Time to pull away from the notion that we can just dump our racism on the south and walk away, Imani Perry takes us to the south and what she sees in South to America.
Americans need to learn how to better understand our history. So many people try to twist America into an exceptionalism pretzel without looking at our many flaws and mis-steps. This book goes state by southern state describing the history of the American south.
Perry is jaunty and thoughtful in her writing. She is very engaging and comes at the thorny issue of race from unique and thought provoking angles but I found the book absent a real through line and it was jumpy. Going from one place to another without rhyme or reason. Once settled in, each state was given its due but I found it overall not organized and a bit too memoir leaning.
To pair with this book, I want people to try a beer from a brewery or a state that you currently hold a low opinion of. For me, that could be a brewery that focuses on pastry stouts or goopy fruited beers. Then taste it and try to see why that style puts you off, try to understand it. Walk in that beer’s shoes.