58
InAnAmericanSummer, veteranjournalistAlex
KotlowitztiestogethervignettesofChicagoans
intheaftermathofviolenceanddeathwithin
theirpredominantlyblackneighborhoods.The
wrenchingportraitscenteronthemesoflove
andforgiveness.A motherofa slainmanwants
restorativejusticeforherson’skiller;a teen
mustgrapplewithwitnessinghisclassmate
bleedout;a youngwomanwatchesherchild-
hoodfriendstuckintherevolvingdoorofthe
criminaljusticesystem.
We’vereadversionsofthesestoriesinthenews—andseen
themusedtoadvocateforsolutionstothesystemicproblems
thatplaguecities.Kotlowitz’sworkdoesthis.Butheconfronts
hisreaderswitha challengeevenbeforetheyopenthebook:
Canyouconsiderthis“anAmericansummer”?
KotlowitzarguesthatthedevastationofblackChicagois
justasemblematicoftheseasonasenjoyinga hotdogata
ballpark.Summer,inartandlife,isn’talwayscarefree—itcan
beheated,uneasy,violent.Andforthe 965 peoplewounded
andkilledinChicagoduringthe 2013 periodwhenthebook
takesplace—mostlyblackAmericans—itrepresentsa thinline
betweenlifeanddeath.Kotlowitzsayshewrotehisbook,
whichwasreleasedinMarch,inthehopethat“thesestories
willhelpupendwhatwethinkweknow.”
Artistshavelongusedtheword“American”asa toolto
makeusreckonwithtroublingorcomplicatedversionsofwho
weare.FX’shitRussianspydramaTheAmericansjustcapped
offsixseasonsofsubvertingvisionsofdomesticlife.Thefilm-
makersbehindAmericanBeautyandAmericanPastoralused
thewordtocapturea plaster-perfectwhitevisionofthecoun-
try,thenprobedtheflakyfissuresunderitssurface.
LikeKotlowitz,authorTayariJonesfocusesonpeopleof
colorforherNewYorkTimesbest-sellingbook,AnAmerican
Marriage. The 2018 noveltracestheriseandfallofa union
betweentwoyoungblackprofessionalsinAtlantaafterthe
husband,Roy,iswronglyconvictedandsenttoprisonfor
years.Atfirst,Jones,whois black,jokedabouthertitletotheCRITIC BloombergPursuits August 5, 2019HoustonChronicle: “ItoldmyeditorAnAmericanMarriage
soundedlikea novelaboutsomewhitepeopleinConnecticut
experiencingfeelings.”
Herdecisiontoplacethattitleonthebookis whatdrew
OprahWinfreytoit,andthemediamogulendedupputting
it onherinfluentialbooklist.Scoresofcommutersnowhold
Jones’sbookonsubwaysandplanes,carryingthismessagefur-
ther:Thestoryofa blackhusbandandwifeensnaredinthe
prisonsystemis a fairdepictionofthemodern-daypressures
facingcouplesinthiscountry.Moveover,Kramervs.Kramer.
Expecttoseemorelikethis.InMarch,Moroccan-born
authorLailaLalamiunleashedthemurdermysteryTheOther
Americans. ChimamandaNgoziAdichie’s epiclove story
Americanah, abouta NigerianAmericanimmigrant,is being
adaptedintoa miniserieswithLupitaNyong’o.
Theycouldn’tcomeata morepivotaltime,whenthepres-
identtakestoTwitter(trulythelittlestformofliterature)to
stokedebateoverwhogetstocomehereand
whomayremain.Yourrace,evenif you’rea
citizen, likethefourcongresswomenofthe
Democratic“squad,”mightbecomeanargu-
mentforyoutobesentaway.
Formostofthecountry’shistory,whitepeo-
pleweretheonlyonesgivenspaceinbooks,
theater,andfilmstobefullyhuman.Andcre-
atorsarepushingback.ThisyearthePulitzer
PrizewenttoplaywrightJackieSibbliesDrury,
whoseplayFairviewexaminesthephenom-
enonofwhitewatching.Shemethodicallyshowshowonly
certaintypesofblackstoriesaretoldtomassaudiences,then
explodestheguardrailsaroundthem—breakingthebarrier
betweenthesetandtheseatsandleavingwhitemembersof
theaudienceonstagewhiletheblackcastmovesouttoreplace
themintheaisles.It’sa forcefulsubversionofwhogetstobe
“in”thestory.
Inearly2019,Broadway’sAmericanSon, starringKerry
WashingtonandStevenPasquale,toldofinterracialpar-
entswhospenda nightina Floridapolicestationwaiting
forwordoftheirmissingson.Writtenbya whiteplaywright,
ChristopherDemos-Brown,it grimlybringstolifethefears
parentsofblackchildrenlivewith,anditschillingconclu-
sionbringstomindTrayvonMartinandTamirRice,boys
whosestoriesendedina wayweknowalltoowell.American
Sonis beingadaptedforNetflix,whereit willappearinthe
“recommendedforyou”fieldsofpeoplewhowatched
Scandal—thestreamingversionofa glimpsedbookjacket
ona plane,quietlydrawingyourattention.
These “American” works are moving the tales of
blackpeoplefromthe“AfricanAmerican”sectionofthe
bookstoretothefronttable,a powerfuladvance.There,
thesenarratives of everyday life are better positioned to
meet and contradict divisive fictions emanating from poli-
tics and the media. They’re inclusive stories whose strength
comes from the complex world where Americans actually
live, grow, and dream. <BW>Forget politics. Books and
plays are forcing audiences to
reexamine a word
that’s as charged as ever
By Jordyn HolmanWho Gets to Be
An ‘American’?
A
I
E
MR
C
N A