The Freedom To Be Outside: Reflections On Sky Full Of Elephants

Imagine, just for a moment, a world without White people. If you’re White, this will be an exercise in empathy… That’s exactly what the book Sky Full of Elephants invites you to do. The story takes place one year after an event causes every single White person in America, children included, to mysteriously walk into the nearest body of water, never to be seen again. I won’t give too many spoilers, but this book was a 9/10 for me. I would give it a 10 if one of the main characters didn’t piss me off so damn much! I mostly want to talk about what in this story struck me to my core. There are several instances in the book where Black folk are just enjoying being outside. They’re traveling by foot, taking in their surroundings. They’re living life in the city going to and fro. But what got me right in my feels were the scenes where Black folk were just existing outside; laying out in the grass, dancing under the stars. Something so seemingly ordinary had my heart in my throat because for…