Yo' Mama's Disfunktional! Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America

From the celebrated author of Freedom Dreams, a thought-provoking look at how the multicolored urban working class are the solution—not the problem—to the ills of American cities

A limited Beacon Classics edition, with a gorgeous spot gloss cover and retro, classic palette

In this classic work, acclaimed historian Robin D. G. Kelley undermines false perceptions of Black culture to highlight how grassroots movements hold the key to revolutionizing urban America.

Starting with an insightful look at street culture—from the “dozens” to pick-up basketball—Kelley shows how these misunderstandings of Black culture are at the center of the failure of public policy, scholarship and social movements to save our cities. He critiques both conservatives and liberals for ignoring what these cultural forms mean for their practitioners. Blending wit, intellect, and historical detail, he offers groundbreaking analyses of the multicultural roots of Black urban culture and the mistakes of the labor movement in denying the importance of cultural factors.

With Kelley’s crucial insights as timely now as when they were first published, this repackaged edition of Yo' Mama's Disfunktional! shows how the most heartening progress toward a better future for urban America is revealed in urban grassroots movements.

Robin D. G. Kelley is Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in US History at UCLA. He is author or co-editor of numerous award-winning books, including Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, Yo’ Mama’s Disfunktional! Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America, and Race Rebels: Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class, among others.