Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People

Name: Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People
Author: Imani Perry
ISBN: 9780062977397

by Imani Perry

A surprising and beautiful meditation on the color blue—and its fascinating role in Black history and culture—from National Book Award winner Imani Perry Throughout history, the concept of Blackness has been remarkably intertwined with another color: blue. In daily life, it is evoked in countless ways. Blue skies and blue water offer hope for that which lies beyond the current conditions. But blue is also the color of deep melancholy and heartache, echoing Louis Armstrong’s question, “What did I do to be so Black and blue?” In this book, celebrated author Imani Perry uses the world’s favorite color as a springboard for a riveting emotional, cultural, and spiritual journey—an examination of race and Blackness that transcends politics or ideology.…

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"As we’ve become accustomed to scrolling through pictures mindlessly, it’s easy to forget that there can be deep meaning in what we see, stories in a single color. Imani Perry dives deep to explore what the color blue has represented for generations of Black people across continents. It’s a color that represents hope. A color that became a sound. It’s the history in the hue of indigo dye, so valued that indigo cloth was a major currency of the slave trade. It’s a color that, like Black culture itself, contains multitudes and Perry’s meditation renders it in profound clarity."

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