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Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching: A Young Black Man's Education

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Description

An unflinching account of what it means to be a young black man in America today, and how the existing script for black manhood is being rewritten in one of the most fascinating periods of American history. How do you learn to be a black man in America? For young black men today, it means coming of age during the presidency of Barack Obama. It means witnessing the deaths of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Akai Gurley, and too many more. It means celebrating powerful moments of black self-determination for LeBron James, Dave Chappelle, and Frank Ocean. In Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching, Mychal Denzel Smith chronicles his own personal and political education during these tumultuous years, describing his efforts to come into his own in a world that denied his humanity. Smith unapologetically upends reigning assumptions about black masculinity, rewriting the script for black manhood so that depression and anxiety aren't considered taboo, and feminism and LGBTQ rights become part of the fight. The questions Smith asks in this book are urgent -- for him, for the martyrs and the tokens, and for the Trayvons that could have been and are still waiting. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bold Type Books; 1st edition (June 14, 2016)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 240 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 4


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 84


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 1 x 8.75 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #764,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #2,490 in Black & African American Biographies #3,018 in African American Demographic Studies (Books) #22,464 in Memoirs (Books)


#2,490 in Black & African American Biographies:


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Top Amazon Reviews


  • Young, black American take on serious issues. Must-read
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Invisible Man is pretty much an introspective piece in which Mychal recounts several important instances in his life and moments in pop culture. It sometimes feels like an autobiography, but then he reflects on these circumstances to express his views on racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and black culture, among many other topics. He really takes on a lot in less than 250 pages and manages to successfully send you on a trip into his mind. For me being a young black male myself, it made me seriously evaluate my views on the aforementioned topics. I'm actually about seven years younger than Mychal, so a lot of his recollections on pop culture were things that were not too far back to remember. Reading them were literally like reliving them, but at an age where I can reflect on them like I haven't before. Things like Kanye's rant on George Bush, or Dave Chappelle's leave, or Frank Ocean's revelation about his first love being a male. These few moments can be dismissed as funny, shocking, yet short-lived events that can creep into conversation here and there. But Mychal really divulges into these. For example, he talked about why Dave Chappelle left his show. My understanding is that it was due to a myriad of issues like overwork, not agreeing with the direction people wanted his show to take, increased pressure and scrutiny, etc. One of the issues Mychal expounded on that I never really thought about was how people weren't receptive to the messages Dave tried to send though his comedy. Chappelle is a very strong, politically-minded individual who made ingenious skits addressing racism. Yet all people can remember is "I'm Rick James, b****!" Mychal's points on this made me realize that even though Chappelle is my favorite comedian of all-time, I am one of the very people that was missing the point of a lot of his sketches and standups, and my reaction helped fuel the overall public reaction that led to his departure. This is one of many examples that challenged several thoughts I had. There were however, many views I personally disagreed with. Mychal is extremely liberal. He also spent a whole chunk of the book criticizing Obama and certain staples of black culture. As much as I disagreed with a lot of what he believed, I couldn't help but agree with the underlying messages he was trying to convey with his various criticisms. His introspection was detailed in a way that actually made me wish he was a guy I personally knew. I'd recommend this book to every black American, and anybody willing to take a course into black culture and a well thought-out perspective on issues our country is facing today. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2016 by Stephen

  • Thank You MDS
This book should be required reading. I’ve seen Mychal Denzel Smith (MDS) on different news shows, like MHP, and have always appreciated his point of view. In his book he illuminates and manifest, quite skillfully, how African Americans (AA) live in a hostile society (my words) where the rules change and morph at the drop of a hat (when it comes to AA) and how we are constantly running trying to keep up and remain, or at least appear, civil/respectable by any means necessary. I think it’s important that we read books like this to ensure we’re not crazy – for me anyway – because most of my so called educated friends are totally into being respectable and presentable at all cost and we often get into heated arguments – agreeing to disagree – as they say. I especially appreciated his thoughts/analyzations of our brilliant president and how he remains above the fray (being condescending to AA and somehow making racism our fault or intimating that we can somehow fix it). To use MDS’s words ‘… by every measure, Obama … represents the most “respectable” black man this country has ever produced. And what has his respectability won him but disrespect?’ AMEN honey. So many things resonated with me in this book. MDS reflected on how our president and folk in general think that black fathers being in the home is the panacea for keeping our boys on the straight and narrow (so to speak) …’…a father won’t protect black boys from America.’ MDS was brave to include and share and reflect on his relationship with his own father (who was doing the best he could) and I’m sure a lot of boys and girls could relate. To heal we need to talk more about what hurts otherwise the cycle repeats. MDS reports on our president’s pie in the sky initiative (that’s what I call it) for mentoring AA boys – Brother’s Keeper. Yeah, right. I agree with MDS – ‘It was insulting, but right in line with his philosophy’. Can you say “legislation/bill/policy” Mr. POTUS – who claims to be president of all people. What about us? I recommended this book to my millennial son who is the same age as MDS and who I have the most enlightening and energetic conversations with. Thank you Mychal. n Books. Kindle Edition. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2016 by Advocate for the marginalized

  • Saw the author on The Daily Show
Mychal Denzel Smith was a guest on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah this past week. The interview about his book intrigued me so I bought an online version. I enjoyed reading his story as it spoke about people and lives different from me which I wanted to know and understand. Smith acknowledges not only learning his own life but those of black women and the LGBT COMMUNITY. I have learned the more we understand where each of us are in our lives and how we got there, the better able we can find common ground to move forward peacefully. I appreciate the new views this has given me. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2016 by Amazon Customer

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