Abiodun Oyewole, editor of BLACK LIVES HAVE ALWAYS MATTERED, shares some thoughts on the subject.

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BLACK LIVES HAVE ALWAYS MATTERED, A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS, POEMS AND PERSONAL NARRATIVES, edited by Abiodun Oyewole, extends beyond the Black Lives Matter movement’s primary agenda of police brutality to acknowledge that even when affronted with slavery, segregation and Jim Crow, racial injustice and inequality, black lives have always mattered. While written primarily by African American poets, writers, activists and scholars, selections are also from people of the Latino and African diasporas and white activists. Collectively, these 79 contributors provide a call-to-action that challenges readers to confront long-held values and beliefs about black lives, as well as white privilege and fragility, as it surveys the historical and contemporary ravages of racism and its persistence of structural inequality. More importantly, BLACK LIVES HAVE ALWAYS MATTERED provides a first-hand perspective to a problem known to the African American community long before the Black Lives Matter movement revealed it to the general public: that black lives have always mattered. Connecting the past to the present, the contributors of BLACK LIVES HAVE ALWAYS MATTERED provide an eye-opening and engaging collection that has the potential to reignite a broader push for black liberation and equality for all.

Short video about the book, THE BEIGING OF AMERICA

Introducing THE BEIGING OF AMERICA, an anthology of personal narratives by 39 mixed race writers, teachers, scholars, artists and activists. Edited by Cathy J. Schlund-Vials, Sean Frederick Forbes, and Tara Betts. Published by 2Leaf Press, 2017. Available in print and ebook editions..

A poem by BLACK LIVES HAVE ALWAYS MATTERED contributor, Bob McNeil, which was excerpted in the BLHAM video.

Branches of the Tree of Life (2014) by Abiodun Oyewole

Hey Yo! Yo Soy! (2012) by Jesus Papoleto Melendez

Broke Baroque (2013) by Tony Medina

Last of the Po’Ricans y Otros Afro-artifacts (2014) by Not4Prophet, Graphics by Vagabond

Our Nuyorican Thing (2014) by Samuel Diaz Carrion

Branches of the Tree of Life (2014) by Abiodun Oyewole

Last of the Po’Ricans y Otros Afro-artifacts (2014) by Not4Prophet, Graphics by Vagabond