Mature
Audio only
Length9h 4m
About this audiobook
FINALIST, LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE IN AUDIOBOOK
NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK BY: Time, USA Today, People, AARP, Today.com, BookRiot, Bustle, LitHub, BookPage, Our Culture, and Vulture
A surprising and beautiful meditation on the color blue—and its fascinating role in Black history and culture—from National Book Award winner Imani Perry
Throughout history, the concept of Blackness has been remarkably intertwined with another color: blue. In daily life, it is evoked in countless ways. Blue skies and blue water offer hope for that which lies beyond the current conditions. But blue is also the color of deep melancholy and heartache, echoing Louis Armstrong’s question, “What did I do to be so Black and blue?” In this book, celebrated author Imani Perry uses the world’s favorite color as a springboard for a riveting emotional, cultural, and spiritual journey—an examination of race and Blackness that transcends politics or ideology.
Perry traces both blue and Blackness from their earliest roots to their many embodiments of contemporary culture, drawing deeply from her own life as well as art and history: The dyed indigo cloths of West Africa that were traded for human life in the 16th century. The mixture of awe and aversion in the old-fashioned characterization of dark-skinned people as “Blue Black.” The fundamentally American art form of blues music, sitting at the crossroads of pain and pleasure. The blue flowers Perry plants to honor a loved one gone too soon.
Poignant, spellbinding, and utterly original, Black in Blues is a brilliant new work that could only have come from the mind of one of our greatest writers and thinkers. Attuned to the harrowing and the sublime aspects of the human experience, it is every bit as vivid, rich, and striking as blue itself.
Audiobook details
GenreHistory, Psychology, Other
Length9 hrs 4 mins
Narrated byImani Perry
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateJan 28, 2025
LanguageEnglish
More from Imani Perry
Frederick Douglass: All 3 Memoirs in One VolumeFrederick Douglass44h 9m$2 · $0.00
I've Been to the MountaintopMartin Luther King48m5 (1)$11 · $0.00
RevolutionariesSanjeev Sanyal11h 23m$29 · $0.00
We Crossed a Bridge and It TrembledWendy Pearlman6h$24 · $0.00
Unbroken Bonds of BattleJohnny Joey Jones8h 31m$8 · $0.00
The Red RecordIda B. Wells-Barnett2h 9m$2 · $0.00
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman, Malcolm Brabant7h 54m$26 · $0.00
Lily's PromiseLily Ebert, Dov Forman8h 54m$29 · $0.00
Saving My EnemyBob Welch9h 11m$20
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m$29 · $0.00
Across the RiverKent Babb11h 40m$29 · $0.00
Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir - Israel, Palestine and BeyondJohn Lyons12h 37m$33 · $0.00
The Fire Next TimeJames Baldwin2h 25m$15
EnduranceAlfred Lansing6h 1m$20
LES MISERABLES (Illustrated Edition)Victor Hugo66h 17m$1 · $0.00
BeyondStephen Walker15h 39m$33 · $0.00
Kings and PawnsHoward Bryant10h 9m$29 · $0.00
No EscapeNury Turkel9h 30m$28 · $0.00
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Complete 6 Volume Edition)Edward Gibbon179h 45m$2 · $0.00
Jubal Stone: U.S. Marshal: Blood Trail To Hell: A Western Adventure NovelCasey Nash3h 42m$18 · $0.00
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m$29 · $0.00
TerraformPropaganda5h 39m$24 · $0.00
Hour of the HeartIrvin D. Yalom, Benjamin Yalom8h 19m$26 · $0.00
The Thomas Sowell ReaderThomas Sowell14h 51m$25
So You Want to Talk about RaceIjeoma Oluo7h 41m$17
Braving the TruthRachel Held Evans11h 31m$29 · $0.00
Level UpRob Dial7h 42m$26 · $0.00
As a JewSarah Hurwitz8h 36m$26 · $0.00
The North American Indian (Illustrated Edition)Edward S. Curtis, Frederick Webb Hodge6h$2 · $0.00
Burn the HaystackJennie Young, PhD9h 30m$29 · $0.00
Good InsideBecky Kennedy9h 55m$29 · $0.00
Du Bois: EssaysW.E.B. Du Bois6h 23m$1 · $0.00
Valley of the BirdtailAndrew Stobo Sniderman, Douglas Sanderson10h 1m$29 · $0.00
Lies My Therapist Told MeGreg E. Gifford9h 3m$29 · $0.00
Nobody Knows My NameJames Baldwin5h 49m$17
Start Here Start NowLiz Kleinrock4h 20m$20
The Collected Works of Sigmund FreudSigmund Freud112h 54m$2 · $0.00
Man's Search for MeaningViktor E. Frankl5h 44m$20
Abolition. Feminism. Now.Angela Y. Davis, Erica Meiners, Beth Richie, Gina Dent5h 4m$15
Becoming AbolitionistsDerecka Purnell14h 24m$23
The Book of Proverbs (2020 Edition)Brian Simmons4h 48m1 (1)$10 · $0.00
The Holy Bible - 1 SamuelKing James2h 13m$3 · $0.00
KJV Holy BibleBroadStreet Publishing Group LLC96h 16m$10 · $0.00
Book of ColossiansUnknown Author16m$8
The American Standard Bible — The Gospel of MatthewMatthew3h 56m$2 · $0.00
Everyday Chanakya | Time Management S01E08Radhakrishnan Pillai42m$4
Bad Fat Black GirlSesali Bowen6h 32m$24 · $0.00
The King James Audio Bible New Testament CompleteChristopher Glyn20h 2m5 (1)$12 · $0.00
Faiths CheckbookCharles Spurgeon12h 44m$11 · $0.00
Be Wild Be FreeAmber Fossey26m$7 · $0.00
My Favorite Husband, Vol. 1Hollywood 360, CBS Radio5h 40m$14
Designing Terry Pratchett’s DiscworldPaul Kidby3h 52m$20 · $0.00
The Chosen Book OneAmanda Jenkins, Kristen Hendricks, Dallas Jenkins3h 8m$10 · $0.00
The Lives of BrianBrian Johnson9h 45m$29 · $0.00
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the HorseCharlie Mackesy58m$11 · $0.00
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of LukeJ.C. Ryle27h 13m$18 · $0.00
CrossroadsKaleb Dahlgren7h 56m$26 · $0.00
Across the RiverKent Babb11h 40m$29 · $0.00
Brain Training for RidersAndrea Monsarrat Waldo5h 56m$19 · $0.00
My Effin' LifeGeddy Lee17h 11m5 (1)$40 · $0.00
You may also like
Call and ResponseL. Michelle Smith8h 3m$26 · $0.00
If Cancer is a Gift, Can I Return It?Agalia Baker5h 13m$18 · $0.00
Aches and GainsPaul J. Christo, M.D., M.B.A16h 32m$25 · $0.00
Eat BitterLydia Pang7h 37m$24 · $0.00
Kintsugi for Beginners – The Practical Guide: How to Turn Setbacks and Wounds into Gold and Forge True Strength of Character and Resilience – Including a Kintsugi MeditationEmi Tanaka4h 17m$20 · $0.00
The Story of the Innumerable Company, and Other SketchesDavid Starr Jordan5h 11m$1 · $0.00
Master of ChangeBrad Stulberg6h 44m$24 · $0.00
The HeartMath SolutionDoc Lew Childre, Howard Martin2h 45m$15
Dancing in the StreetsBarbara Ehrenreich9h 30m$20
The More or Less Definitive Guide to Self-CareAnna Borges4h 23m$20 · $0.00
Philosophical Masterpieces on Living Well – 3 Classic Ethical StudiesMarcus Aurelius, Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, George Herbert Palmer18h 33m$2
Curveballs: How to Keep It Together when Life Tries to Tear You a New OneEmma Markezic8h 2m$26 · $0.00
KoshersoulMichael W. Twitty9h 30m$29 · $0.00
Safe To FeelAmanda Fincham2h 35m$12 · $0.00
StretchScott Sonenshein7h 58m$26 · $0.00
Profitable PostsJideon F Marques7h 34m$11 · $0.00
Love That StoryJonathan Van Ness5h 44m$24 · $0.00
As Luck Would Have ItJoshua Piven5h 52m$20 · $0.00
How Not to Kill YourselfSet Sytes, Faith G. Harper PhD2h 41m$15
Anywhere But HomeAnu Vaidyanathan6h 21m$8