Black musicians, for instance, invented the genre of rock and roll, which reached popular heights in the US with Elvis Presley’s rise. Perry provides numerous examples to support her positions. In this discussion, Perry centers the Bahamas and Cuba, locations to which Black Southerners migrated and from which Black people arrived in the US.
Perry draws on this diversity of cultural and intellectual production in her memoir, history, and travelogue because it attests to the significance of Black contributions to not only local Black communities but also to the South as a region, the US, and the African diaspora beyond US borders.
These commonalities are especially significant for Black Americans.ĭespite the terrors of the Jim Crow era and the persistence of modern racism and violence, Black Americans’ joy, hope, and aspirations endured and continue to survive through the creation of art, literature, music, and architecture and the establishment of such communal institutions as grammar schools, churches, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). It is neither a monolith nor homogenous, yet shared experiences-both good and bad-and common cultural practices also unite the region. Her narrative and analysis highlight the nuanced and diverse nature of the South. Black Southerners play an integral role in the making of the US.īeginning in the Upper South with Appalachia, Perry gradually works her way south, ending in the Caribbean. Many revile the region as a bastion of racism and backwardness, but doing so is “a mis-narration of history and American identity” and “a misapprehension of its power in American history” (xix). To understand the nation’s history, present, and future, one must look to the South. Perry argues that the South’s role in shaping the modern US is largely overlooked or misunderstood.
The monograph was awarded the National Book Foundation’s highly competitive National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2022.Ĭontent Warning: The book references and describes racist violence and language throughout.
The New Yorker listed South to America as one of the best books of 2022, and former President Barack Obama listed it among his favorite books of 2022.
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