{"product_id":"the-black-utopians-searching-for-paradise-and-the-promised-land-in-america","title":"The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e's 100 Notable Books of 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of the \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e's 50 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Finalist for the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times \u003c\/i\u003eBook Prize for History \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFinalist for the Zora Award Hooks National Book Award\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA New York Public Library Top Ten Book of 2024 A \u003ci\u003eBoston Globe \u003c\/i\u003eBest Book of 2024\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew Republic \u003c\/i\u003eBest Book of the Fall \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e A \u003ci\u003eTime \u003c\/i\u003eMust-Read Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNamed a Best Book of the Year by \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eLiterary Hub \u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eEssence \u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eElle\u003c\/i\u003e Chicago Public Library\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA 2025 Michigan Notable Book A \u003ci\u003eBooklist \u003c\/i\u003eBest History Book of 2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the 2025 Bridge Book Award\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[An] extraordinary new work of history and memoir . . . Unforgettable.\" --Gabriel Bump, \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA lyrical meditation on how Black Americans have envisioned utopia--and sought to transform their lives. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eHow do the disillusioned, the forgotten, and the persecuted not merely hold on to life but expand its possibilities and preserve its beauty? What, in other words, does utopia look like in black?\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThese questions animate Aaron Robertson's exploration of Black Americans' efforts to remake the conditions of their lives. Writing in the tradition of Saidiya Hartman and Ta-Nehisi Coates, Robertson makes his way from his ancestral hometown of Promise Land, Tennessee, to Detroit--the city where he was born, and where one of the country's most remarkable Black utopian experiments got its start. Founded by the brilliant preacher Albert Cleage Jr., the Shrine of the Black Madonna combined Afrocentric Christian practice with radical social projects to transform the self-conception of its members. Central to this endeavor was the Shrine's chancel mural of a Black Virgin and child, the icon of a nationwide liberation movement that would come to be known as Black Christian Nationalism. The Shrine's members opened bookstores and co-ops, created a self-defense force, and raised their children communally, eventually working to establish the country's largest Black-owned farm, where attempts to create an earthly paradise for Black people continues today. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAlongside the Shrine's story, Robertson reflects on a diverse array of Black utopian visions, from the Reconstruction era through the countercultural fervor of the 1960s and 1970s and into the present day. By doing so, Robertson showcases the enduring quest of collectives and individuals for a world beyond the constraints of systemic racism. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Black Utopians\u003c\/i\u003e offers a nuanced portrait of the struggle for spaces--both ideological and physical--where Black dignity, protection, and nourishment are paramount. This book is the story of a movement and of a world still in the making--one that points the way toward radical alternatives for the future.","brand":"Picador USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44189448437859,"sku":"9781250397577","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0621\/7515\/0179\/files\/imageloader_9454ec26-016e-4de7-b8c4-5148d5da3284.jpg?v=1779181327","url":"https:\/\/redricebooks.com\/products\/the-black-utopians-searching-for-paradise-and-the-promised-land-in-america","provider":"Red Rice Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}