I never knew that that desegregation hit its peak in 1989 and we've been slowly resegregation ever since. Or where the idea of diversity came from and what it really means today. Or why gentrification is only part of the story regarding increasingly white urban communities. We Gon' Be Alright is a book of well-written, well-researched essays that explain the history and present of segregation, desegregation, and resegregation with clarity, focus, and heart.
— SarahIn these provocative, powerful essays, acclaimed writer/journalist Jeff Chang (Can't Stop Won't Stop, Who We Be) takes an incisive and wide-ranging look at the recent tragedies and widespread protests that have shaken the country. Through deep reporting with key activists and thinkers, passionately personal writing, and distinguished cultural criticism, We Gon' Be Alright links #BlackLivesMatter to #OscarsSoWhite, Ferguson to Washington, DC, the Great Migration to resurgent nativism. Chang explores the rise and fall of the idea of diversity, the roots of student protest, changing ideas about Asian Americanness, and the impact of a century of racial separation in housing. He argues that resegregation is the unexamined condition of our time, the undoing of which is key to moving the nation forward to racial justice and cultural equity.