In Praise of Black Performance

This book is such an immersive read and I was simultaneously transported and transfixed by the stories and examinations of a variety of Black performances. Abdurraqib seamlessly connects the personal to the national to even the global. Reading this gave me the sense of Black performance as a fractal where individual performances, whether by professional vocalists or even dancers in a high school gym, are representative of the larger collective.

Many of the essays and explorations are of musicians and vocalists though not necessarily completely focused on their musical performances. The author looks at Black funerals as performance, writing specifically about Michael Jackson and then, at length, Aretha Franklin. Being unable to leave the topic of Aretha, Abdurraqib writes about Amazing Grace, the documentary released a year after Franklin’s passing. Aretha Franklin didn’t want the live footage of her “Amazing Grace” recording released, and the author provides much-needed background and detail about the live recording and more.

From Josephine Baker to spades, magical negroes to minstrel shows, this book may not cover the breadth of Black performance but the carefully curated assortment creates a fascinating tapestry spanning over a century. I love how the author connects things that are seen as archaic, like blackface, to the ways that they regularly occur in the present day.

This book made me think deeply and critically of so many things that I hadn’t previously considered. Michael Jackson was not the first to moonwalk, and not only does the author unveil the history, but he then connects this to one of my favorite subjects and vibes, Afrofuturism. Black people have a long history of imagining ourselves among the stars, whether it be Octavia E. Butler, Billy Dee Williams, or even Patti Labelle.

If you, like me, have had this book on your TBR it is time to pick it up.