Reviews

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson

eburgardt's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

• This is a history of systemic White American anti-Black rage starting at the end of the Civil War, it thoroughly spells out how systemic racism has not changed in 200 (even 400) years, it has simply rebranded
• Wanted to read this in 4 days but that was a joke, it is DENSELY packed with historical research about genuinely horrifying subject matter, I ended up sticking to an average of about a dozen pages a day
• I started this right after Frederick Douglass’s autobiography just by coincidence but I actually think both books complement each other very well and frankly paint a much clearer portrait of American racial injustice than I ever received in school

scwoodyard's review against another edition

5.0

Every white person needs to read this. Unfortunately, I think the people who need to read it the most will be immediately put off by the title and get defensive. While the title is a bit sensational, the book itself is not. It presents the facts. These were the things that happened and these things were not taught to us in history class. This book is the history lesson we all need. After reading this book, it feels like things make sense and I now have an understanding of why things are the way they are.

shelbyaye's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

2.5

mmcasey9's review against another edition

4.0

“Full voting rights for American citizens, funding and additional resources for quality schools, and policing and court systems in which racial bias is not sanctioned by law - all theses are well within our grasp...This is when we choose a different future.” - Carol Anderson

This is the type of book I wish had been taught in my high school or college history classes, but it’s never too late and so I’m here to learn from it now. Beginning at the ratification of the thirteenth amendment and the abolition of slavery, the author jumps right in and gets straight to the point. Through historical examples, she highlights how laws and court decisions were (and still are) enacted to intentionally and systematically keep black Americans from obtaining better education, wealth, housing, voting, and opportunities. Fact-driven and source-packed, this is a tough, but important book and I found myself regularly shaking my head or thinking “Wait, what? Seriously? How was this allowed to happen?” This was an incredibly eye opening read and I recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the policies and laws that were (are) deliberately implemented to fuel systemic racism from the Civil War to present day.

omg__gigi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad fast-paced

5.0

This book was a great read! It’s always difficult to read about African Americans' history in America, but it’s heartbreaking to read about it still going on today. This book starts with the beginning of slavery and ends with after Trump won the election. What I love about this book the most is it is exceptionally well-researched and supported with facts. The book speaks the truth, unlike most of American history! 

alexisrt's review against another edition

5.0

This is an excellent and well written survey of key periods in black advancement and how, each time, whites have used the system to push back and ensure that black Americans would not get the rights due to them.

The only caveat is that it's short, and covers a lot of ground. It's a good overview, but there are so many key events covered that it could easily be four times as long, and events can't be covered with good depth. It does an excellent job at showing the big picture and sequence of events, but you may find yourself wanting more.

emreads97's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.0

gwalt118's review against another edition

4.0

Carol Anderson does a wonderful job of making a complex and controversial topic approachable and understandable. You don't need to have a deep knowledge of the historical events she discusses (although I can imagine it is very helpful) in order to understand her message. The book addresses challenging topics without using an excessive or unnecessary amount of academic language. The content of the book is very intriguing and generates a lot of self-awareness (if you're a white person). I think white people, like myself, who read this novel have to be willing to be vulnerable and ready to admit some unconscious bias, prejudice, and faults. Of course, people who read this should have an interest in racial justice and some experience talking about the concept of race. This should not be the first book you read on racial justice, but it should definitely be one you pick up at some point.

bougies_et_etoiles's review against another edition

4.0

Everyone needs to read this book if you want to understand why there is still systematic and institutional racism in the United States today. Carol Anderson does an amazing job at taking her reader across time periods: from the Civil War to Reconstruction and Jim Crow; from the War on Drugs to mass incarceration; from the Civil Rights Movement to the deliberate disenfranchisement of people of color; from then to now. This is a book that reveals the dark underbelly of this country that you will not learn about in your American History class.

gem9589's review against another edition

5.0

I need to write a longer review of this book in the future. In short, this book opened up my eyes to a lot of the injustices that is propagated by state and federal governments leveled on African Americans over the U.S.'s history. While making me more cynical to the American legislative and judicial system than I have ever been, this book was extremely insightful in regard to the inequalities in the justice system and the degrading ideologies that many U.S. presidents have had against black people. I think that this book is crucial for anyone to read in order to catch a glimpse into the deeply-rooted struggle that African Americans have had in the U.S., and to better understand the massive series of rebellions against police brutality that are taking place in the U.S. now.