Lateness as Reparations? Manny Fidel makes the case in Colored People Time

When Manny was in college, a white friend asked him: “Why are people of color so late to things?” At the time, he was taken aback, but he now has a response in the form of this humorous and candid debut. More than just a thoughtful celebration of tardiness, this essay collection focuses on the nature of time and collective memory—exploring and interrogating how race, culture, and history have impacted the politics of punctuality and the myth of linear progress.

Since our country’s inception, the gears that operate it have been oiled to privilege some over others, and the result is that they have fewer barriers to timeliness. Manny argues that for Black and brown people, any number of experiences and offenses—grave, minor, or pettily imagined—can be exhausting, making them skeptical, weary, jaded, and yes, holding them up in the face of someone else’s demand of punctuality. Therefore, if there’s anyone in this country who deserves to be late—say, to brunch—people of color are well within their rights.

This collection—with essays like “Summer ‘16,” a nostalgic exploration of a dearly-held season, and “Ocarina of Time,” a meditation on near-death and time travel via video game—is infused with insights from history, pop culture, and Manny’s personal experiences. The result is a work not just about lateness but a tale about how time works differently depending on who you are and where you stand. With race relations advancing at their own molasses-like pace, ever shifting the ETAs of justice and freedom, lateness seems like reparations of sorts, one that we could all live with—or at the very least a joyful act of rest and resistance.

Manny Fidel is a writer and producer based in New York City. His commentary on politics, culture, and sports has been seen in GQ, The Guardian, NPR, MSNBC, Business Insider, and more. He also co-hosts the award-winning NO SUCH THING podcast.

Emmanuel Dzotsi is an award-winning journalist and podcast host. He has co-hosted and produced some of the most downloaded podcasts of all time – Serial and Reply All – and for the last couple of years has worked as a producer at This American Life. Emmanuel’s work has been featured in publications like the New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Guardian, among others.

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