BLACK OAK

Odes of praise for Black masculinity.

This collection follows Green’s Black Roses, which presented “Odes Celebrating Powerful Black Women.” Following an introduction, the author offers 40 poems divided into six categories – Brave Hearts, Champions, Dreamers, Guardians, and Humanitarians. Green lauds figures ranging from businessmen (Tristan Walker, Excell Hardy Jr.) to public intellectuals (Henry Louis Gates Jr., Ta-Nehisi Coates) to professional athletes (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Colin Kaepernick) to musicians (John Legend, Chance the Rapper, Killer Mike). In the introduction, the author highlights the “Black male role models” in his childhood and credits his father, grandfather, and uncles with passing on to him not just a love for poetry and music, but a keen sense of the possibilities inherent in both for liberating the imagination. Green identifies strong familial ties and male friendships as wellsprings of positive identify formation as well as a necessary condition of racial solidarity. The author’s verse celebrates these bonds in an effort to “expand on the language that Black men use to speak to and about each other,” making it possible for “us to be more comfortable rooting for each other no matter sexual orientation, disagreements, or status.” A resonant theme is Green’s admiration for the ramifying positivity of commitments to kin, as in his praise for his own father’s ability to “demonstrate / what proper pride looks like. / When you have enough for yourself, / it spills over into others.” Also potent are the author’s tributes to the courage of Black protest: “Colin’s Proposal” strikingly declares that “On September 1st, 2016, / Colin Kaepernick proposed to the United States— / she said, ‘No.’ ” Green also celebrates inspirational Black leadership—e.g., commending the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III for his ability to “speak as if / faith is part of the fabric / that creates forward motion— / aerodynamic optimism— / panoramic realism.”

A heartfelt assemblage of applause for America’s Black male exemplars.