African American Literature in a Post-Racial (?) Age

Throughout the nation' s history, African American literature has provided some of the deepest insights into the nature of race in the United States through the assertion of humanity and vehement condemnation of enslavement in the slave narratives, to the embracing of African derived forms in the Harlem and new Negro renaissances, to Black Arts era cultural programs and institutions such as the Studio Museum that arose in response to urban uprisings. Now, some suggest that the United States has entered a post-racial moment, and, indeed, there is no more contested assertion than this. Once again, African American literature can prove instructive in assessing this moment. As we look to and beyond the literature of writers influenced by what Trey Ellis has termed the new Black Aesthetic, how is race now being engaged? The beginning of the 21st century offers an opportunity to explore this question through examining the insights of modern writers who continue to consider the transformations and/or status quos of being "raced" in the United States.