{"product_id":"black-boy-smile-a-memoir-in-moments-d-watkins","title":"Black Boy Smile: A Memoir in Moments;  D Watkins","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAt nine years old, D. Watkins has three concerns in life: picking his dad’s Lotto numbers, keeping his Nikes free of creases, and being a man. Directly in his periphery is east Baltimore, a poverty-stricken city battling the height of the crack epidemic just hours from the nation’s capital. Watkins, like many boys around him, is thrust out of childhood and into a world where manhood means surviving by slinging crack on street corners and finding oneself on the right side of pistols. For thirty years, Watkins is forced to safeguard every moment of joy he experiences or risk losing himself entirely. Now, for the first time, Watkins harnesses these moments to tell the story of how he matured into the D. Watkins we know today—beloved author, college professor, editor-at-large of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eSalon.com\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e,\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and devoted husband and father.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBlack Boy Smile\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e lays bare Watkins’s relationship with his father and his brotherhood with the boys around him. He shares candid recollections of early assaults on his body and mind and reveals how he coped using stoic silence disguised as manhood. His harrowing pursuit of redemption, written in his signature street style, pinpoints how generational hardship, left raw and unnurtured, breeds toxic masculinity. Watkins discovers a love for books, is admitted to two graduate programs, meets with his future wife, an attorney—and finds true freedom in fatherhood.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEqually moving and liberating, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eBlack Boy Smile\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is D. Watkins’s love letter to Black boys in concrete cities, a daring testimony that brings to life the contradictions, fears, and hopes of boys hurdling headfirst into adulthood. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eBlack Boy Smile\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003eis a story proving that when we acknowledge the fallacies of our past, we can uncover the path toward self-discovery. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eBlack Boy Smile\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is the story of a Black boy who healed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMay 17\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-testid=\"contentContainer\" class=\"TruncatedContent__text TruncatedContent__text--medium TruncatedContent__text--expanded\" tabindex=\"-1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"DetailsLayoutRightParagraph\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"DetailsLayoutRightParagraph__widthConstrained\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Formatted\"\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"DetailsLayoutRightParagraph__widthConstrained\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Formatted\"\u003eD. Watkins is Editor at Large for Salon. His work has been published in the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, and other publications. He holds a Master's in Education from Johns Hopkins University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Baltimore.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe is a college lecturer at the University of Baltimore and founder of the BMORE Writers Project, and has also been the recipient of numerous awards including the BMe Genius Grant, and the Ford's Men of Courage. Watkins was also a finalist for the Hurston Wright Legacy Award and Books for A Better Life. He has lectured at countless universities, and events, around the world. Watkins has been featured as a guest and commentator on NBC's Meet the Press, CNN's The Erin Burnett Show, Democracy Now and NPR's Monday Morning, among other shows.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e2022\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"FREEAIR Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44884991672642,"sku":"","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/8735\/3154\/products\/blackboy.jpg?v=1680536327","url":"https:\/\/shop.freeairbooks.com\/products\/black-boy-smile-a-memoir-in-moments-d-watkins","provider":"FREEAIR Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}