How It Feels to Be Black in the USA : Poetic Narratives for Racial Equity, Equality, Healing, and Freedom

What does it mean to be Black in America? In this book, Pierre W. Orelus uses his poetry to unpack this question, unmasking racism, sexism, and oppression in America. The 59 poems in this collection deal with a wide range of topics, from immigration to xenophobia, from Black pride to Black rage, from parenting to female empowerment.

Since the dawn of time, poetry and stories have been used to address social issues while inspiring at the same time deep, imaginary, and philosophical thoughts. This book combines poetry with short stories situated in very specific historical, racial, socio-economic, and cultural contexts to examine the existential experiences of Brown and Black people in the Americas, particularly in the United States of America, with systemic racism, voucher capitalism, xenophobia, and sexism, among other social wrongs.

Pierre W. Orelus is Associate Professor and Director of the Teaching Foundation program in the Educational Studies and Teacher Preparation Department in the School of Education and Human Development at Fairfield University. His research involves intersectional examination of the various ways in which language, race, and gender intersect to influence people’s lives, including student learning and teachers’ teaching practices.