This collection celebrates the diversity in the contemporary American South by featuring essays by twenty-one young writers of color living and working in the region today, who all address a central question: Who is welcome?
... penetrating ... these piercing essays present a refreshing and nuanced view of the South by never engaging in flat Southern stereotypes or assuming a veneer of homogeneity. Instead the collection subverts the cultural dominance of whiteness by engaging with topics as varied as Black college majorettes, the DMV and apartment hunting ... Not all of the writers are originally from the South, but they all contribute to a well-rounded view of the Southern United States as a place that isn’t a monolith. Sharp and witty, this collection shows that there are many different ways to live, breathe, thrive and be a person who belongs in the South.
These essays, all well-written, take a great variety of tones and approaches ... From the entire collection, we experience the South not as mere backdrop but as a determinate character, although it sometimes shifts in appearance ... A Measure of Belonging is a critical work, particularly during our country’s current great migration southward ... This book, with its roster of brilliant writers, explores the multifaceted and often porous Southern identity in contemporary times. For many people of color, the South is home, happiness and hurt.
... captivating storytelling ... The collective is an imaginative, colorful collage of narrative that paints a clear and nuanced picture of the contemporary south, delivered with humor, sass, and pride. Readers will walk away with a portrait of modern southern ideologies and the hope for a new approach to old constructs.
