01/13/2020

Bryant (The Heritage), a writer for ESPN the Magazine, poses disquieting questions about the intersection of race, politics, history, and sports in this wide-ranging and sharp-edged essay collection. Contending that “black success... has always led to white retribution,” and that African-Americans’ grievances inevitably spark “white mainstream backlash,” Bryant discusses organized resistance to Supreme Court-mandated school desegregation, the creation of urban slums through white flight and redlining of real estate districts, the militarization of local policing in the wake of 9/11, and the election of Donald Trump following the Obama presidency. Autobiographical forays into Bryant’s youth in “the hostile white backdrop” of Plymouth, Mass., and experiences with racial prejudice while hunting for a Boston apartment enrich his arguments, though the book’s focus is on sport figures including Tiger Woods, Madison Keys, and Colin Kaepernick and their status at “the forefront of a certain type of trade: assimilation in exchange for money and star status affixed to serious considerations.” These and other black athletes, Bryant contends, must choose between leaving their home culture and never returning, or speaking out and “expect the full weight of their industry... to punish them.” Bryant’s informed analyses and righteous anger transform sports into a valuable lens and tool for examining and combatting racism. Progressive sports fans will heed this incisive cri de coeur. (Jan.)

A series of forceful, justifiably angry essays connected by the theme of white supremacy negating the full citizenship of black Americans . . . . Another illuminating social and cultural critique from an important contemporary voice.”
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“Senior ESPN writer Bryant showcases why he is one of the most talented writers of this generation in thoughtful essays . . . [an] in-depth analysis and examination of issues. Highly recommended: Bryant is a masterful writer and a voice of this generation. His passion and analysis on important topics is unparalleled.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review

“Not much comfort here, only light.”
—Booklist

“[A] wide-ranging and sharp-edged essay collection . . . .Bryant’s informed analyses and righteous anger transform sports into a valuable lens and tool for examining and combatting racism. Progressive sports fans will heed this incisive cri de coeur.”
—Publishers Weekly

“This collection of essays is everything I hold dear, a searing rejection of everything racist America holds dear inside and outside the lines. Howard Bryant does not hold back in his withering and thoughtful dissections and rejections of the racial politics of athletics and the athletic politics of race. This book is an oracle.”
—Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist

“This book is a wonder. Bryant tells daring truths about our culture and society—and explores, in all its complexity, what it means to navigate and struggle against injustice and a deeply divided world.”
—Naomi Klein, author of On Fire and This Changes Everything

“Howard Bryant’s writing is lucid and purposeful, weaving politics and powerful critiques of the racial and gendered hierarchies that rule the world of high-stakes professional sports throughout his gripping prose. Sports may be his starting point, but Bryant is attacking capitalist culture and its infiltration into all aspects of our lives, including the games we love to watch to get away from it all.”
—Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, author of From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation

“To call Full Dissidence fiery would miss the point. Its passion is matched by precision. Howard Bryant has written a stirring tour de force that places important issues of sports in the proper context of their current times and historical precedent, and the result is a book that will be read for years to come as we try to make sense of these chaotic times.”
—Bomani Jones, co-host, High Noon

“This is exceptional. The facts of where we are, are laid out. Howard’s opinions are not baseless or overreactions but based on facts that confirm every assertion he makes. Full Dissidence is a compelling book.”
—Joe Dumars, three-time NBA champion, member of the Basketball Hall of Fame

★ 12/01/2019

Senior ESPN writer Bryant showcases why he is one of the most talented writers of this generation in thoughtful essays that examine Colin Kaepernick's protests against police brutality, the militarization of sports, and the player-owner relationship. Readers familiar with Bryant's work will appreciate his in-depth analysis and examination of issues he's discussed on air. Bryant's latest book focuses on issues today; his 2018 book, The Heritage, considers the history of the athlete-activist and how society has arrived at its current position on activism. VERDICT Highly recommended: Bryant is a masterful writer and a voice of this generation. His passion and analysis on important topics is unparalleled.—Pamela Calfo, Bridgeville P.L., PA

★ 2019-10-21
A series of forceful, justifiably angry essays connected by the theme of white supremacy negating the full citizenship of black Americans.

In his latest, ESPN The Magazine senior writer Bryant (The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism, 2018, etc.), who is also a correspondent for NPR's Weekend Edition, argues that no matter how faithfully black Americans observe the rules established by privileged whites, they—plus other people of color—will never be fully accepted in any part of American society. Perhaps the most apt brief phrase to summarize the author's admirably detailed analysis is "white racial aggression." Because much of Bryant's recent journalism has been published by ESPN, he regularly refers to famous athletes such as LeBron James, Tiger Woods, and Colin Kaepernick to illustrate sweeping cultural phenomena that involve skin color. Bryant's bitterness—like that of so many Americans of all races—ratcheted up after the hint of a post-racial society following the election of Barack Obama morphed into the hate-filled presidency of Donald Trump. The author cannot accept any statement that racism has demonstrably decreased compared to some indefinite past era. The only other option presented to him, he writes, is to "get over it," which he finds both condescending and impossible when that admonition ignores "what it means to be part of a lost tribe." One of the most thought-provoking—and freshly argued—essays centers on how whites who violate society's norms regularly achieve rehabilitation while blacks rarely do. He constructs that essay around the reputational rehabilitation of ice skater Tonya Harding despite her assault on Nancy Kerrigan. Ultimately, Bryant believes that what many white Americans want is "the day when black people will finally stop talking about race, which will also mean the arrival of the day when white people can stop listening to it."

Another illuminating social and cultural critique from an important contemporary voice.