The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs is a detailed account of Robert Peace's life and the circumstances that he was dealt while living in Newark and studying at Yale University. Hobbs tells the story in a remarkable way that doesn't reduce Peace's life to a single punchline. He deeply researches and finds ways to portray Peace as a man with so many facets, plagued with the consequences of his choices.
As a poor black man, the world was always going to be against him, but despite all the things that held him down, he overcame them and rose to attend one of the most prestigious schools in the country. Despite Hobbs being a white man born into privilege, he does a somewhat exceptional job at telling Peace's life story without overlooking the African American perspective.
Throughout the story, we come face to face with brutal facts about the society we live in and how the color of your skin greatly determines what kind of life you'll lead in the future. Despite graduating from Yale University as a top student, Peace was essentially unable to escape the trappings of poverty. His circumstances kept him grounded on the same streets he grew up in that would later be the same place where he would meet his tragic and untimely death.
Hobbs takes complexity to another level by deconstructing each character carefully without overlooking any moment in their lives. From the beginning, you are aware that something bad is going to happen, but you can't help but go through every moment, before Peace's death, with your senses on alert. The tension building up correlates to the everyday life that African Americans go through, not knowing if that today might be their last day alive.
Constantly living on the edge prevents most people of color from staying focused and escaping the traps set by society to disadvantage them. While battling the systemic oppression on the outside, Peace battled with mental pain and anxiety, which is evident by his frequent use of alcohol and marijuana.
While Hobbs does an exceptional job at bringing to life this revolutionary story, it cannot be overlooked that he is a white man born into privilege, and no matter how much information he got from Peace's friends and family, he could never really paint a clear picture of what it entails to be an African American man living in a country that does not have your best interest at heart.
