Carol Anderson, “White Rage,” from The Washington Post. Copyright © 2014. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Tradition” by Jericho Brown. Copyright © 2016 by Jericho Brown.
Garnette Cadogan, “Black and Blue,” from Freeman’s: Arrival. Copyright © 2015. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Message to My Daughters” by Edwidge Danticat. Copyright © 2016 by Edwidge Danticat.
“The Weight” by Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah. Copyright © 2016 by Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah.
“Composite Pops” by Mitchell S. Jackson. Copyright © 2016 by Mitchell S. Jackson.
“The Dear Pledges of Our Love” by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. Copyright © 2016 by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers.
“Homegoing, AD” by Kima Jones. Copyright © 2016 by Kima Jones.
“Da Art of Storytellin’ (a prequel)” by Kiese Laymon, first published in the Oxford American. Copyright © 2015 by Kiese Laymon.
“This Far: Notes on Love and Revolution” by Daniel José Older. Copyright © 2016 by Daniel José Older.
“Know Your Rights!” by Emily Raboteau. Copyright © 2016 by Emily Raboteau.
Claudia Rankine, “The Condition of Black Life Is One of Mourning,” first published in The New York Times Magazine (June 22, 2015). Copyright © 2015 by Claudia Rankine and The New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Queries of Unrest” by Clint Smith. Copyright © 2016 by Clint Smith.
Natasha Trethewey, “Theories of Time and Space,” from Native Guard: Poems. Copyright © 2016 by Natasha Trethewey. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Lonely in America” by Wendy S. Walters is reprinted from the work entitled Multiple/Divide: On the American Real and Surreal. Copyright © 2014 by Wendy S. Walters. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of PCI Books, Inc., www.PCIbooks.org.
“Cracking the Code” by Jesmyn Ward, first published on NewYorker.com. Copyright © 2015 by Jesmyn Ward. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Introduction” by Jesmyn Ward. Copyright © 2016 by Jesmyn Ward.
Isabel Wilkerson, “Where Do We Go From Here?” first published in Essence. Copyright © 2015 by Essence Communications, Inc. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Blacker Than Thou” by Kevin Young. Copyright © 2016 by Kevin Young.