A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance

Abdurraqib describes a late summer 2019 encounter at a Memphis, Tennessee, BBQ spot. A group of older Black people invites him to eat with them so he won’t be alone. They discuss their lives, music, and politics. The older Black folks praise Obama and criticize the current president (Donald Trump, who remains unnamed).

Abdurraqib learned that Obama won the 2008 election while he was working at an outdoor boarding school. He snuck his phone in with him so he could see the results, an act of hope the adult Abdurraqib can no longer imagine.

Home is a complicated idea for Abdurraqib. The common insult “go back where you came” from reminds him of his inability to blend in and his country’s rejection of him.

Josephine Baker, a Black dancer, left America in 1925 to settle in France. Abdurraqib contrasts her rejection of America with the hope Black men felt when they enlisted in the army to fight in World War I. In an effort to demonstrate their loyalty to America and earn respect, they served their country. Yet their efforts were in vain, and they were not seen as heroes in the US—though they were seen that way in France.