The Nickel Boys." IMHO, this man is one of the best American writers working today.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/20/colson-whitehead-reality-is-kids-shot-by-racist-copsThe Nickel Boys, like many novels about black American history, is a horror story, grotesque and gothic. Set in the 60s, it follows Elwood Curtis – young and idealistic – as he works diligently under the watch of his strict grandmother to win admission to a local college, only to have that future wrenched away from him because of an innocent mistake. He’s whisked away to the “Nickel Academy” where he does his best to resist being brutalised and hatches an escape plan with his cynical pal, Turner.
You can compare this case to what happened in Catholic orphanages or in aboriginal camps,” Whitehead observes. “Any place where you have corrupt, malevolent authority figures who can exert their will on the innocent and powerless, then you’re going to have this: the school as a plantation.” The ease with which these metaphors connect slavery to the present day is, he believes, very telling. “In terms of institutional racism and segregation and white law enforcement attitude towards black people: you can say something from 1850 is true for now.
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