How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America

I did not know what to expect from this essay when I read the title “How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America”. The essay by Kiese Laymon gives us the glimpse into the life of a young black male in the south.  I think its very important to see this view of the because a many of us have not experienced anything similar.

I thought it was very powerful that when he explained his age he included the name of a person that was unjustly killed. I thought it was interesting that he said this wasn’t an essay or a “woe-is-we narrative about how hard it is to be a black boy in America. This is a lame attempt at remembering the contours of slow death and life in America for one black American teenager under Central Mississippi skies.” I believe that this essay is used to show that we need to learn to accept ourselves  to live and say yes to life.