Craft and Conscience

Foreword, by Mira Jacob Introduction CHAPTER 1 Why We Write: Interrogating Our Motivations for Writing About Social Issues · “Why I Write,” by George Orwell · “Autobiographical Notes,” from Notes of a Native Son, by James Baldwin · “Ellaji and Lakshmiji,” by Kavita Das CHAPTER 2 How We Are All Connected: Understanding the Relationship Between the Writer, Reader, and Subject · “Tramp,” by Kavita Das · “Jyoti’s Rainbow,” by Kavita Das · “Black and Blue,” by Garnette Cadogan · “Football, Free on the Streets,” by Garnette Cadogan CHAPTER 3 Diving In Deep or Casting Wide: Considering Context Versus Narrative to Shape Our Stories · “Red Ink of Revisionist History,” by Kavita Das · “Selective Perception of Disinformation,” by Kavita Das · “Introduction: This Land,” from An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz · From “Fear” in Breathe: A Letter to My Sons, by Imani Perry · “How Could I Write About Women Whose Existence Is Barely Acknowledged?” by Gaiutra Bahadur CHAPTER 4 Writing from Outside In or Inside Out: Reporting, Personal Narrative, or a Hybrid Approach · “COVID-19 Vaccine: What White Conservatives Can Learn from Black Americans,” by Kavita Das · “A Virulent Privilege,” by Kavita Das · “La Otra,” adapted from Ordinary Girls, by Jaquira Díaz · “The School-to-Prison Pipeline Is Getting Worse for Black and Brown Girls,” by Jaquira Díaz · “99 Years After the Tulsa Race Massacre, an Artist Reflects,” by Crystal Z Campbell CHAPTER 5 Staking a Claim: Writing Opinion Pieces (Op-Eds) · “The Anti-Vaxxer Threat amid a Pandemic,” by Kavita Das · “Tolerance Has a Fatal Flaw. This Is the Solution,” by Kavita Das · “Stories of Transracial Adoptees Must Be Heard—Even Uncomfortable Ones,” by Nicole Chung · “The Specter of Caste in Silicon Valley,” by Yashica Dutt CHAPTER 6 Are You the Right Storyteller for This Story?: Understanding Cultural Sensitivity and Avoiding Cultural Appropriation · Introduction and Conclusion from White Negroes: When Cornrows Were in Vogue . . . and Other Thoughts on Cultural Appropriation, by Lauren Michele Jackson · “Who Gets to Write What?” by Kaitlyn Greenidge · “How to Unlearn Everything: When It Comes to Writing the ‘Other,&rsrquo; What Questions Are We Not Asking?” by Alexander Chee · “Who Gets to Write About Whom: Examining Authority, Authenticity, and Appropriation in Biography,” by Kavita Das CHAPTER 7 Ripple Effects of Making Waves: Implications (Good and Bad) of Writing About Social Issues · “Writers Shouldn’t Romanticize Rejection,” by Kavita Das · “Recovering My Fifth Sense,” by Kavita Das · “There Is No One Way,” by Alice Wong · “Stepping on a Star,” from We Wear the Mask: 15 True Stories of Passing in America, by Gabrielle Bellot Conclusion Acknowledgments Recommended Resources About Kavita Das, Author About Mira Jacob, Foreword Writer About the Contributors Notes Permissions