Introduction to the sovereignty of quiet

African American culture is often considered expressive, dramatic, and even defiant. In this article, Kevin Quashie explores quiet as a different kind of expressiveness, one which characterizes a person’s desires, ambitions, hungers, vulnerabilities, and fears. Quiet is a metaphor for the inner life, and as such, enables a more nuanced understanding of black culture. It revisits important moments and images in African-American history, inviting us to move beyond the emphasis on resistance, and suggesting that concepts like surrender, dreaming, and waiting can remind us of the wealth of black humanity.