This Is Major by Shayla Lawson

This Is Major by Shayla Lawson

A National Book Critics Circle Finalist in Autobiography * Finalist for a Lambda Literary Award * Named one of the most anticipated books of the year by USA Today, Bitch Magazine, Parade, Salon and Ms. Magazine

From a
fierce and humorous new voice comes a relevant, insightful, and riveting
collection of personal essays on the richness and resilience of black girl
culture--for readers of Samantha Irby, Roxane Gay, Morgan Jerkins, and Lindy
West. 

Shayla
Lawson is major. You don't know who she is. Yet. But that's okay. She is on a
mission to move black girls like herself from best supporting actress to a
starring role in the major narrative. Whether she's taking on workplace microaggressions
or upending racist stereotypes about her home state of Kentucky, she looks for
the side of the story that isn't always told, the places where the voices of
black girls haven't been heard.

The essays
in This is Major ask questions like: Why are black women invisible
to AI? What is "black girl magic"? Or:
Am I one viral tweet away from becoming Twitter famous? And: How much magic
does it take to land a Tinder date?

With
a unique mix of personal stories, pop culture observations, and insights into
politics and history, Lawson sheds light on these questions, as well as the
many ways black women and girls have influenced mainstream culture--from their
style, to their language, and even their art--and how "major"
they really are.

Timely,
enlightening, and wickedly sharp, This Is
Major places black women at the center--no longer silenced, no longer the
minority. 

Shayla Lawson grew up in Lexington, Kentucky. She is a professor at Amherst College and lives in Brooklyn, New York.