A Good Time for the Truth edited by Sun Yung Shin | Book Review
Credit: Minnesota Historical Society
A Good Time For The Truth edited by Sun Yung Shin
In this provocative book, sixteen of Minnesota’s best writers provide a range of perspectives on what it is like to live as a person of color in Minnesota. They give readers a splendid gift: the gift of touching another human being’s inner reality, behind masks and veils and politeness. They bring us generously into experiences that we must understand if we are to come together in real relationships.
Minnesota communities struggle with some of the nation’s worst racial disparities. As its authors confront and consider the realities that lie beneath the numbers, this book provides an important tool to those who want to be part of closing those gaps.
With contributions by: Taiyon J. Coleman, Heid E. Erdrich, Venessa Fuentes, Shannon Gibney, David Lawrence Grant, Carolyn Holbrook, IBé, Andrea Jenkins, Robert Farid Karimi, JaeRan Kim, Sherry Quan Lee, David Mura, Bao Phi, Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria, Diane Wilson, Kao Kalia Yang
Review
Published in 2016, this collection of essays from sixteen of Minnesota writers shows different perspectives on the experience of living in Minnesota as a person of color. Though this state is known for “Minnesota Nice,” many know well that it is not always so nice to live here. With some of the greatest racial disparities in the country, and years before the murder of George Floyd on the Minneapolis street at the hands of the police, this book is needed and timely. We as a collective community have a lot to learn from our neighbors and it first starts with learning about their experiences or for some, feeling validated by the experiences.