A little devil in America: notes in praise of Black performance

Movement I. Performing miracles. On times I have forced myself to dance ; On marathons and tunnels ; On going home as performance ; An epilogue for Aretha --

Movement II. Suspending disbelief. On times I have forced myself to dance ; This one goes out to all the magical Negroes ; Sixteen ways of looking at blackface ; On certain and uncertain movement of limbs ; Nine considerations of Black people in space --

Movement III. On matters of country/provenance. On times I have forced myself to dance ; The Josephine Baker monument can never be large enough ; It is safe to say I have lost many games of spades ; My favorite thing about Don Shirley ; I would like to give Merry Clayton her roses ; Beyoncé performs at the Super Bowl and I think about all the jobs I've hated --

Movement IV. Anatomy of closeness//Chasing blood. On times I have forced myself to dance ; The beef sometimes begins with a dance move ; Fear: a crown ; On the performance of softness ; Board up the doors, tear down the walls --

Movement V. Callings to remember. On times I have forced myself not to dance.