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South to America : a journey below the Mason-Dixon to understand the soul of a nation / Imani Perry.

Perry, Imani, 1972- (author.).

Summary:

We all think we know the South. Even those who have never lived there can rattle off a list of signifiers: the Civil War, Gone with the Wind, the Ku Klux Klan, plantations, football, Jim Crow, slavery. But the idiosyncrasies, dispositions, and habits of the region are stranger and more complex than much of the country tends to acknowledge. In South to America, Imani Perry shows that the meaning of American is inextricably linked with the South, and that our understanding of its history and culture is the key to understanding the nation as a whole. This is the story of a Black woman and native Alabaman returning to the region she has always called home and considering it with fresh eyes. Her journey is full of detours, deep dives, and surprising encounters with places and people. She renders Southerners from all walks of life with sensitivity and honesty, sharing her thoughts about a troubling history and the ritual humiliations and joys that characterize so much of Southern life. Weaving together stories of immigrant communities, contemporary artists, exploitative opportunists, enslaved peoples, unsung heroes, her own ancestors, and her lived experiences, Imani Perry crafts a tapestry unlike any other.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780062977403
  • ISBN: 0062977407
  • Physical Description: xix, 410 pages ; 24 cm
  • Edition: First edition
  • Publisher: New York, NY : ECCO, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2022]

Content descriptions

General Note:
Includes index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Introduction -- I. Origin stories. An errand into wilderness: Appalachia ; Mother country: Virginia ; Animated roulette: Louisville ; Mary's land: Annapolis and the caves ; Ironic capital: Washington, DC -- II. Solidified South. Clearing: upper Alabama ; Tobacco Road in the Bible Belt: North Carolina ; King of the South: Atlanta ; More than a memorial: Birmingham ; Pearls before swine: Princeton to Nashville ; When Beale Street talks: Memphis ; Soul of the South: the Black Belt -- III. Water people. Home of the flying Africans: the Low Country ; Pistoles and flamboyán: Florida ; Immobile women: Mobile ; Magnolia graves and Easter lilies: New Orleans ; Paraíso: the Bahamas and Havana -- Conclusion.
Subject:
Perry, Imani, 1972- > Travel > Southern States.
Southern States > Description and travel.
Southern States > Social life and customs > 21st century.
Southern States > Race relations.
Genre:
Travel writing.

Available copies

  • 80 of 82 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
  • 1 of 1 copy available at McDowell County Public Library.

Holds

  • 1 current hold with 82 total copies.
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Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Marion Library 917.504 PER (Text) 37810435784664 Adult Nonfiction Available -