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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Read for the Read Harder 2021 prompt: Read a work of investigative nonfiction by an author of color
I asked my librarian for advice for this prompt and this is the book they gave me!
It was a very interesting and enlightening history of racial passing in America, which I knew nothing about going into the book. The book spanned from the antebellum period to the Civil Rights movement, and dipped its toe into the 21st century in the epilogue. I learned so much, and honestly wish there was more depth to some of the stories, which I know is hard with little first hand accounts.
I will say, the chapter about Harlem seemed a little shoehorned in, less about passing and more biographies?
4 stars.
TW: racism, sexism, antisemitism, KKK, lynching, slavery, discussions of war, separation from family
I asked my librarian for advice for this prompt and this is the book they gave me!
It was a very interesting and enlightening history of racial passing in America, which I knew nothing about going into the book. The book spanned from the antebellum period to the Civil Rights movement, and dipped its toe into the 21st century in the epilogue. I learned so much, and honestly wish there was more depth to some of the stories, which I know is hard with little first hand accounts.
I will say, the chapter about Harlem seemed a little shoehorned in, less about passing and more biographies?
4 stars.
TW: racism, sexism, antisemitism, KKK, lynching, slavery, discussions of war, separation from family
Well. This book is incredible. Hobbs has written a nuanced history of race in the US, shown through the lens of racially ambiguous black Americans who made the difficult decision to pass as white. This is a carefully constructed exploration of how race as we understand it in the US is a completely invented structure intended to uphold white supremacy. A highly recommend read for anyone. Would make a great gift for anyone in your life who tries to claim that racial categories as we use them in the US have any actual genetic or biological basis.
The methodology was kind of all over the place and it was a bit of a slog to get through but I thought the subject was fascinating.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I gave this book 3.5 stars.
Update: I talked about this book in a video for the Beyoncé Book Tag I filmed on my BookTube channel.
I randomly found this book through an Amazon book search and knew I had to have it immediately. Allyson Hobbs' book looks at the history of racial "passing," which is the shedding of the one's black identity by a racially ambiguous (i.e., light-skin African-American) person lieu of being "white" so that you can better navigate through life during historical times of high racial conflict (i.e., Jim Crow, Restoration, etc.). This book covered the history of passing from American Slavery all the way until the present day.
While it was obvious that Allyson Hobbs did her research to the best of her ability, I did feel that the narrative and points of her thesis were somewhat repetitive in places. Yet, I did give her leeway on some accounts since it is natural that if a black person was constantly in danger of being discovered to be lying about their race in previous times, there is no way to accurately track how many people passed or what their true experiences were so the book itself is built on a uneven cornerstone, but Hobbs makes it work by using well-known political and historical African-American figures and drawing on the works of other sociologist and anthropologist who have studied this same topic. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book in terms of learning about black historical figures I didn't know of before, finding books to read from the ones Hobbs quoted in her research, and just learning about how the psyche of those who passed worked. Yet, I must point out that my mediocre rating of this book is spurred on by the fact that I do think that Hobbs reiterated her points too often and seemed to go in a circular tangent to present the books ideas to readers.
If you enjoyed Isabel Wilkerson's book, [b: The Warmth of Other Suns|8171378|The Warmth of Other Suns The Epic Story of America's Great Migration|Isabel Wilkerson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1433354252s/8171378.jpg|13341052], you'll more than likely love this book as well since Hobbs' book focuses on the scant few who chose to seek their freedom by going one step further than their brethren who migrated North during the Great Migration.
Update: I talked about this book in a video for the Beyoncé Book Tag I filmed on my BookTube channel.
I randomly found this book through an Amazon book search and knew I had to have it immediately. Allyson Hobbs' book looks at the history of racial "passing," which is the shedding of the one's black identity by a racially ambiguous (i.e., light-skin African-American) person lieu of being "white" so that you can better navigate through life during historical times of high racial conflict (i.e., Jim Crow, Restoration, etc.). This book covered the history of passing from American Slavery all the way until the present day.
While it was obvious that Allyson Hobbs did her research to the best of her ability, I did feel that the narrative and points of her thesis were somewhat repetitive in places. Yet, I did give her leeway on some accounts since it is natural that if a black person was constantly in danger of being discovered to be lying about their race in previous times, there is no way to accurately track how many people passed or what their true experiences were so the book itself is built on a uneven cornerstone, but Hobbs makes it work by using well-known political and historical African-American figures and drawing on the works of other sociologist and anthropologist who have studied this same topic. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book in terms of learning about black historical figures I didn't know of before, finding books to read from the ones Hobbs quoted in her research, and just learning about how the psyche of those who passed worked. Yet, I must point out that my mediocre rating of this book is spurred on by the fact that I do think that Hobbs reiterated her points too often and seemed to go in a circular tangent to present the books ideas to readers.
If you enjoyed Isabel Wilkerson's book, [b: The Warmth of Other Suns|8171378|The Warmth of Other Suns The Epic Story of America's Great Migration|Isabel Wilkerson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1433354252s/8171378.jpg|13341052], you'll more than likely love this book as well since Hobbs' book focuses on the scant few who chose to seek their freedom by going one step further than their brethren who migrated North during the Great Migration.
Movies like "Imitation of Life" and "Pinky" opened up a new world to White Americans, the world of African-Americans who were "passing", living as white people and hiding their African roots.
This fascinating history explores 200 years of passing in America, what it meant to the people who made these choices, their families, and to society as a whole. It's a sad and important story that's neglected in American history classes, and Hobbs' excellent book brings these tales to life for a generation that wishes to view itself, and the country, as post-racial.
This fascinating history explores 200 years of passing in America, what it meant to the people who made these choices, their families, and to society as a whole. It's a sad and important story that's neglected in American history classes, and Hobbs' excellent book brings these tales to life for a generation that wishes to view itself, and the country, as post-racial.