Imani Perry

scholar Imani Perry about her new book, "Black In Blues." It's a fascinating meditation on the color blue and how it is intertwined with the concept of Blackness from the dying of indigo cloths in West Africa to Louis Armstrong's question, what did I do to be so black-and-blue? Imani Perry is the National Book Award-winning author of "South To America," as well as several other books including "Looking For Lorraine," which is a biography of the playwright Lorraine Hansberry, and "Breathe: A Letter To My Sons."

Imani Perry says the South can be seen as an "origin point" for the way the nation operates. Her book South to America traces the steps of an enslaved ancestor. Originally broadcast Jan. 25, 2022.

Imani Perry, a professor of African American studies at Princeton University, was born in Birmingham, Ala., and has always considered it home, even though she moved north as a child. In her new book, South to America, she recounts her travels to the South — its cities, rural areas and historic sites — and reflects on the region's history of slavery and racism.