I knew I would enjoy this book right from the introduction where the Quadrille, a dance that in 1804 caused a fight at the celebration of Louisiana joining the United States of America. In the dance, groups circle each other entering and exiting alliances as do those vying for land or its control – power shown through a dance.

But Africans danced the Quadrille too – outside with shimmying, dressed in bright colours but no one took any notice of their dance and so here we have the foundation of the book. It is not the last time that dance, music and song are mentioned as specific elements of a place in the South.

Perry travels to various parts of the south – it feels like everywhere as this is not a short book – looking at what is meant by ‘the south’ exploring each place, finding a significant event or person and then relating these to what it means to be Black and American.

. . . the so-called black and so-called white of America resemble nobody else in the world so much as they resemble each other.

p108

So, the book is part travelogue, part biography, quite personal and draws upon dance and song to illustrate points along with critiquing. It is an unusual concoction of information but one that on the whole worked. There were a few places where I wondered what the big idea was and how it fitted in with the other chapters but as Perry says, the South is not one place.

What I came away with is the fact that the South is complex but there are commonalities that in order to understand what it means to be American, you need to understand these aspects. Racism is a daily occurence and that it is important to understand where you have come from and respect it. What I always knew but was reminded of is that Whites will do almost anything, even now, to maintain the status quo or to try and move it back a step or two in terms of who holds the power.

Staying alive on the grounds of your ancestors murder and abuse is no small matter.

p176

Perry writes that ‘race is at the heart of the south, and the heart of the nation’ and this is observed and written about through every day life. It’s just that not everybody recognises this.

You take the victories. You cherish them. Because there is still so much to endure.

p372