Harlem World (2001) by John Jackson Jr.

When

I read this during the summer of 2023.

Why

While addressing some of the feedback I received on an earlier draft of what would eventually become Luke Cage (2023), I decided to look for a book on the racial dynamics of Harlem to better contextualize my argument of a synergistic relationship between Harlem and Luke Cage’s synergistic mission.

How

Coming across Jackson Jr.’s book proved very beneficial, as his anthropological investigation into how Harlemites discussed, understood, and acted in accordance with beliefs about what it meant to be black living in Harlem provided a good backdrop against which I could explore Luke Cage’s multifaceted and complex relationship with the neighborhood.