The Man Who Was Almost a Man
This story portrays a teenage black boy, David Saunders, wanting to finally be a man, and to do so, he decides to buy a gun. He persuades his mother to give him the money, promising to give the gun to his father, and buys it. David, of course, doesn’t take the gun back home, instead he decides to test it. By doing so, he kills the plantation owner’s mule. Frantic and scared, he decides to hide the gun and lie that the mule was killed by accident. Confronted by his father, he decides to tell the truth, and the owner wants him to work for free for two years to pay for the mule. David, angry for being always used by everyone, decides to dig up the gun and catch the oncoming train to escape from home in pursuit of masculinity.
This story explores the theme of masculinity in the lives of young black men suppressed by the system, learning from a young age to be submissive towards the white men who exploit their bodies for labor. This issue is vividly portrayed in the image of David mockingly pointing the empty gun at the plantation owner’s house, after he’d wasted the bullet on the mule.
The second story is about a man escaping from being wrongfully accused and captured for murder. He escapes underground through a manhole and, afraid of coming to the surface, wanders and observes the outside world by digging holes and entering various buildings. It all culminates in him robbing a vault and plastering the money and expensive jewelry all over the underground walls. He becomes frantic, feeling as if he’s discover the meaning of life, and decides to confess what he’d done to the same policemen he initially escaped from. He decides to show them his creation underground, but one of them fatally shoots him, deciding his life is not worth living.
This story is important on many levels. On the surface level, it clearly shows the police brutality of white policemen when it comes to black men, but it also shows the corrupted system that undervalues and allows the senseless takings of black lives.
Big Black Good Man
Olaf Jensen is a hotel owner in Copenhagen who, one day, receives a big, intimidating black customer. He is filled with fear and racial prejudice, which is accentuated towards the end when the black man grabs him by the neck before leaving. After some time, the big black man returns, much to Olaf’s discomfort, and it turns out that all his fear was a misunderstanding. The black man turns out to be a shirt-maker, and he wanted to measure his neck to bring him shirts to thank him for giving him a room in the hotel.
This story is important because it is not set in the colonial America, but it still shows the prejudice black men face outside. It shows the objectification of a black man’s body, linking it to violence and aggression, which shows how far the racism and white supremacy goes.
The Man Who Saw the Flood
This story shows a black family returning home after a flood and having to start their lives over. They own money for grains, but the seller of it is relentless, refusing to show compassion, demanding for them to pay. The story ends with the father leaving with the seller, who suggests that he may find another way for him to pay. This story shows the unfortunate circumstances of a poor family, who, despite the misfortune, doesn’t show anger of bitterness. It also shows the sacrifice of a black father, who is ready to do anything to protect his family and keep them ignorant of his sacrifice.
Man of All Work
This story is about a black husband and father, desperate to keep his family safe, decides to apply for a job of a female housemaid, wearing his wife’s clothes and using her name. He ends up getting shot by the wife of his employer, who tried to molest him while she’s away. He returns home with money for the house and family as a compensation for his silence. It is a somewhat comedic story about a husband and father ready to go to any lengths for his family.
Man, God Ain’t Like That...
This story shows a white couple going on an adventure in Africa. The run over an African boy called Babu, and the man, growing fond of his character and his readiness to serve them, decides to take Babu with them to Paris. Upon arriving to Paris, the couple immediately loses sight of Babu. After a couple of months, Babu appears in front of the man, whom he calls Massa. He starts talking about Christianity and how he found a photo of Massa which shows him as Jesus-the man is an artist who’d done some modelling work. Babu refuses to listen to the man’s explanations. He is convinced that Massa is Jesus reborn and decides to sacrifice him just like Jesus sacrificed himself in the Bible.
The story ends with policemen investigating the man’s death, commenting on Babu and his crazy confession, and deciding that the murder was an act of jealousy by some random woman. This story shows the dangers of the overconfidence of white supremacy. It is comedic and grotesque.
The Man Who Killed a Shadow
This story follows a young black man growing up with shadows. Shadows her refers to are shadows of racism, unfairness and violence towards black people. He starts working at a library, where he is constantly stared at by a strange white woman. Refusing to show weakness under her gaze, he stares back at her, and she runs off to complain about him. The next day, she confronts him, saying that he doesn’t clean under her desk. After approaching her desk, he realizes what it’s all about as she spreads her legs and lifts her skirt in front of him. She starts making racist insults at him, and he slaps her across the face. The woman runs off and starts screaming at the top of her lungs. The black man knows that a white woman’s scream is a death penalty for him. He murders her to stop her screaming. It ends with the reports about his trial.
This main message conveyed in this story is the message of condemnation of a black man, of a system that doesn’t allow black men to walk free innocent, whether they are guilty or not. It shows a system that weaponizes the black man’s blackness against him, dehumanizes and entraps him.
The Man Who Went to Chicago
The final story is told from the author’s perspective and shows his experiences, the differences between his life in the southern part of America and moving to Chicago. This story summarizes the messages conveyed in the previous stories, the imprisonment and helplessness of black men in a world that they belong to, but that doesn’t allow them to be freely themselves, it shows the unfairness and the subtle and not-so-subtle racism from the white racists, and the hopelessness of black men having to be aware of their skin color, their appearance and mannerisms, preventing them to be free to be themselves and express themselves freely.
