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A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance by
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Jen R.
is on page 65 of 320
The magic of it all. The literal magic, that which exists to give a suspension to belief. That which exists to wash away the knowing of a wretched world and replace it with another. What appears when there was once nothing. What miracles a love for our people bends us toward.
— 4 minutes ago
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Jen R.
is on page 60 of 320
I say I love my people and I mean there is a language that is only ours, and within that language there is shelter. But when I speak that language into the world, I know how eager the world might be to bend it to its own desires.
— 24 minutes ago
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Jen R.
is on page 38 of 320
I think about the small but important distance between gospel as popular music and gospel as a vehicle for salvation: how it is possible to take in the music without much concern for salvation, but still be carried off to a place that feels holy.
— Feb 05, 2026 11:41AM
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Jen R.
is on page 30 of 320
because I think what Michael meant when he sang “Don’t stop 'til you get enough" is that a river must be built out of what the dancing can offer so that we might float once again off grief's island.
— Feb 05, 2026 10:54AM
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Jen R.
is on page 28 of 320
(On Black funerals) … It is continuing in the tradition of Black Americans attempting to protect and enlarge their own narratives. A tradition that has been present since being forced into America, knowing that there were stories and history and lives to be honored beyond this place.
— Feb 05, 2026 10:44AM
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Jen R.
is on page 21 of 320
I have claimed the fantasy of kinship with so many of you, my dear cousins from another life. I have watched your leather and your pearls spin down the rhythmic labyrinth of that immaculate nighttime. … Every time I take to a dance floor and can't keep up, I am looking back and praying you all will open up a path with some unbreakable light at the end.
— Feb 04, 2026 12:44PM
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Jen R.
is on page 12 of 320
It occurs to me now that this was the real joy of dancing: to enter a world unlike the one you find yourself burdened with, and mine your body toward nothing but a prayer that time might slow down.
— Feb 04, 2026 12:01PM
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Jen R.
is on page 10 of 320
& so it is safe to say that I only danced along the slick surface of my basement floor with the moon out & all the lights in the house out & the television playing hits & this wasn't exactly practicing dance moves as much as it was learning the different directions my limbs could flail in & there is no church like the church of unchained arms being thrown in every direction in the silence of a sleeping home (3)
— Feb 04, 2026 11:26AM
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Kisha
is 90% done
I am struggling thru this book. But I am determined to finish it.
— Feb 04, 2026 10:38AM
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