Table of Contents
Foreword: The Rise of the Fresh Coast Jamala Rogers 11
This Place We Know: An Introduction Terrion L. Williamson 14
Ode to the Midwest Kevin Young 18
I Home
Rust: A Black Woman's Story of Growing Up in Northeast Ohio Tara L. Conley 22
There Are Birds Here Jamaal May 27
Hood Orchids Devon Ginn 28
Gentrification and the South Side of Ypsilanti, Michigan Aaron K. Foley 29
Traveling While Black Tanisha C. Ford 35
The Market on Maryland Avenue Terrence Shambley, Jr. 40
Cleveland and Chicago: A Tale of Four Cities Mark V. Reynolds 42
Peoria, Pryor, and Me Terrion L. Williamson 47
Detroit: Love of My Life Courtney Wise Randolph 50
On Spades, Queerness, and the Things We Learn from Our Grandmothers Kidiocus King-Carroll 53
Tracing Water, Memory, and Change Njaimeh Njie 56
II Past
Slavery, Freedom, and African American Voices in the Midwest Melissa N. Stuckey 68
Ella Mae: The Personal and the Political Jeffrey C. Wray 73
"Orphan District": Segregation in Rural Ohio Joe Boyle 76
2672 South Deacon Street, Detroit Yvonne 83
"Tell 'Em What We Did!": Choosing and Building Black Space in the Midwest Michelle S. Johnson 85
The Great Migration of African-American Southerners to Cleveland Edward M. Miggins, ed. 92
The negro in minneapolis (for prince & philando castile) Brian G. Gilmore 99
Realizing Freedom Phyllis May-Machunda 101
III Love
No One Loves me, Like I love Me Katherine Simóne Reynolds 104
Stay Debaucherous David Weathersby 105
Aug 14th, 2017-"Baptism" Zuggie Tate 109
Burn Janice N. Harrington 111
Paintings Leslie Barlow 113
Joe's Ode DeMar Walker 116
…for, about, and with Laurie Beverly Cottman 117
From "Call & Response: Experiments in Joy" Gabrielle Civil 118
IV Now
Photographs Rachel Elise Thomas 128
A Minute, A Pond, A North-Facing Window Kim-Marie Walker 133
I am a landlocked body Alexandra Nicome 135
Columbus: Different Latitude, Same Platitudes Deva Rashed-Boone 137
The Reality of Being Black in Iowa Wylliam Smith 139
Ode to unwanted life Zenzele Isoke 142
Trying to Make a Dollar Out of Fifteen Cents in Black Milwaukee Gladys Mitchell-Walthour 145
It's Just Ok Nia Easley 151
Ghetto Bird Wars Curtis L. Crisler 154
On Audre Lorde and Minnesota Nice Vanessa Taylor 156
Hair Lyndsey Ellis 161
V Onward
Stop Pretending Black Midwestemers Don't Exist Tamara Winfrey-Harris 168
A Reflection on the Changing Route Work of Sampler's South End Ezekiel Joubert III 171
4 Malcolm X Greenhouse Jordan Weber 179
The only moving thing Kisha Nicole Foster 181
Toward a Black Chicago Revival Mary Pattillo 184
Infinite Essence: James, 2018 Mikael Chukwuma Owunna 189
Coda: A Final Note on Black Life and Loss Terrion L. Williamson 191
End Notes
The Black Midwest: A Bibliography 193
Acknowledgements 211
Contributors 213
