"Black, beautiful, and bound to spark necessary conversations."
--
Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
"An inherently fascinating, insightfully articulate, and impressively informative compilation of photo essays on the subject of Race in America,
One Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race is an extraordinarily thoughtful and thought provoking read from cover to cover."
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Midwest Book Review "This book . . . powerfully delivers on its central promise to condense an extensive history of the battle for identity through skin color into a small space. Blay gives the reader time to digest the complex topic of Black identity and provides a catalyst for longer conversations among Black people of all shades, White people of all countries, and people of color everywhere."
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Los Angeles Review of Books "A gorgeous and evocative book. Through personal narrative, photographic portraits, and an astute historical backdrop, the reader is brought on a journey exploring both the borders and the depth of the complicated racial category 'Black.' Tears, laughter, and life-transforming ideas blossom on page after page."
--Imani Perry, author of
Breathe: A Letter to My Sons "Highlighting the impact of immigration, transnationalism, culture, ethnicity, and immigration on the alleged black-and-white-ness of the US racial narrative, these poignant testimonies reassert that the lived experience of Blackness is far more than a mere social construct."
--Joan Morgan, cultural critic and author of
When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: A Hip-Hop Feminist Breaks It Down "Blay broadens our ideas about what counts as Black and challenges readers to rethink Blackness not only as a category but as an experience. As a biracial Black woman, I think this book is not only a must-read but a must-share."
--Amy DuBois Barnett, former editor in chief of
Ebony "When people ask, What does it mean to love Blackness, one answer is the work of Yaba Blay. . . . Yaba is one of the most brilliant and committed critics and advocates writing and thinking and working on behalf of Black people today."
--Michael Eric Dyson,
New York Times best-selling author
"
One Drop visually stuns while showing us the many different and often surprising faces of Blackness that make up the Americas. In a world that shreds Black women's self-esteem in big and small ways every day, we depend on Blay's writing, Instagram tutorials, and undaunted compassion to put us back together again."
--Brittney Cooper, author of the
New York Times bestseller
Eloquent Rage "
One Drop presents a nuanced exploration of racial identity that serves as a practical guide for thinking critically about what it means to be Black in the twenty-first century."
--Tarana J. Burke, author, activist, and founder of the MeToo movement
"The one-drop rule has policed life both across and within the color line for centuries. Blay brilliantly and lovingly reframes our visions on the strength and vitality of our visual diversity."
--Mark Anthony Neal, Duke University
