mychal denzel smith
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It’s Time to Reclaim ‘Identity Politics’
It’s tempting to write off critiques of identity politics the same way you would ironic tattoos or Taylor Swift as a “white-people thing,” but the term has become so hotly debated and so misunderstood that an increasing number of young people of color feel put off by it. Recently, one Bernie Sanders supporter, provoked by…
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A Black Man’s Coming of Age in the Age of Obama
In the title of his first book, Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching: A Young Black Man’s Education, The Nation contributing writer Mychal Denzel Smith calls to mind three works: Ralph Ellison’s classic Invisible Man, Mos Def’s “Hip-Hop” and Lauryn Hill’s seminal album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. With the eloquence and beauty of…