“Reading Minds” Interview: Michael Owens
In this video interview at NewsOK.com, Oklahoma author Michael Owens discusses his compelling new book Yes I Am Who I Am: A New Philosophy of Black Identity.
In the interview, Owens discusses some of his life experiences that led to the book’s challenging critique of ideas surrounding Black Americans’ identity. His examination of the terms “Black American” and “African American” are an especially interesting part of the book, which Owens also touches on in the interview in regard to Black Americans’ efforts to “carve out an identity from the American experience.”
Owens also notes the role of Hip Hop as a polarizing element in considerations of Black identity. The author describes the need for Hip Hop to reshape itself in order to make a more positive impact, and his book effectively puts this vital and controversial movement in proper context as part of an effort to reach a consensus on Black identity.
Some of the author’s solutions to the “broken identity” of Black Americans are also discussed, including the need to re-educate and re-tell the early aspirations of Black Americans. In Owens’s words,
“‘Black History Month’ was never the goal. Black history is American history.”
This YouTube video is an excellent introduction to the book’s themes, and the author’s website is full of interesting resources on Black history and links to some of Owens’ other writings.
Yes I Am Who I Am is available at local bookstores, including Full Circle, as well as online at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.
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