Happy Black History Month! One of my goals for the month is to finish reading “Killing the Black Body” by Dorothy Roberts. I started reading it in February or March 2020 but needed to stop because the world was doing too damn much. I mean, it was just one tragedy after the next. Eventually, I was like, Hmm… Lemme take a rain check on dis.

So, here I am trying again. I’m really excited to get into this book because, while I don’t recall where I left off, I remember being enthralled with it. (Is “enthralled” too positive of a word? It feels a little weird, given the book’s subject matter.) I remember getting the impression that the author was building up and providing evidence to support whatever claim they make in the book. The stories — the few that I was able to read — that Roberts provide are so uncomfortable to read but necessary.

One story that I think about every-now-and-then is the story of several newborn Black babies drowning in a ditch.

One story that I think about every-now-and-then is the story of several newborn Black babies drowning in a ditch. They drowned in a ditch because the racists that their enslaved mother’s were forced to work for wouldn’t give their mama’s breaks to tend to them. As a result, the mom’s left their babies in ditches close to the fields that they worked in to be able to feed them throughout the day. I don’t know why but I remember feeling surprised when I first read that snippet of history. I wasn’t surprised that it happened; I was surprised to read that it actually happened. Does that make sense?

Anyways, I’ll be back with an update of my thoughts on this book when I finish it. What are you reading this month?