A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota

by Sun Yung Shin (Editor)

Overview

In this provocative book, sixteen of Minnesota's best writers provide a range of perspectives on what it is like to live as a person of color in Minnesota. They give readers a splendid gift: the gift of touching another human being's inner reality, behind masks and veils and politeness. They bring us generously into experiences that we must understand if we are to come together in real relationships.

Minnesota communities struggle with some of the nation's worst racial disparities. As its authors confront and consider the realities that lie beneath the numbers, this book provides an important tool to those who want to be part of closing those gaps.

With contributions by:

Taiyon J. Coleman, Heid E. Erdrich, Venessa Fuentes, Shannon Gibney, David Grant, Carolyn Holbrook, IBé, Andrea Jenkins, Robert Karimi, JaeRan Kim, Sherry Quan Lee, David Mura, Bao Phi, Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria, Diane Wilson, and Kao Kalia Yang

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681340036
Publisher:	Minnesota Historical Society Press
Publication date:	04/01/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	449,458
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Sun Yung Shin is the author of a book of prose Unbearable Splendor, two books of poetry Rough, and Savage and Skirt Full of Black, a co-editor of Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption, and author of children’s book Cooper’s Lesson.

Table of Contents

Introduction Sun Yung Shin 3

Fear of a Black Mother Shannon Gibney 13

Disparate Impacts: Moving to Minnesota to Live Just Enough for the City Taiyon J. Coleman 25

A Surrealist History of One Asian American in Minnesota David Mura 43

With an "e" Venessa Fuentes 59

Trouble in Mind: To Be Black Is Blue in America IBé 69

Brutal Bao Phi 81

Say What? Carolyn Holbrook 99

Red, White, and Blank Heid E. Erdrich 109

The Good Kind of Immigrants JaeRan Kim 121

Fighting the Oppressive Whiteness Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria 137

Dark Trees in the Landscape of Love Kao Kalia Yang 145

The Price We Pay: How Race and Gender Identity Converge Andrea Jenkins 171

Songlines for Future Culturewalkers: (Betty) White (Crocker) Bank Take Little (House on the Prairie) Bank Robert Farid Karimi 171

Discomfort Zone: Minnesota Born and Raised Sherry Quart Lee 187

People Like Us David Lawrence Grant 195

Seeds for Seven Generations Diane Wilson 213

Editorial Reviews

Sun Yung Shin has brought together a collection of passionate literary warriors whose fierceness is equaled and at times surpassed only by their love of community, and of us, the people for whom they speak. The unburdening that takes place here is specific and yet representative. Either way it is heavy. Deep. You will not be able to read this book without changing. Minnesota will never be the same.”—Alexs Pate, author and president, Innocent Technologies, LLC
 


“This is the northern voice on race—multiple perspectives and divergent experiences, but a common call for change on one of the most pressing issues of our time. Brave and poignant, full of true grit and wisdom, A Good Time for the Truth is a compelling challenge to us all.”—Anton Treuer, author of Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians but Were Afraid to Ask
 


“A Good Time for the Truth evokes every emotion, from sudden bursts of laughter to soul-wrenching sadness at what could and should have been. The writers show how America has failed to deliver on its promise, while they simultaneously paint a vision of our capacity to thrive when the color of our skin is no longer the gatekeeper into the garden of American Dreams.”—Sia Her, executive director, Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans
 


“These essays fuel our imaginations, encourage us to reflect on our values, and challenge our biases. The authors’ lived experiences strike a deep chord, resonating with current events and sounding a clarion call to advancing racial justice!”—Luz Maria Frias, attorney and race equity strategist
 


“What is a true Minnesotan? In the land still defined by Lake Wobegon, the Vikings, Snoopy, and Mary Tyler Moore, the ideas of who we are have still not caught up to the realities, not by a long shot. This book helps to narrow that gap.”—Wing Young Huie, author of Frogtown and The University Avenue Project
 

From the Publisher