It’s September! Let’s read and discuss “How to Name Your Black Son in a Racist Country,” by Tyrone Fleurizard

Welcome to September! I’m excited to announce that this month’s article is “How to Name Your Black Son in a Racist Country,” by Tyrone Fleurizard. The essay is “a master class in content and technique,” says Article Clubber Lisa, and I agree. Right from the beginning, Mr. Fleurizard hooks you and doesn’t let go. There’s tension; there’s depth; there’s beautiful writing; there’s pain; there’s transformation.

Here’s an excerpt from the piece, which I featured in Issue #292 of The Highlighter:

What happens to a dream deferred? Apparently it turns into a nightmare, one where you finally meet your newborn son and his name is Tyrone. Decide that you will never call him this. You fear that in this country, a name like Tyrone will get your son killed. But in this country, there is no difference between your Black son and anybody else’s Black son. The only difference is between you, a naturalized American who pledges allegiance to this country, and your son, born in America, whose only allegiance is to upend the systems that make it impossible for Black people to breathe.

A Fulbright scholar, Mr. Fleurizard is a graduate student in education policy and management at Harvard Graduate School of Education. His work has appeared in The Audacity, Roxane Gay’s newsletter, as well as in Inside Higher Ed and Fulbright Malaysia.

I hope you’ll join me and fellow Article Clubbers in discussing this article on Sunday, September 26, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT! This event will be on Zoom, open to the public, and limited to 24 participants. Mr. Fleurizard will be joining our conversation!

Are you IN? I hope so. If so, here’s what to do:

1. Sign up for the discussion.

2. Leave a comment here. Click the button below, say hi, and share what drew you in.

3. Start reading! Highly encouraged: Let’s annotate this copy of the article together.

Coming up this month at Article Club

• This week: We’ll sign up for the discussion and start reading the article.

• Next week: We’ll annotate the article with fellow Article Clubbers.

• The week of September 20 : We’ll listen to an interview with Mr. Fleurizard.

• Sunday, September 26: We’ll discuss the article with fellow Article Clubbers.

Are you new to Article Club? If so, welcome! We look forward to meeting you and having your voice in the conversation. Feel free to reach out with questions: mark@highlighter.cc.

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Article Club is a community of thoughtful people who read, annotate, and discuss one great article every month on race, education, or culture. Everyone is welcome. The author participates, too. Article Club is part of The Highlighter, a weekly newsletter featuring the best articles on race, education, and culture.