112 pages • 3 hours read
Jesmyn WardA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Before You Read
Summary
“The Tradition” by Jericho Brown
Introduction by Jesmyn Ward
“Homegoing, AD” by Kima Jones
“The Weight” by Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah
“Lonely in America” by Wendy S. Walters
“Where Do We Go from Here?” by Isabel Wilkerson
“‘The Dear Pledges of Our Love’: A Defense of Phillis Wheatley’s Husband” by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
“White Rage” by Carol Anderson
“Cracking the Code” by Jesmyn Ward
“Queries of Unrest” by Clint Smith
“Blacker Than Thou” by Kevin Young
“Da Art of Storytellin’ (a Prequel)” by Kiese Laymon
“Black and Blue” by Garnette Cadogan
“The Condition of Black Life Is One of Mourning” by Claudia Rankine
“Know Your Rights!” by Emily Raboteau
“Composite Pops” by Mitchell S. Jackson
“Theories of Time and Space” by Natasha Trethewey
“This Far: Notes on Love and Revolution” by Daniel José Older
“Message to My Daughters” by Edwidge Danticat
Key Figures
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Kiese Laymon’s essay begins by describing Catherine, his grandmother, enacting her morning routine before working as a “buttonhole slicer at a chicken plant” (117). She rose early, bathed, made breakfast, and cared for Laymon before leaving for work at this difficult, messy job in Mississippi. She took pride in doing the job well to bolster the reputations of other working black women. She described the factory’s smell as “this stank” (118), a term Laymon uses to describe her identity as an exemplary Southern black woman. She always wore stylish accessories with her white usher uniform on Sundays at church as part of this distinctive, self-made personal style. For Laymon, listening to OutKast’s music reveals his Grandmama’s personal expression in a new way.
Laymon first heard OutKast’s album ATLiens from a friend playing the music at college. The duo’s music celebrates black Southern culture like Goodie Mob, another of Laymon’s favorite groups. ATLiens, however, distinguishes itself with a new sound like “red clay, thick buttery grits, and Mars” (120).
By Jesmyn Ward