Negroland
A Memoir
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Narrated by:
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Robin Miles
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By:
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Margo Jefferson
About this listen
National Book Critics Circle Award winner, Autobiography, 2015.
At once incendiary and icy, mischievous and provocative, celebratory and elegiac - here is a deeply felt meditation on race, sex, and American culture through the prism of Margo Jefferson's rarefied upbringing and education among a Black elite concerned with distancing itself from Whites and the Black generality while tirelessly measuring itself against both.
Born in upper-crust Black Chicago - her father was for years head of pediatrics at Provident, at the time the nation's oldest Black hospital; her mother was a socialite - Margo Jefferson has spent most of her life among (call them what you will) the colored aristocracy, the colored elite, the blue-vein society. Since the 19th century, they have stood apart, these inhabitants of Negroland, "a small region of Negro America where residents were sheltered by a certain amount of privilege and plenty". Reckoning with the strictures and demands of Negroland at crucial historical moments - the Civil Rights Movement, the dawn of feminism, the fallacy of postracial America - Margo Jefferson brilliantly charts the twists and turns of a life informed by psychological and moral contradictions. Aware as it is of heart-wrenching despair and depression, this book is a triumphant paean to the grace of perseverance.
©2015 Margo Jefferson (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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In the New York of the 1970s, in the wake of Stonewall and in the midst of economic collapse, you might find the likes of Jasper Johns and William Burroughs at the next cocktail party, and you were as likely to be caught arguing Marx at the New York City Ballet as cruising for sex in the warehouses and parked trucks along the Hudson. This is the New York that Edmund White portrays in City Boy: a place of enormous intrigue and artistic tumult.
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Pretense upon pretense.
- By Shalin Desai on 06-01-15
By: Edmund White
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The Black Calhouns
- From Civil War to Civil Rights with One African American Family
- By: Gail Lumet Buckley
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Black Calhouns, Gail Lumet Buckley - daughter of actress Lena Horne - delves deep into her family history, detailing the experiences of an extraordinary African American family from Civil War to civil rights. Beginning with her great-great-grandfather, Moses Calhoun, a house slave who used the rare advantage of his education to become a successful businessman in postwar Atlanta, Buckley follows her family's two branches: one that stayed in the South and the other that settled in Brooklyn.
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The Black Calhouns
- By Marva on 10-15-24
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Manifesto
- On Never Giving Up
- By: Bernardine Evaristo
- Narrated by: Bernardine Evaristo
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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From the best-selling and Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo’s memoir of her own life and writing, and her manifesto on unstoppability, creativity, and activism.
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Glorious performance and inspiring story
- By Maggi Morehouse on 01-25-22
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Between the World and Me
- By: Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Narrated by: Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Length: 3 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race”, a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of Black women and men - bodies exploited through slavery and segregation and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a Black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden? Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’ attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son.
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A Heartfelt Self-aware Literary Masterpiece
- By T Spencer on 07-30-15
By: Ta-Nehisi Coates
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Between Two Worlds
- Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam
- By: Zainab Salbi, Laurie Becklund
- Narrated by: Josephine Bailey
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
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Zainab Salbi was 11-years-old when her father was chosen to serve as Saddam Hussein's personal pilot, her family often forced to spend weekends with Saddam where he watched their every move. As a palace insider, Zainab offers a singular glimpse of what it is like to come of age under a dictator and provides an intimate portrait of the man she was taught to call "uncle". She watched as Saddam pitted friends, spouses, and even children against each other to compete for his approval.
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An excellent history lesson
- By Ella on 12-01-09
By: Zainab Salbi, and others
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Reading My Father
- A Memoir
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- Narrated by: Alexandra Styron
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Alexandra Styron's parents—the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Sophie’s Choice and his political activist wife, Rose—were, for half a century, leading players on the world’s cultural stage. Alexandra was raised under both the halo of her father’s brilliance and the long shadow of his troubled mind. Reading My Father portrays the epic sweep of an American artist’s life. It is also a tale of filial love, beautifully written with humor, compassion, and grace.
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William Styron Ranks...
- By Douglas on 12-22-13
By: Alexandra Styron
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Daughters of the Samurai
- A Journey from East to West and Back
- By: Janice P. Nimura
- Narrated by: Emily Zeller
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- Unabridged
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In 1871, five young girls were sent by the Japanese government to the United States. Their mission: learn Western ways and return to help nurture a new generation of enlightened men to lead Japan. Raised in traditional samurai households during the turmoil of civil war, three of these unusual ambassadors - Sutematsu Yamakawa, Shige Nagai, and Ume Tsuda - grew up as typical American schoolgirls. Upon their arrival in San Francisco, they became celebrities.
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Need a different narrator
- By Shazz on 10-23-16
By: Janice P. Nimura
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Courage Is Contagious
- And Other Reasons to Be Grateful for Michelle Obama
- By: Nick Haramis - editor, Lena Dunham - foreword, Jenni Konner - foreword
- Narrated by: Lena Dunham, Nick Haramis, Janet Mock, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Michelle Obama's legacy transcends categorization. Mrs. Obama was not only our first black first lady; she was President Obama's equal partner in marriage and parenthood and a tireless advocate for women's rights, education, healthy eating, and exercise. Her genre-busting personal style encouraged others to speak, to engage, even to dress as they wished.
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uplifting
- By Janet Edmond on 11-02-20
By: Nick Haramis - editor, and others
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The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
- By: James Weldon Johnson
- Narrated by: Richard Allen
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
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Originally published anonymously in 1912, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man revealed as never before the color line dividing America, and the price it exacted on those souls who could traverse the two worlds. The book presents the fictional account of "an ex-colored man" - an African-American who could pass for white - as he attempts to choose which side of the line will better suit his life, and his psyche.
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New favorite
- By Jess on 03-19-15
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American Rose
- A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee
- By: Karen Abbott
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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With the critically acclaimed Sin in the Second City, best-selling author Karen Abbott “pioneered sizzle history” (USA Today). Now she returns with the gripping and expansive story of America’s coming-of-age - told through the extraordinary life of Gypsy Rose Lee and the world she survived and conquered. America in the Roaring Twenties. Vaudeville was king. Talking pictures were only a distant flicker. Speakeasies beckoned beyond dimly lit doorways; money flowed fast and free.
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Well done biography of a complicated Icon
- By Moire on 01-27-11
By: Karen Abbott
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What listeners say about Negroland
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Stephanie G. Lewis (she,her)
- 03-07-19
Tell the Story
Although a generation apart, so much rang true for my upbringing. A place noted for being 20 years behind.
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-18-20
Provocative
The author gives a provocative and almost ethereal account of her experience in striving to attain the accolades of society's upper echelon in the face of adversity, along with her own inner conflict of vying to achieve personal success while staying culturally centered. In an era where the stereotypical pragmatism of black achievement was largely threatened as a result of racial disparity, it was also threatened by the cultural cliches of those who embodied the radical ideology that societal aspirations we're not only fruitless, but posed significant danger, some even going to great lengths to prove this notion true. In essence, Margo Jefferson invites readers to have a glimpse into her journey as an African American woman walking the invisible "fine line" of success.
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- Kenneth F. Aft
- 01-09-16
Reminded me of Chicago, another view!
Any person who grew up in those days will enjoy this book! Thanks for writing it.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-03-19
Excellent storytelling
Excellent storytelling. The Black experience told from the vantage point of privilege. No gloss and candy puff reflections either. Quite nuanced. The narrator mispronounces some words here and there which is an occasional jolt in an otherwise wonderful delivery of the prose. I highly recommend this book for everyone along the racial spectrum. You’ll learn a great deal.
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- ElizOF
- 06-14-20
An Insider's Memoir
This was an engaging read with many surprising twists and turns. I came away with more than I had imagined.
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2 people found this helpful
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- LK23
- 02-27-20
Hard to follow
At times it’s almost stream of consciousness - one paragraph is completely different than the one before, and she switches constantly between present and past tense and first and third person. It could be a style choice but it made it very incoherent to me. The narration for audible was also not great in my opinion - I personally don’t like when the narrators read in a stilted formal way. It was very hard to follow overall.
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- CJB
- 02-09-22
Interesting!
This type of memoir is something that I had never really delved into before but I personally found it quite interesting. I didn't know much about that way of life but I feel that this book was quite the eye opener. I completed the book in 2 days. In as far as the narration, it was excellent! I have listened to several books read by Robin Miles and have always enjoyed her reading! Job well done on both parts!
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- Jeremy
- 02-13-19
Insight into Colorism
The narrator was fantastic! As for the content itself, this book provides some really good historic insight regarding colorism amongst the black community. The stories told are entertaining and lighthearted. Informative but not too heavy or heady.
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- Kindle Customer
- 05-19-21
This is not a memoir
I would consider this book a dissertation on the black bourgeoisie written by someone from the inside. Some good points, but definitely meh. Robin Miles read it well, if I had to read it myself I would have put it down.
Devoid of emotion, but that is part of the tragedy that befalls those bred to assimilate and separate into their own “elite”I get the feeling she shed everything that would make her true memoir interesting long before writing this...
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- MTCarpenter
- 03-18-22
Interesting book w/ astute observations about elite Black culture
The author makes very astute observations about my elite Black culture and society, which was very interesting to me. I enjoyed hearing the author’s various stories/memories but the book jumped around a lot so it was hard to understand its thorough line or the author’s summarizing point.
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