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mcf's review
4.0
real rating: 4.5
Glaude does impressive work here in his patiently constructed, disciplined presentation of how white supremacy works, and the way it has impacted both black Americans and the options left to those who try to improve the lives of African Americans through political channels. What's perhaps most valuable about the first part of the book is the language Glaude uses and how clearly he makes his case -- in so doing, he very likely will open the eyes of some Americans to the realities they've previously been able to deny (if, that is, they pick up and read the book).
All of the work Glaude does in the first 75% of his book, though, exists largely to provide a foundation for the last section, in which he introduces his solution to the ingrained racism and political stasis of this country. It's hard for anyone to make a convincing case that they know how to solve such a massive, long-lasting problem, but Glaude has made an impressive attempt at it, pointing to specific examples of action (the Ferguson protests, not surprisingly, are central here) and presenting a truly intriguing alternative approach to the 2016 presidential election -- he proposes a sort of skewed revolution, but one that defies expectations and, in its originality and potential, is almost thrilling.
Glaude does impressive work here in his patiently constructed, disciplined presentation of how white supremacy works, and the way it has impacted both black Americans and the options left to those who try to improve the lives of African Americans through political channels. What's perhaps most valuable about the first part of the book is the language Glaude uses and how clearly he makes his case -- in so doing, he very likely will open the eyes of some Americans to the realities they've previously been able to deny (if, that is, they pick up and read the book).
All of the work Glaude does in the first 75% of his book, though, exists largely to provide a foundation for the last section, in which he introduces his solution to the ingrained racism and political stasis of this country. It's hard for anyone to make a convincing case that they know how to solve such a massive, long-lasting problem, but Glaude has made an impressive attempt at it, pointing to specific examples of action (the Ferguson protests, not surprisingly, are central here) and presenting a truly intriguing alternative approach to the 2016 presidential election -- he proposes a sort of skewed revolution, but one that defies expectations and, in its originality and potential, is almost thrilling.
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