Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read. Great read.

At some point while reading this book, I had the feeling of exhaustion, of just how exhausting it is to be black in America, and a black man when there are systems and structures set out to achieve your failure. It's a beautiful collection that tells stories in only a way that I believe the author could best welcome us.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC. Sorry it took long to review this.

Beautiful poetry, strong storytelling and so wonderfully heartfelt. An insight into what it means to be a black man in the world. A perfect read for those who are willing and wanting to learn more around Black Lives.

This is such a real and heartbreaking collection of poetry. It is so important to be aware of these things now more than ever. I loved it.

5 stars

people need to step up and read coloured people books rather than the standard fairy tales or romance books.
These are the type of books which will impact you so much in your life, understanding the pain of ones life and their writing style. goodness it is just sad that not many people have review this on good reads you guys are just losing out.
No one who have coloured skin or body should live in fear. The world needs to fix this once and for all. I cried so many times while reading the poems. Support the black lives matter.

Thanks to NetGalley and Javon Johnson for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Ain't Never Not Been Black" is a poetry collection about being black in America. It's painful, sincere and important to read. I didn't love every poem, but I loved the writing. It's not easy to deliver that amount of feelings and emotions in such a short space. This book should be read in order to think about all that pain afterwards.

"Pay close attention / WHEN the State says, / "This is a time for peace." / They are admitting / that when they first / fired the gun / it was a time of war. / Do not sit quiet."

Johnson's poetry collection is painfully sincere and important, with the poems themselves being exceptionally presented.

"(...)and isn't that what being Black is all about / how the world works to reduce you / even if you only want freedom"

This is a collection of poems about the Black experience and racism in America. Javon describes his life, his experiences of racism and injustice, and about the struggles he and others faced. It was heartbreaking and thought-provoking read.

I read it in one sitting and enjoyed this little collection immensely. It is beautifully written, powerful and deeply moving, and will stay with you long after you finish. I was sat thinking about it for hours after I've finished it. It's definitely an important read and I cannot recommend it enough!

Thank you netgally and button poetry for providing me a copy to read and review!

This is a powerful and innovative poetry collection about Black pain, Black joy, and Black masculinity. Javon Johnson is a masterful writer, and every one of his poems presents something fresh and new. I can't recommend this collection highly enough.

Javon Johnson’s, 'Ain’t Never Not Been Black' is a powerful collection of poetry about Johnson’s lived experiences as a Black man living through systemic racism, discrimination and racial inequalities. The poems are raw, and heart-wrenching and are a must read. Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!

My review can be found as part of my October Reading Wrap Up on YouTube https://youtu.be/uGYGC9cDrtM

Javon Johnson is an incredible writer, You can really feel the emotion of Johnson in his writing and its raw and authentic. It gives the reader a real insight into his mind and also their feelings in regards to America.
An honest and insightful collection of poetry that is beautifully crafted together and that makes you think and gives clears insight into a Johnson’s emotions. I would recommend this poetry collection to everyone.

Ain’t Never Been Black is a phenomenally written book of poems that depicts family life, growing up, struggles, racism and achievements of Javon of thru out life as a young black male and into adult hood. A lot of the incidents that are described thru poetry are today’s woes. All young black men are not as lucky as Javon. Some make it and some don’t. This would be a really great book for the young black men of today to read and know that they can make it in this world.

Javon describes his life thru poetry with it’s up and downs. He was able to get thru life without being incarcerated, graduated from high school and college.

This would be a great experience for young black men to read and get some understanding of life for them. I enjoyed reading this book of poetry. The cover of the book is awesome.

I received an ARC of Ain’t Never Been Black via Netgalley and I’m leaving a voluntary review.

This was a fantastic collection of poems focusing on blackness and masculinity.
The juxtaposition of the stereotype of the strong, black male body versus the fragility of the life of a black man, especially in America, is particularly poignant and touching.
Even from the title, you get the sense of someone who is proud to be black but who is also weary from the weight of that burden in a world intent on killing those who look like him.
My favourite poem in the collection plays on the word 'sentence' as being both a series of words with a subject, object and verb and what is given to someone convicted of a crime - it was a gut punch of a poem which left me thinking long after finishing it.
Some of the very short poems didn't land as well with me and felt like padding in between much stronger pieces but overall I really enjoyed this collection and will certainly look out for future work from this poet.

This poetry collection is a short but powerful examination of all the ways in which America has stolen freedom from Black folx. Javon Johnson critiques America’s violence against Black people from kidnapping and forcing Black enslavement to villainizing and murdering Black leaders of the Civil Rights Movement to whitewashing Black communities to criminalizing Black childhood.

Johnson writes in many different formats, creating a Black syllabus, using a haiku series, including prose-style poems, and all of them pack such a punch. I deeply connected with Johnson’s anger and resistance though I, as a white woman, could never understand his lived experiences. He weaves a story of family and community throughout his challenge of American society, and it is effective in creating understanding of the Black experience.

I can imagine pairing this collection with so many young adult texts I have available in my classroom, including the works of Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas, and Nic Stone, as well as many others. I would definitely include this book in my classroom library, and I think so many students would felt seen by it.

Javon Johnson writes with truth, pain, hope, resilience, and love. He does an excellent job at capturing what it means to live in a black body in the US, but I feel that POC will relate to these poems even outside the US. Johnson touches on very important matters and events. While colonialism and slavery are known as “events” this is completely false because it is an ongoing cycle. These so-called events continue to impact Black people in the USA, Canada, and all over the world.

It is difficult to review this collection because of how powerful it is. Johnson’s writing reflects how intelligent and talented he is. It is so beautifully written and there are no words that will do this collection justice,

This isn’t something you could read in one sitting, I recommend taking a break following every few poems to process it all. Each poem is extremely important, with lots for us to explore. While I will never fully understand what it means to be Black, I am extremely grateful that I was able to get a peak. Highly, highly recommend this collection.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC
When it comes to poetry, it's about owning your truth. That truth may be different from others. This collection, it's about being black in America. This is the time when the Black Lives Matter movement has gone global and this gives insight into what's it about.
It is harder to rate accordingly cause race is such a sensitive topic that still needs to be discussed. In my opinion, this book is worth 4 stars.
My hope is more people read this collection, not as an addition to their diverse list but to learn. The words are beautiful but they come from pain. The pain of being black in America.

"She is praying to any God she can find that an officer does not make a hashtag out of me".

This line hit deep. So deep.
Thank you Javon Johnson for opening my eyes further to the worries, fears, realities of being black. I will never understand, but I will keep reading and learning.

To start off my review, I'm white. So I knew going into this that this was not necessarily written *FOR* me but I still got a lot out of it and enjoyed all my time reading and absorbing the poetry within this book. I wish I had a physical copy just so that I could highlight all the moments that made me go YES! SAY IT LOUDER! (And there were many) An excellent and absolutely relevant book for these times, and all times, really.