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“One of the smartest young writers of her generation.”—Book RiotFrom the acclaimed cultural critic and New York Times bestselling author of This Will Be My Undoing—a writer whom Roxane Gay has hailed as “a force to be reckoned with”—comes this powerful story of her journey to understand her northern and southern roots the Great Migration and the displacement of black peo“One of the smartest young writers of her generation.”—Book RiotFrom the acclaimed cultural critic and New York Times bestselling author of This Will Be My Undoing—a writer whom Roxane Gay has hailed as “a force to be reckoned with”—comes this powerful story of her journey to understand her northern and southern roots the Great Migration and the displacement of black people across America.Between 1916 and 1970 six million black Americans left their rural homes in the South for jobs in cities in the North West and Midwest in a movement known as The Great Migration. But while this event transformed the complexion of America and provided black people with new economic opportunities it also disconnected them from their roots their land and their sense of identity argues Morgan Jerkins. In this fascinating and deeply personal exploration she recreates her ancestors journeys across America following the migratory routes they took from Georgia and South Carolina to Louisiana Oklahoma and California.Following in their footsteps Jerkins seeks to understand not only her own past but the lineage of an entire group of people who have been displaced disenfranchised and disrespected throughout our history. Through interviews photos and hundreds of pages of transcription Jerkins braids the loose threads of her familys oral histories which she was able to trace back 300 years with the insights and recollections of black people she met along the way—the tissue of black myths customs and blood that connect the bones of American history.Incisive and illuminating Wandering in Strange Lands is a timely and enthralling look at Americas past and present one familys legacy and a young black womans life filtered through her sharp and curious eyes.(less)