1st Edition
Toni Morrison and the New Black Reading God Help the Child
Toni Morrison and the New Black examines how Morrison explores the concept of the new black in the context of post-soul, post-black and post-racial discourses. Morrison evolves the new black as symbolic of unprecedented black success in all walks of life, from politics to the media, business and beyond. Jaleel Akhtar's work shows how the new black reaffirms the possibility of upward mobility and success, and stands as testimony to the American Dream that anyone can achieve material success provided they work hard enough for it.
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1 Passing as the Old Black
2 Passing as the New Black
3 Oreotizing the New Black
4 The New Black Melancholy
Conclusion: Apostrophe in God Help the Child
Bibliography
Index
Biography
In his detailed, textured analysis, Jaleel Akhtar assesses God Help the Child as
Toni Morrison’s articulation of “new black” identities as fluid, plastic and evolving
from both Harlem Renaissance conceptualizations of the “New Negro” and from
the post-civil rights era
"In his detailed, textured analysis, Jaleel Akhtar assesses God Help the Child as Toni Morrison’s articulation of ‘new black’ identities as fluid, plastic and evolving from both Harlem Renaissance conceptualizations of the ‘New Negro’ and from the post-civil rights era…Akhtar’s analysis will prove to be a resource for future debate. The awareness of Morrison’s body of work, fiction, and non-fiction, leads to some perceptive and insightful extrapolations that will encourage further, enriched debate on the ‘new black.’" Yasmin Begum, Contemporary Women's Writing
