integrated with art, poetry, and even a letter. The book looks at America’s unresolved problem with race. Parts of it broke my heart. It goes back in history and then ends with current events. On page 101 of the advanced copy is a 1905 letter from a man at a university asking for information on “whether a negro sheds tears”. This guy was seriously researching feelings. I cried at the poem on page 111 titled The Boy Died in My Alley. The artwork is kind of hard to see in the black and white printed ARC but the pieces of art are easy to look upon the internet to get the full feeling. My favorite piece is on page 17 by Mary Sibande titled The Reign. This is a small book that packs a powerful punch to the gut. Thank you Grand Central for sending me this to open my mind and heart to more understanding.
January 2, 2023
I really wanted to like this book. The book is split into three parts, with the title part second and is only 18 pages.
I felt like a lot of the book was either written in a stream of consciousness style or was identifying historical segregations and wrongs. Although it identifies “the Trayvon Generation” in part two, along with a mother’s concerns over her sons growing up, it didn’t go further.
There are paintings, song lyrics, and poetry sprinkled throughout the book.
What this book didn’t have was any focus on the future of the title. There was plenty of focus on how the Black community has been repeatedly wronged throughout the history of this country, which I fully agree with and was aware of long before I picked up the book. There was never any solution identified.
I will fully admit that I’m being petty by dropping it from three stars to two because the edition I read was all glossy pages. I borrowed the book from my local library and it was clear I was either the first or a very early reader. Glossy page thumb burn is annoying. Like I said, petty.
I felt like a lot of the book was either written in a stream of consciousness style or was identifying historical segregations and wrongs. Although it identifies “the Trayvon Generation” in part two, along with a mother’s concerns over her sons growing up, it didn’t go further.
There are paintings, song lyrics, and poetry sprinkled throughout the book.
What this book didn’t have was any focus on the future of the title. There was plenty of focus on how the Black community has been repeatedly wronged throughout the history of this country, which I fully agree with and was aware of long before I picked up the book. There was never any solution identified.
I will fully admit that I’m being petty by dropping it from three stars to two because the edition I read was all glossy pages. I borrowed the book from my local library and it was clear I was either the first or a very early reader. Glossy page thumb burn is annoying. Like I said, petty.
November 5, 2022
Imagine you have a friend who is really poetic, smart, and knows a whole lot about modern poetry and contemporary art. She explains what it is like to live in her world, describes her worries, her history, the history of people she knows and their ancestors.
That’s what reading this slim book of brief essays by Elizabeth Alexander feels like. Having a leading voice of Black America sit down in your living room and talk to you. Friend to friend. As I read I felt sadness, fear, shame, kinship, and hope. This is a generous little book that opens the world up for people who haven’t lived life in this country the way our black neighbors have. I don’t think that’s why she wrote it, to speak to white people, but she spoke to me.
That’s what reading this slim book of brief essays by Elizabeth Alexander feels like. Having a leading voice of Black America sit down in your living room and talk to you. Friend to friend. As I read I felt sadness, fear, shame, kinship, and hope. This is a generous little book that opens the world up for people who haven’t lived life in this country the way our black neighbors have. I don’t think that’s why she wrote it, to speak to white people, but she spoke to me.
March 29, 2023
did i enjoy this book? no. do i think it’s imperative to read and understand its message? yes.
September 15, 2022
Super readable and doable within a long afternoon, but it didn't present a whole lot of new information to me and the style ultimately wasn't my cup of tea. But it did expose me to lots of compelling art and approaches racism in America from a variety of angles.
January 6, 2023
Alexander is poetic and cutting in this honest look at a generation growing up with a spotlight on the angst, atrocity, and outright racism aimed at black Americans.
This was a brutal and important read.
This was a brutal and important read.
May 5, 2024
Effective, moving, and short enough to read in one sitting. Highly recommend.
June 24, 2022
As someone part of the “Trayvon Generation” this book made me feel seen and empowered. I love her use of art to describe societal issues impacting the Black community and uplift artists making movements through their work.
July 1, 2022
Essays, artwork, and poetry — reminded me a little bit of Claudia Rankine’s Citizen. Alexander’s writing is devastating in its brutal simplicity. It’s a quick read, but the ideas will stay with you long after you finish reading.
June 19, 2022
Exquisite. Everyone should read this book. 5/5 stars isn't enough. The combination of visual art, poetry, stories and historical quotes, essay, and prose is profound and incredibly moving. How can I describe the way this book touched my soul? I could never do it justice.
January 22, 2022
READ. THIS. BOOK.
April 1, 2022
This was a 4.5 read for me.
thoughts coming shortly
thoughts coming shortly
April 1, 2022
First of all, I have to thank Grand Central Publishing and Elizabeth Alexander for sending me this finished copy of The Trayvon Generation... While it's so deeply saddening and defeating, this is the current corrupted society we are living in as Americans, where government officials are ruling like it's the 1860s and large extremist groups and lynching and mobbing to project hate.
The Trayvon Generation is a stoic collection of essays and prose meant to address white people as the oppressor of black people for hundreds of years. From owning black people as property to gunning them down in the street for holding a toy gun or driving without their seatbelt on... On most days, I'm severely embarrassed to be an America and wish I could pick up from the stupidity and move to a different country, but that would be selfish and privileged of me. As an ally it's my DUTY to speak up, stand up for the equality of all persons, regardless of their skin color, gender, background, influence, and class standing.
I am encouraging more people to pick this book up so we can all continue to learn and educate ourselves on the history of systemic racism that has plague our country so we can speak up and DO BETTER by our brothers and sisters from different cultural backgrounds and upbringings.
I am so honored to have received this copy in the mail and can't wait to spread the word to all of my friends!
BLACK LIVES MATTER
The Trayvon Generation is a stoic collection of essays and prose meant to address white people as the oppressor of black people for hundreds of years. From owning black people as property to gunning them down in the street for holding a toy gun or driving without their seatbelt on... On most days, I'm severely embarrassed to be an America and wish I could pick up from the stupidity and move to a different country, but that would be selfish and privileged of me. As an ally it's my DUTY to speak up, stand up for the equality of all persons, regardless of their skin color, gender, background, influence, and class standing.
I am encouraging more people to pick this book up so we can all continue to learn and educate ourselves on the history of systemic racism that has plague our country so we can speak up and DO BETTER by our brothers and sisters from different cultural backgrounds and upbringings.
I am so honored to have received this copy in the mail and can't wait to spread the word to all of my friends!
BLACK LIVES MATTER
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