The Tears of the Black Man

In The Tears of the Black Man, award-winning author Alain Mabanckou explores what it means to be black in the world today. Mabanckou confronts the long and entangled history of Africa, France, and the United States as it has been shaped by slavery, colonialism, and their legacy today. Without ignoring the injustices and prejudice still facing blacks, he distances himself from resentment and victimhood, arguing that focusing too intensely on the crimes of the past is limiting. Instead, it is time to ask: Now what? Embracing the challenges faced by ethnic minority communities today, The Tears of the Black Man looks to the future, choosing to believe that the history of Africa has yet to be written and seeking a path toward affirmation and reconciliation.

Alain Mabanckou is the award-winning author of Black Moses, The Lights of Pointe-Noire, African Psycho, Blue White Red, and many other books. He is regarded as Francophone Africa's leading voice, novelist, poet, and essayist and has received numerous literary prizes, including finalist for the Man Booker International Prize, the Grand Prix Litteraire de l’Afrique noire, and the Grand Prix de Litterature Henri Gal from the Academie Francaise for his life’s work.

Dominic Thomas is the translator of Jazz and Palm Wine, Harvest of Skulls, and The Shameful State and the author or editor of many books, including Africa and France: Postcolonial Cultures, Migration, and Racism. He is Madeleine L. Letessier Professor of French and Francophone Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.