Quote by Jesmyn Ward: “To be poor and black in the South is to be always fighting.”

This quote powerfully articulates the relentless struggle faced by specific marginalized communities, highlighting that their very existence is an ongoing battle against systemic injustice and adversity. It underlines the exhausting reality of life in the face of deeply entrenched inequality.

The early 2010s in the US were marked by persistent economic inequalities and continued racial tensions, particularly evident in the South. Discussions around poverty, race, and social justice were central, shaping the era's literary and political landscape.

American novelist and editor who became the first woman to win the National Book Award for Fiction twice, for Salvage the Bones and Sing, Unburied, Sing. Her work centres the lives of Black Americans in the rural Mississippi Gulf Coast.