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The great American writer, poet and philosopher Maya Angelou said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.” Her quote resonates deeply with the release of my book, I Too Am America: On Loving and Leading Black Men & Boys.

I Too Am America is my story — a Black baby boy born in 1962 in New York City during the Civil Rights Movement who comes of age and grips with the paradox of promise and peril that most Black boys and men in America grapple with. But the book is also the story of two talented young men, Jamare Winston from Detroit and Romero Wesson from Oakland, who embody all that we want our boys to be while illuminating the many uncertainties they face. I Too Am America is equal parts memoir, historical account of the work of the Campaign for Black Male Achievement (CBMA) and a manifesto for a hopeful path forward — comprising the vision and voices from a collection of vibrant social justice leaders.

Released with intention during the very week that our nation grappled with the first anniversary of the Capitol Hill insurrection on January 6, 2021, this book is offered as a protest against America’s continued racism, anti-Blackness and systemic oppression with a unique lens of the impact on Black men and boys. “I Too Am America, at its very essence is all about love,” writes Susan L. Taylor in the book’s foreword.

The book’s title is borrowed from the iconic Harlem Renaissance poet and writer, Langston Hughes’ 1926 poem “I, Too,” who in just 26 words almost a century ago poetically and prophetically depicted the paradox of promise and peril for Black people in America. Just as Langston was compelled to proclaim, I, too, am America.

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,

I’ll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody’ll dare

Say to me,

“Eat in the kitchen,”

Then.

Besides,

They’ll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed –

I, too, am America.

Sadly and shamefully, the “tomorrow” Hughes foretells has yet to become “today,” because as this year’s insurrection one-year anniversary reminded us, there are significant segments of the American population incapable of feeling the shame he poetically predicts they will feel because of a history of systemic racism and brutal oppression.

In many respects, we are all subject to reverberations of America’s agony of bearing its untold story. So much of what we have witnessed in the last year — the violent insurrection on the nations’ Capitol, the pervasive push to white-wash Black people’s invaluable history and contributions to the growth and prosperity of our country, the countless policy moves to bolster voter suppression in states across America — are all meant to remind us to “eat in the kitchen when company comes.”

What we urgently need to heal this divided society is an insurrection within the hearts and minds of those who believe that they possess a better, more potent brand of patriotism for this nation. We need an insurrection within hearts and minds that will disrupt and dismantle the false belief of racial superiority, rooted in the founding soil of this nation.

My story, as well as that of Jamare and Romero, are reminders of how beautiful we are and that we, too are America and that Black men and boys, and those who love and lead them, should be empowered to own and share their own #ITooAmAmerica stories. Together we will eat well, grow strong, recognize our own beauty and proudly proclaim I, too, am America.

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Shawn Dove is the founder of the Corporation for Black Male Achievement. ‘I Too Am America: On Loving and Leading Black Men & Boys’ is now available for sale on Amazon and other major book retailers.

Shawn Dove

Writing since January 2022 · 1 story contributed