My People
Five Decades of Writing About Black Lives
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
“Charlayne Hunter-Gault is an eminent Dean of American journalism, a vital voice whose work chronicled the civil rights movement and so much of what has transpired since then. My People is the definitive collection of her reportage and commentary. Spanning datelines in the American South, South Africa and points scattered in between, her work constitutes a history of our time as rendered by the pen of a singular and indispensable black woman journalist.”-Jelani Cobb
From the legendary Emmy Award-winning journalist, a collection of ground-breaking reportage from across five decades which vividly chronicles the experience of Black life in America today.
At just nineteen years old, Charlayne Hunter-Gault made national news after she had mounted a successful legal challenge that culminated in her admission to the University of Georgia in January 1961—making her one of the first two Black students to integrate the institution. As an adult, Charlayne switched from being the subject of news to covering it, becoming one of its most recognized and acclaimed interpreters.
Over more than five decades, this dedicated reporter charted a course through some of the world’s most respected journalistic institutions, including The New Yorker, NBC, and the New York Times, where she was often the only Black woman in the newsroom. Throughout her storied career, Charlayne has chronicled the lives of Black people in America—shining a light on their experiences and giving a glimpse into their community as never before. Though she has covered numerous topics and events, observed as a whole, her work reveals the evolving issues at the forefront of Black Americans lives and how many of the same issues continue to persist today.
My People showcases Charlayne’s lifelong commitment to reporting on Black people in their totality, “in ways that are recognizable to themselves.” Spanning from the Civil Rights Movement through the election and inauguration of America’s first Black president and beyond, this invaluable collection shows the breadth and nuance of the Black experience through trials, tragedies, and triumphs of everyday lives.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Hunter-Gault (In My Place) brings together 50 years of her reportage in this powerhouse collection. Much of the work is from the New York Times, the New Yorker, and PBS Newshour—but the earliest piece comes from a 1961 issue of The Urbanite magazine in which she provides a vivid account of the violence that occurred during the integration of the University of Georgia: "I rushed in, only to be stopped in my tracks by another crash as a Coca-Cola bottle followed the brick which had ripped through the window a moment before." "Poets Extol a Sister's Unfettered Soul," written in 1973, covers a festival in Mississippi that celebrated the life and work of poet Phyllis Wheatley; a 1975 piece from the Times highlights racial pay disparities in the U.S.; and "Postscript: Julian Bond," a 2015 New Yorker article, is an ode to the life of the civil rights activist and U.S. Representative. The most recent work is a New Yorker article from July 2021, "The Dangerous Case of Eskinder Nega," about an Ethiopian journalist imprisoned under the country's "sweeping, not to mention vague—but let's do mention it—antiterrorism law." Whether covering the TV show Black-ish or politics in South Africa, Hunter-Gault employs razor-sharp thinking and a keen journalistic eye. This solidifies her status as one of the greats.
