men on the whole, like james baldwin, richard wright, ralph ellison.g to me, and i always used to use the title of ralph ellison's book, which i love, by the way, because it is extraordinary, but the title set me back a little, because it was the invisible man, and i thought, "invisible to whom?" to them, you know. so it was like even the best of the slave narratives were addressed to the readers — they were always assumed to be white people, and not black people. so i was determined not to do that. where did that certainty come from, that you felt so rooted in the perspective that you wanted to write from before you even articulated the notion of the white gaze, and not being interested in the white gaze? there were two things. one was the kind of books being written at that time in the late ‘60s by black men. not the big novelists, but, you know, the revolutionaries. it was always to the man, you know. screw the man, or whatever. "black is beautiful." i was saying, "what? what is that about? "wait a minute. "before we get on the black is beautiful th

i'm reminded of what the acclaimed writer ralph ellison wrote in a 1970 time magazine article where heaid what would america be like without african-americans? i would think about all of that when i think about 2019. this 400 year journey that people of african dissent have been on in america. it is a story not only of oppression, but more importantly, of perseverance and of accomplishment and of being a part of this american culture and society. about america, what would america really be like without people of african descent? what would our music sound like? what would our language sound like? what would our sense of style be like without people of african dissent? even the understanding that we have of freedom and equality, and drill democracy, what would that be like without people of african descent? i would say it would be very different. host: our guest is a graduate of the new first the -- of the university of virginia, writing a number of books on slavery and racial license in america -- race relations in america. if you could quickly answer this question. who was thinking wa

i'm reminded of what the acclaimed writer ralph ellison wrote in a 1970 time magazine article where hed what would america be like without african-americans? i would think about all of that when i think about 2019. this 400 year journey that people of african dissent have been on in america. it is a story not only of oppression, but more importantly, of perseverance and of accomplishment and of being a part of this american culture and society. about america, what would america really be like without people of african descent? what would our music sound like? what would our language sound like? what would our sense of style be like without people of african dissent? even the understanding that we have of freedom and equality, and drill democracy, what would that be like without people of african descent? i would say it would be very different. host: our guest is a graduate of the new first the -- of the university of virginia, writing a number of books on slavery and racial license in america -- race relations in america. if you could quickly answer this question. who was thinking watc