Scan barcode
pmhandley's review
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
4.5
A really useful history on race and segregation, obviously focused on Baltimore but applicable to virtually any American city. Anyone with an interest in public policy would benefit from reading.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
kevin_shepherd's review
4.0
In 2019, when then president Donald Trump called Baltimore “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess,” everyone intrinsically knew he wasn’t referring to actual rats and rodents. The illiberal euphemisms were crystal clear. Such is the nature of bigotry in the 21st century, it manifests itself under the guise of “plausible deniability.”
Professor Lawrence T. Brown’s Black Butterfly is a pull-no-punches exposé on the disempowerment of black families, black communities, and black coalitions in America. Brown tends to paint the national landscape with a rather broad brush, but he scrutinizes and analyzes the city of Baltimore in microscopic detail.
I can think of no higher praise for Black Butterfly than to say it put me in mind of Race Matters by Dr Cornel West. West, writing in 1993, talks about the shortcomings of both the political right and the political left and identifies the key issue as American Nihilism. Brown does much the same, but on a smaller, more comprehensible scale, and emphasizes American Apartheid rather than nihilism (a difference that is arguably semantic). Both works are substantial, both are extremely relevant, and both are highly recommended.
Professor Lawrence T. Brown’s Black Butterfly is a pull-no-punches exposé on the disempowerment of black families, black communities, and black coalitions in America. Brown tends to paint the national landscape with a rather broad brush, but he scrutinizes and analyzes the city of Baltimore in microscopic detail.
I can think of no higher praise for Black Butterfly than to say it put me in mind of Race Matters by Dr Cornel West. West, writing in 1993, talks about the shortcomings of both the political right and the political left and identifies the key issue as American Nihilism. Brown does much the same, but on a smaller, more comprehensible scale, and emphasizes American Apartheid rather than nihilism (a difference that is arguably semantic). Both works are substantial, both are extremely relevant, and both are highly recommended.
anncarve's review
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
4.0
A very informative read on Baltimore’s history with suggestions that I hope to see implemented in my lifetime. I’m giving it 4 stars because I found it repetitive at times, though I recognize it was in service of hammering his point home.
kateewald's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism