Ain't Burned All the Bright

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses anti-Black racism and racist violence.

The unnamed narrator talks about his experience of the COVID pandemic—in particular, being stuck at home during a lockdown phase—along with the social unrest and political protests that followed the police killings of Breyona Taylor and George Floyd. Over images of a burning city and billows of smoke, he sits around and wonders why his mother watches reruns of the same negative news cycle that only talks about how awful everything is and how nothing will ever change. At the same time, his brother refuses to look away from his video game. For these pages, the imagery changes from burning cities to pristine houses on a lush, green hill with a vibrant blue sky in the background. The narrator elbows his brother in the ribs, trying to jostle him awake, but the brother ignores him and continues to stare at his game.

The news broadcast is about how another woman and young man have been killed, and how “a kid [the narrator’s] age” couldn’t breathe (31-32). The word “killed” is omitted and replaced by blank, black pages, while a full-page image of someone drowning accompanies the words couldn’t breathe.