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raulb's review against another edition
4.0
This book is so full of gems that I think I would not make justice by writing a review in depth. This book however is completely US centered which made it very difficult to really reason about in my experience.
Despite of that, I consider it a must read for anyone who is willing to widen their perspective about where racism is present. I learned a ton by reading this book, and I’m sure you would too.
Despite of that, I consider it a must read for anyone who is willing to widen their perspective about where racism is present. I learned a ton by reading this book, and I’m sure you would too.
persnickety_9's review against another edition
2.0
This is not a long book. It’s 230 pages. YET, it took me THREE WEEKS TO FINISH THIS BOOK. It wasn’t the worst book I’ve ever read. I’ve read much of this information in other books, so this is a great introduction to BLM and social justice. I just could never find the...energy...to pick up this book. I just never wanted to read it. I found it so boring for some reason. Parts read like a term paper. I just couldn’t get into this book.
jpowerj's review against another edition
4.75
Honestly helped me so much, at a time when I felt like there was very little.... Analytical? Positivist-ish? stuff about black lives matter
nickjagged's review against another edition
2.0
It's ok, feels like a rehash of all that I've been reading recently with a bit less clarity ( though the sections on post-VRA black political history are definitely worth checking out). Doesn't take as much of a critical race theory view as I'd like, which really puts a damper on the content, since I'm not really wowed by the synthesis she ends up doing.
cebolla's review against another edition
4.0
First off, this book was written during the Obama administration, with a short update at the end that appears to have been written immediately after Trump was elected. I'd love to see an update that covers the recent BLM uprising.
That said, this book was much better than I thought it would be. It gives a detailed history of the Civil Rights movement, and it's successes and failures, and then compares them to the current (six years ago) Black Lives Matter movement. Taylor explains this in an academic voice, but one that's accessible to just about anyone. I feel like I have a much clearer understanding of many things now that I've read this.
The only section that rubbed me the wrong way was when Taylor, seemingly apropos of nothing, defends Marx from charges that he was racist. She doesn't do a very good job, and doesn't even mention his misogyny or rampant anti-Semitism.
That said, this book was much better than I thought it would be. It gives a detailed history of the Civil Rights movement, and it's successes and failures, and then compares them to the current (six years ago) Black Lives Matter movement. Taylor explains this in an academic voice, but one that's accessible to just about anyone. I feel like I have a much clearer understanding of many things now that I've read this.
The only section that rubbed me the wrong way was when Taylor, seemingly apropos of nothing, defends Marx from charges that he was racist. She doesn't do a very good job, and doesn't even mention his misogyny or rampant anti-Semitism.
klevtown's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent excellent excellent.
The chapter titled 'From Civil Rights to Colorblind' does an exquisite job of placing colorblindness within its historical context (onset of economic crisis with global capitalism, the undoing of the welfare state in the Nixon era). While many race readers (a genre in which I would not include this book) describe the perniciousness of colorblindness, few explain how colorblindness has been used (for over half a century) to deny access to opportunity.
The last chapter digs into the sister sins of racism and capitalism (see quote below) and draws a path forward for a social movement rooted in solidarity and class consciousness.
"It is widely accepted that the racial oppression of slaves was rooted in the exploitation of the slave economy, but fewer recognize that under capitalism, wage slavery is the pivot around which all other inequalities and oppressions turn. Capitalism used racism to justify plunder, conquest, and slavery, but as Karl Marx pointed out, it would also come to use racism to divide and rule--to pit one section o the working class against another and, in so doing, blunt the class consciousness of all. To claim then, as Marxists do, that racism is a product of capitalism is not to deny or diminish its centrality to or impact on American society. It is simply to explain its origins and persistence. Not is this reducing racism to just a function of capitalism; it is locating the dynamic relationship between class exploitation and racial oppression in the functioning of American capitalism." (p. 206)
The chapter titled 'From Civil Rights to Colorblind' does an exquisite job of placing colorblindness within its historical context (onset of economic crisis with global capitalism, the undoing of the welfare state in the Nixon era). While many race readers (a genre in which I would not include this book) describe the perniciousness of colorblindness, few explain how colorblindness has been used (for over half a century) to deny access to opportunity.
The last chapter digs into the sister sins of racism and capitalism (see quote below) and draws a path forward for a social movement rooted in solidarity and class consciousness.
"It is widely accepted that the racial oppression of slaves was rooted in the exploitation of the slave economy, but fewer recognize that under capitalism, wage slavery is the pivot around which all other inequalities and oppressions turn. Capitalism used racism to justify plunder, conquest, and slavery, but as Karl Marx pointed out, it would also come to use racism to divide and rule--to pit one section o the working class against another and, in so doing, blunt the class consciousness of all. To claim then, as Marxists do, that racism is a product of capitalism is not to deny or diminish its centrality to or impact on American society. It is simply to explain its origins and persistence. Not is this reducing racism to just a function of capitalism; it is locating the dynamic relationship between class exploitation and racial oppression in the functioning of American capitalism." (p. 206)
ktxx22's review against another edition
5.0
Interesting for me to read this book that was published in 2016, now in 2023. How much has changed and also stayed the same. How much I’ve changed since then as well! Really excellent look at the BLM movement of this time period and gave me more context for today and the current protests. Only critique I’ve got is that so much HAS changed since that time and more involvement and more activism across the board. I’d love to read an update from this author on the current mood of the movement and what we should be doing to continue to strive towards those goals.