I have been thinking about the themes of melancholy, remembrance, and trauma for a while. Part of my investment can be traced back to personal experiences and losses; another source of this interest is my immersion in African American lit er a ture and culture and my passion for critical and literary theory. This book is motivated by a suspicion that many of our influential narratives, images, and cultural symbols minimize the intensity of loss and injury in our world. More specifically, this

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... oj ect is animated by the dangers and limitations of interpreting black freedom strug gles and the legacy of racism within logics of pro gress and national exceptionalism. My sense is that a dif er ent kind of hope and set of possibilities emerge through melancholy, remembrance, and a heightened understanding of history's tragic features. I completed the penultimate draft of this book a month before the Ferguson uprising and the re-emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement. While time and space did not permit me to write about this insurgent set of practices, strug gles, and aspirations, much of my analy sis resonates with the concerns and overall energy of this movement. This book is also