Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People: 02/27/25

Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People by Imani Perry (2025) is a collection of essays on the importance of blue in Black history.

The book begins with the author remembering her grandmother's little yellow house and the light blue room it contained. It ends with the funeral for her cousin who died during a transplant surgery. Everyone who attended was asked to wear something blue to honor him.

In between these very personal essays are looks at the how blue has been a part of Black life through indigo, the kidnapping and enslavement of different groups, through the use of blue in personal decoration, clothing, and the development of the Blues.

It's a short but poignant read. It's a refreshing and eye opening read that addresses so many of the glaring omissions in the meaning of color from a non-white perspective that other books on color I've read ignore, or debase.

This book also served as a good background reading for Eden's Everdark by Karen Strong (2023).

Five stars

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