Who’s Afraid of
Post-Blackness?
What It Means to
Be Black Now
by Touré ’89
Free Press, September 2011
In the 21st century, racial attitudes have become more complicated and nuanced than ever. Inspired by a president unlike any Black man ever seen on America’s national stage, many are searching for new ways of understanding Blackness.
Commentator and journalist Touré begins his book by examining the concept of “Post-Blackness,” a term defining artists who are proud to be Black but don’t want to be limited by identity politics and boxed in by race. He discovers that the desire to be rooted in but not constrained by Blackness is everywhere. In Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? he argues that Blackness is infinite, that any identity imaginable is Black, and that all expressions of Blackness are legitimate.
The author divulges stories of how race and racial expectations have shaped his life, and he explores how the concept of Post-Blackness functions in politics, society, psychology, art, culture and more. His book includes the thought-provoking ideas and opinions of cultural icons Cornel West, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Malcolm Gladwell, Melissa Harris-Perry, Chuck D, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and many more. Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? delivers a clarion call on race in America and how we can change our perceptions for a better future.