A well-argued case for the power of Black Twitter.
A media studies professor explores the intersection of television and social media in this debut nonfiction work.
Watching television “is always better when it’s done together,” writes Williams, noting that Black Americans in particular have historically consumed television as a collective experience, from communal viewings of Roots during the 1970s to mass engagement with major news stories like Magic Johnson’s AIDS announcement. In this well-researched, convincing study, the author argues that the nature of Black viewership underwent a monumental change in the 2010s that both challenged and fundamentally transformed the television industry. Calling this phenomenon “Black social TV,” Williams argues that “social media engagement by mostly Black audiences about scripted and unscripted shows with Black people” both connected Black viewers across the country and amplified their collective impressions on television media. Indeed, per the author, part of the success of some of the decade’s most popular shows—from gripping dramatic sagas like Empire and Scandal to reality TV programs such as The Real Housewives of Atlanta—was due to the social media engagement of Black Americans. The book’s early chapters provide historical context on Black viewership, media theory, and the representation of Black people (particularly women) in traditionally white-dominated media; the book’s second half explores case studies of specific TV programs. The final chapters look at how Covid-19-era quarantines further solidified Black social media engagement and address Elon Musk’s role in pushing Black media commentators out of their traditional home on Twitter to other social media platforms. Williams also discusses the continued exploitation of Black voices, particularly as the work of Black social media influencers remains largely uncredited and unpaid. An Assistant Professor of Journalism at American University, the author previously worked as a journalist in Mississippi and Ohio. Her text reflects both professional backgrounds—it’s impressively researched and offers readers an accessibly written and engaging narrative.
A well-argued case for the power of Black Twitter.Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781793616289
Page Count: 196
Publisher: Lexington Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.
Words that made a nation.
Isaacson is known for expansive biographies of great thinkers (and Elon Musk), but here he pens a succinct, stimulating commentary on the Founding Fathers’ ode to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” His close reading of the Declaration of Independence’s second sentence, published to mark the 250th anniversary of the document’s adoption, doesn’t downplay its “moral contradiction.” Thomas Jefferson enslaved hundreds of people yet called slavery “a cruel war against human nature” in his first draft of the Declaration. All but 15 of the document’s 56 signers owned enslaved people. While the sentence in question asserted “all men are created equal” and possess “unalienable rights,” the Founders “consciously and intentionally” excluded women, Native Americans, and enslaved people. And yet the sentence is powerful, Isaacson writes, because it names a young nation’s “aspirations.” He mounts a solid defense of what ought to be shared goals, among them economic fairness, “moral compassion,” and a willingness to compromise. “Democracy depends on this,” he writes. Isaacson is excellent when explaining how Enlightenment intellectuals abroad influenced the founders. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Declaration’s “five-person drafting committee,” stayed in David Hume’s home for a month in the early 1770s, “discussing ideas of natural rights” with the Scottish philosopher. Also strong is Isaacson’s discussion of the “edits and tweaks” made to Jefferson’s draft. As recommended by Franklin and others, the changes were substantial, leaving Jefferson “distraught.” Franklin, who emerges as the book’s hero, helped establish municipal services, founded a library, and encouraged religious diversity—the kind of civic-mindedness that we could use more of today, Isaacson reminds us.
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781982181314
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.
Portraits in a post-pandemic world.
After the Covid-19 lockdowns left New York City’s streets empty, many claimed that the city was “gone forever.” It was those words that inspired Stanton, whose previous collections include Humans of New York (2013), Humans of New York: Stories (2015), and Humans (2020), to return to the well once more for a new love letter to the city’s humanity and diversity. Beautifully laid out in hardcover with crisp, bright images, each portrait of a New Yorker is accompanied by sparse but potent quotes from Stanton’s interviews with his subjects. Early in the book, the author sequences three portraits—a couple laughing, then looking serious, then the woman with tears in her eyes—as they recount the arc of their relationship, transforming each emotional beat of their story into an affecting visual narrative. In another, an unhoused man sits on the street, his husky eating out of his hand. The caption: “I’m a late bloomer.” Though the pandemic isn’t mentioned often, Stanton focuses much of the book on optimistic stories of the post-pandemic era. Among the most notable profiles is Myles Smutney, founder of the Free Store Project, whose story of reclaiming boarded‑up buildings during the lockdowns speaks to the city’s resilience. In reusing the same formula from his previous books, the author confirms his thesis: New York isn’t going anywhere. As he writes in his lyrical prologue, “Just as one might dive among coral reefs to marvel at nature, one can come to New York City to marvel at humanity.” The book’s optimism paints New York as a city where diverse lives converge in moments of beauty, joy, and collective hope.
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781250277589
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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