Negroland: A Memoir
First edition
AuthorMargo Jefferson
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreMemoir
Published2015
PublisherPantheon Books[1]
Media typePrint
Pages248[1]

Negroland: A Memoir is a 2015 book by Margo Jefferson.[1][2][3][4][5] It is a memoir of growing up in 1950s and 1960s America within a small, privileged segment of black American society known as the black bourgeoisie, or African-American upper class.

Reception

Negroland: A Memoir was published to acclaim in 2015. It was described by Dwight Garner in The New York Times as a "powerful and complicated memoir",[6] and by Margaret Busby in The Sunday Times as "utterly compelling",[7] while Anita Sethi wrote in The Observer: "Jefferson fascinatingly explores how her personal experience intersected with politics, from the civil rights movement to feminism, as well as history before her birth."[8] Tracy K. Smith wrote in The New York Times: "The visible narrative apparatus of 'Negroland' highlights its author's extreme vulnerability in the face of her material. It also makes apparent the all-too-often invisible fallout of our nation's ongoing obsession with race and class: Namely, that living a life as an exemplar of black excellence — and living with the survivor's guilt that often accompanies such excellence — can have a psychic effect nearly as deadening and dehumanizing as that of racial injustice itself."[9]

In 2016, Negroland was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction[10][11] and won the National Book Critics Circle Award in the Autobiography category.

Awards and honors

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Smith, Tracy K. (September 15, 2015). "Margo Jefferson's 'Negroland: A Memoir'". The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  2. ^ Garner, Dwight (September 10, 2015). "Review: 'Negroland,' by Margo Jefferson, on Growing Up Black and Privileged". The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  3. ^ "Privilege And Pressure: A Memoir Of Growing Up Black And Elite In 'Negroland'". NPR. September 8, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  4. ^ Carducci, Vince (October 19, 2015). "Coming of Age in Negroland". PopMatters. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  5. ^ Carroll, Rebecca (September 9, 2015). "Margo Jefferson reveals life inside the black elite in 'Negroland'". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ Garner, Dwight (September 10, 2015). "Review: 'Negroland,' by Margo Jefferson, on Growing Up Black and Privileged". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Busby, Margaret (June 19, 2016). "Books: Negroland: A Memoir by Margo Jefferson". The Sunday Times.
  8. ^ Sethi, Anita (January 22, 2017). "Negroland by Margo Jefferson review – a brilliant memoir about race in America". The Observer.
  9. ^ "Margo Jefferson's 'Negroland: A Memoir'". The New York Times. September 20, 2015.
  10. ^ "Baillie Gifford Non-Fiction Prize nominees announced". BBC News. October 17, 2016.
  11. ^ Kennedy, Maev (October 17, 2016). "First-hand reporting dominates Baillie Gifford shortlist". The Guardian.
  12. ^ Alter, Alexandra (March 17, 2016). "'The Sellout' Wins National Book Critics Circle's Fiction Award". The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  13. ^ Taylor, Elizabeht (November 2, 2016). "Margo Jefferson memoir 'Negroland' a resonant Heartland Prize winner". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 14, 2020.


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