Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People is a poetic and thought-provoking exploration of the color blue—its beauty, its history, and its deep connections to Black culture, music, and struggle. I had no idea about the history of the color blue, and this book opened my eyes to its layered significance, from the production of indigo to the haunting realities of slavery.

The writing is as rich as the subject matter, with voices that are thick and honest, pulling the reader into a world where blue is more than just a color—it’s a symbol. It’s the world’s favorite color, but Black in Blues challenges us to think beyond aesthetics, diving into the blues, blue scales, bluebirds, blue gums, blue overalls, and even "Blue Lives." The connections between Hoodoo, music, and cultural identity were especially fascinating.

The book also doesn’t shy away from the ugliness of greed and oppression. It makes it clear that beauty and the blues are deeply intertwined, both in history and in emotion. The way it ties indigo flowers, sea urchins, and the legacy of forced labor to the production of blue was particularly striking.

I wish I had a physical copy in front of me while reading this, as the poetic style made it a bit more difficult on my auditory processing. I think this is a book best experienced in print, where the rhythm and language can be fully absorbed at one’s own pace.

With its poetic style and sharp cultural insights, Black in Blues is both an education and an experience. If you're interested in history, music, or the symbolism of color, this book is well worth your time.

ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love imani perry and this waws no exception - but I really liked how Perry connected the color Blue to this series of personal and america and world history with connetions to art and music.

What a beautiful tribute to color blue among the African diaspora! Imani Perry does not miss. I had the pleasure of seeing her at an author event in 2024 where she told us about this book. I knew then I immediately had to read it. She went over many things that I knew she would, others that I didn't think of the connection, and some things that were new to me. There were a few times where I did wish she went more depth on a few of them. For instance, in the chapter Janie's Blues (named after Zora Neale Hurston's female main character in Their Eyes Were Watching God,) I wanted a little more information of voodoo and hoodoo. I think this book will definitely serve as an introduction for some subjects to do a deep dive on later. Hoodoo Blue, Blue-eyed Negroes, The Blue Note, Afro Blue, and the boys in Blue were some of my favorite chapters but honestly really enjoyed this book. When Perry closed the book out talking about her friendship with artist Delita Martin, I was so satisfied. Martin's work is amazing and the emotion in her paintings are palpable. I will definitely high recommend this book and I plan on re-reading in the future.

I was reading my advanced copy when I was approved for the ALC. I pressed play and instead of picking back up where I left off, I ended up starting the book over because I enjoyed listening to Perry so much.

Rounded up from 4.5 stars

It's funny sometimes the routes we take to find an author. Long before Black in Blues, I followed Imani Perry on Twitter before it became the mess that it is. When socials started to shift, I followed her on Bluesky where I found out about this new release. I was so excited to get an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of the audiobook, and the book is truly beautiful.

An audiobook narrator can make or break the listening experience. The narrator in this case is actually the author, Imani Perry. Perry's narration of her book was fantastic. I had a difficult time pausing and doing real world things. Listening to her narrate, I was immediately immersed in the novel. A story is woven by the author, and the reader is immediately immersed into the world that Perry describes.

I truly loved the analysis of how one color could be traced through so much of the history and culture of Black people. Perry is quite talented in that she's able to pack so much in to so short a novel. The reader can tell that each word is very carefully chosen, and the same applies to the analysis of how she could trace "blue" through so much of the history of Black people. When I started the book, I immediately thought of the genre of music the Blues, as well as haint blue used by Gullah Geechee people but there was so much more to the color and the way it permeated society.

I highly recommend the book. The analysis is thorough and supported through the facts examined by Perry, but the book is also accessible and engaging. As I noted earlier, I was immersed immediately into the story that Perry wove. I truly loved this book, and I hope that you as a reader do as well. The book has already been released, so I really encourage everyone to pick up a copy. There is something truly special in listening to the audiobook, and I'm a person who likes having both physical and digital copies of books. The cover is beautiful, as well as the prose within the book.

Please be advised I received an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Imani Perry is a genius literary diva. The way her brain works to forge an idea around the color blue and its iterations throughout Black history and culture is nothing short of amazing. Each section was just as mesmerizing as the next one. Her sophisticated attention to Black life, experiences, and culture is very necessary and important when others are trying to rewrite and craft other narratives about Black people. I'm in awe of how Perry continues to enlighten us about just how immersive the color blue is in shaping the experiences of Black people and even how we are being perceived by others. Though small in size, Black in Blues packs a monumental punch, delivering a wealth of impactful information and profound messages.

Perry consistently excels in her scholarly work, particularly in her attention to Black people and our unwavering commitment to excellence. If you have not read any of her work, then this would be a great place to start.

Also, if you listen to the audiobook, then it is voiced by none other than Perry herself. It's like a soft, beautiful conversation with a friend of the family. We are sisters because we are both Bama girls so we are play cousins. Either way you consume it will be great. Just read it.

Thank you @eccobooks for the gifted copy. In addition, thanks to @harperaudio for the ALC.

5 remarkable stars, easily.

This was incredibly well researched and very informative. Perry made connections I never could have made in an entire lifetime. This book goes to show that tiny details of history and culture matter just as much as the big things.

Absolutely the best non-fiction I’ve read all year. It fueled my motivation to continue researching and educating myself. I was introduced so so many household names that weren’t previously on my radar. I just finished Beloved by Toni Morrison because of Black in Blues.

If you are looking to expand your eduction in areas you feel may have been neglected, this is a perfect place to start.

Thank you so much Imani Perry, @harperaudio, and @netgalley for my advanced review audio copy.

5 Stars!

Absolutely love this author! I bought a physical copy of the book for my shelves, Keep telling our history!

If I’m just rating the narration, it’s five stars. If I’m just rating the book, five stars. If I’m just rating the cover, five stars. You get my point? Once again, Perry transports us through a beautifully written and enlightening journey, exploring the deeply historical, creative, and poetic connections between blue and Black identity, color, and purpose. I feel incredibly lucky to have had both a physical review copy and an ALC from Harper Audio.

There’s an undeniable warmth, sorrow, and curiosity in the narration—not just in voice, but in prose. You can hear the tenderness and dedication in Perry’s approach. With every new entry, there’s a sense of wonder about where blue will take us next. This book is moving and deeply personal, yet highly intriguing. Many readers will be captivated by the connections Perry presents through meticulous research, delivered in a way that truly hooks you. The interplay between melancholy and joy, grief and honor, pain and pleasure is beautifully conveyed.

Thanks to NetGalley, Ecco, and Harper Audio!

Imani Perry is one of our beacons in the Black community. She has written a book that is timeless and classic. Imani has become a staple in the households of many. This book will remain a classic because of its depth and weight Imani Perry does this so well in this novel. She has given us a beauty that examines not only a theme worth talking about, but that is relevant and that will be reread for generations and generations to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me with an ALC for review.

This was such an incredibly refreshing and engaging work of non-fiction. The way Imani Perry uses her lush prose to interrogate the histories of both subjugation and prosperity of the Black experience through the lens of the color blue was phenomenal. There was so much packed into this book, and I feel like it’s a perfect addition to the library of books dedicated to exploring Black history, culture, and existence. Blue represents such a range of emotions and experiences, and Perry is able to expertly explore those themes through historical anecdotes ranging from ones familiar to me and others that were completely new. If you’re interested in engaging with history through the lens of art, music, and expression, I highly recommend checking this book out.

Imani Perry once again impresses with her meticulous research and compelling storytelling. Black in Blue explores the surprising and deeply resonant role of the color blue in Black history and culture, weaving together art, music, spirituality, and resistance. Perry’s ability to uncover hidden connections and present them with such depth and clarity is remarkable. This book is both a thought-provoking and beautifully crafted exploration of a topic most of us would never have considered—but one that feels essential once Perry lays it out. A stunning, insightful read.

BLACK IN BLUES: HOW A COLOR TELLS THE STORY OF MY PEOPLE by Imani Perry is a gorgeous essay collection that showcases both Perry’s intellectual curiosity as well as her skill with a pen. At first, the premise of the book may seem like a conceit that can’t get far without being forced, but instead, it is an effective avenue through which Perry explores Black history and Black life in innovative and wide-ranging ways.

It doesn’t hurt that I love the color blue, aesthetically speaking, so dwelling on its many hues, especially told in Perry’s sparkling prose, was a pleasure. From the indigo trade to blues music, from blue jays to Egyptian blue, Perry takes the reader through the Middle Passage, the Haitian Revolution, the Jim Crow South, King Leopold’s Congo, Tuskegee, and many other settings. This is a book lover’s book, too, as Perry ties in Black classics like Jean Toomer’s CANE, Toni Morrison’s THE BLUEST EYE, and Ralph Ellison’s INVISIBLE MAN. How she makes it all work, I don’t know, but she does, with a storyteller’s cadence and a poet’s soulfulness.

BLACK IN BLUES’ honing in on one color reminds me a bit of how Clint Smith uses specific places and location to ground his exploration of Black history—and its modern implications—in HOW THE WORD IS PASSED. Black history is far too vast for any one book, so both books use similar techniques to zoom in on particular aspects and under-told stories while refracting larger unifying themes. It takes great skill to do this well, and Perry, like Smith, achieves it here.

Perry makes BLACK IN BLUES accessible even for readers who are skittish about non-fiction because each essay is very short, and that laser-focus makes them digestible and easy to pick up and put down. What a gift to hold these treasures in my hand; what a gift that these histories will not be forgotten. The audiobook is fantastic!

This is book is a meditation on black people’s relationship with the colour blue. A great book for anyone starting to get into non-ficiton.
The reading experience most reminded me of reading Braiding Sweetgrass. Like BS, the prose is simple but informative and emotionally rich. It’s not as poetic, but I still suggest you take your time reading it.

Excellent read.

The author presents an interesting look at the link between the color blue and its history of connection to African American history. While it was a bit too theoretical at times for me personally, I did learn a lot and found it well written and informative. Good on audio and a great choice for Black History Month. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

The way this book is formatted reminds me so much of the survey courses I took in college and it scratched an itch in my brain that I haven’t been able to reach since I graduated😂 I didn’t even mind that it wasn’t strictly chronological either even though that’s usually a big issues for me! I found the material and history super interesting, especially considering a lot of the foundational knowledge I had on some of these topics was from romance books😭 So if anyone ever tells you that you don’t learn anything reading romance, think again😌 Having the author narrate was truly a brilliant move because it felt so much more engaging and interesting because you could tell not just from the words being spoken, but the emphasis and emotion behind the words that the author put so much energy and care into their research👏

Man.... This is timely. I needed this. This reminder and ode to the Culture. The strength of our history and the network between greatness.

This is a stunning collection of connected reflections on history, culture and beauty. I loved listening to the author read her own thoughts--it made the experience that much more meaningful. It is rare to be able to absorb information and pure beauty at the same time.

In Black in Blues, Imani Perry explores the deep ties between the color blue and Black identity across the diaspora. Weaving history, culture, and personal narrative, she reveals how Black communities shaped not just the Blues but an entire cultural language around blue’s complexities. From indigo-dyed West African fabrics to the oceanic routes of the enslaved, Perry examines blue’s dual nature—both sacred and sorrowful. She traces indigo’s transformation from a revered symbol to a cash crop that fueled white wealth, exposing its entanglement with both heritage and exploitation.
Blending historical research with poetic analysis, Perry explores blue’s presence in blues music, Hoodoo, and Black artistic expression, demonstrating how it embodies joy, grief, and resilience. More than a cultural study, Black in Blues is a testament to Black survival—how a color once tied to oppression became a symbol of power and pride.

Everyone should read Black in Blues. And hearing Imani Perry narrate her work made it all the more special. Imani Perry beautifully connects Black history, culture, and spirit to every form of blue throughout her wonderful stories. This well-researched book taught me new aspects of Blackness and the color blue, as well as shed new light on stories I was already familiar with. 10/10 I will be buying a physical copy for my personal library.