"... underneath, one could feel, was the same frustration many of us feel in Black America: citizens, but not quite citizens, free but not quite free, native people who often feel like we are singing songs in a strange land, in a land that does not really value us as whole human beings." (When We Free The World, Kevin Powell)
When We Free The World by Kevin Powell is an examination of the personal impact of America's oft-skewed and irreparable systems that allow for the compromise of freedom; leaving one to question if they are in fact free?
What makes this book relatable is that while it exposes the damage done by America in this elusive journey toward freedom, it doesn't stop there. It isn't just a systemic evaluation, but also reveals the mental tussle we are often thrust into, contributing to the emotional tightropes we tend to have to manage, just for survival. This in turn results in tremendous collateral damage when combined with a fractured and unjust system.
When We Free The World is deeply personal, at times painfully transparent, but a much needed literary illustration of how America's failing political structures; specifically racism and sexism can unleash a barrage of traumas that we are left to attempt to heal from.