Kiese Laymon Presentation Paper:

            Kiese Laymon is born and raised in Jackson Mississippi. His occupation is being a writer, editor and a Professor of English and creative writing at the University of Mississippi. He also wrote in one of his memoirs in 2018 “Heavy: An American Memoir” and he writes about the relationship he had with his mother. He spoke on how his mother was in an abusive relationship and beat on Laymon because she believed he needed to be tough enough for a “White World” that would treat him even more harsh. The memoir that we have all read, “How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America”, he wrote this piece back in 2013. In this memoir I believe the main idea is what it is like to be a black man and all of his experiences of racism that he had face and had dealt with in Millsaps College. During the time there, he was constantly blamed for using “racial insensitivity language” where in fact it was the other way around and used not only against him but while being with his friends and girlfriend. I feel that both the story is effective and ineffective. This story is effective because he mentions teenagers such as Edward Evans, Rekia Boyd, and Trayvon Martin who were victims of racism and they were murdered. I think it is ineffective because the violence against African Americans or minorities at that has not stopped and will not stop until we come together, and I feel like nobody will understand or know what it is to be black in America unless you are going through it. 

Questions: Why do you think Laymon consistently says “I don’t know what’s wrong with me”  ?