In the spirit of Piri Thomas' Down These Mean Streets and Maya
Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, this powerful memoir by
writer and activist Kevin Powell vividly recounts the horrific poverty
of his youth; his struggles to overcome a legacy of anger, violence, and
self-hatred; and his journey to be a man and a voice for others.
Driven by his single mother's dreams for his survival and success, Kevin
Powell became the first in his family to attend a university, where he
became a student leader keenly aware of widespread social injustice. But
the struggle to define himself and break out of poverty continued into
adulthood, with traumatic periods of homelessness and despair. As a
young star journalist with Vibe magazine, Powell interviewed
luminaries such as Tupac Shakur, writing influential chronicles of the
evolution of hip-hop from his eyewitness view. Now, with searing
honesty, Powell examines his troubled relationships, his appearance on
MTV's first season of The Real World, his battles with alcohol and
depression, his two campaigns for Congress, and the uplifting trip to
Africa that renewed his sense of personal mission. Finally, Powell
embarks on a search for the father he never really knew in a redemptive
passage from abandonment to self-discovery.
A striking memoir by a child of post-Civil Rights America, The
Education of Kevin Powell gives eloquent testimony to the power of the
soul to heal.
