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A review by iymain
We Are Not Yet Equal: Understanding Our Racial Divide by Tonya Bolden, Carol Anderson
3.0
Because this young readers' edition was recommended by Teaching Tolerance for its accessibility and relevance to students trying to gain a more complete understanding of traditional white-centered US history, I looked forward to this book.
The first 16 chapters from colonial US history to Brown v. Board were excellent. They were clearly written, logically structured and built on commonly taught US history. Aside from the graphic violence of the lynching of a pregnant woman in chapter 8: "Derailing the Great Migration" (60), the history Anderson presents is illuminating and for the most part empowering. It is the type of "oh! Now I get it" knowledge that can help all Americans escape that sense of gas lighting that prevails when recognizing injustice has historical roots but lacking the backstory to explain it.
The history got bogged down in detail and lost some credibility with chapter 18: "Crack." While all of the previous history is well supported by various historical sources, the allegation of Reagan and the CIA's complicity to bring crack cocaine to black neighborhoods in California is not (yet) well established. When I researched it, I found there was one journalist who presented this explanation, but it had been largely discredited. Is it impossible that the president of the United States (who later was found to have evaded Congress to surreptitiously supply arms to the Contras by evading an arms sanction on Iran) might have done something illegal and nefarious under the nose of the rest of the country? No. But in order to solidly sit in the pages of a history book, I felt that the lack of corroboration should have at least been acknowledged in presenting this interpretation of history.
Aside from that specific section of the book, though, Anderson overwhelmingly succeeds in fleshing out the carefully edited history commonly taught in US schools. The explanation of the erosion of voting rights in the 21st century dovetailed perfectly with the clear and concise description of how the Civil Rights Movement worked tirelessly and at great peril to secure those rights starting as soon as black Americans gained their freedom after the Civil War. Anderson follows this thread of history and injustice is woven into a consistent pattern in the United States. This is one example of many facets of history that she makes concrete, understandable, and relevant to all of her readers today.
Ultimately, I am conflicted about adding this book to my classroom library due to the graphic violence in chapter 8 and the unsubstantiated claims in chapter 18, but all the rest of it is well adapted for young readers. Depending on the young reader, this could be a book to instill hideous nightmares of all-to-real human cruelty, or hopeful dreams of coming together to continue the ongoing fight for human equality by building on the heroic actions of black Americans who have accomplished so much in a country so hostile to their success.
The first 16 chapters from colonial US history to Brown v. Board were excellent. They were clearly written, logically structured and built on commonly taught US history. Aside from the graphic violence of the lynching of a pregnant woman in chapter 8: "Derailing the Great Migration" (60), the history Anderson presents is illuminating and for the most part empowering. It is the type of "oh! Now I get it" knowledge that can help all Americans escape that sense of gas lighting that prevails when recognizing injustice has historical roots but lacking the backstory to explain it.
The history got bogged down in detail and lost some credibility with chapter 18: "Crack." While all of the previous history is well supported by various historical sources, the allegation of Reagan and the CIA's complicity to bring crack cocaine to black neighborhoods in California is not (yet) well established. When I researched it, I found there was one journalist who presented this explanation, but it had been largely discredited. Is it impossible that the president of the United States (who later was found to have evaded Congress to surreptitiously supply arms to the Contras by evading an arms sanction on Iran) might have done something illegal and nefarious under the nose of the rest of the country? No. But in order to solidly sit in the pages of a history book, I felt that the lack of corroboration should have at least been acknowledged in presenting this interpretation of history.
Aside from that specific section of the book, though, Anderson overwhelmingly succeeds in fleshing out the carefully edited history commonly taught in US schools. The explanation of the erosion of voting rights in the 21st century dovetailed perfectly with the clear and concise description of how the Civil Rights Movement worked tirelessly and at great peril to secure those rights starting as soon as black Americans gained their freedom after the Civil War. Anderson follows this thread of history and injustice is woven into a consistent pattern in the United States. This is one example of many facets of history that she makes concrete, understandable, and relevant to all of her readers today.
Ultimately, I am conflicted about adding this book to my classroom library due to the graphic violence in chapter 8 and the unsubstantiated claims in chapter 18, but all the rest of it is well adapted for young readers. Depending on the young reader, this could be a book to instill hideous nightmares of all-to-real human cruelty, or hopeful dreams of coming together to continue the ongoing fight for human equality by building on the heroic actions of black Americans who have accomplished so much in a country so hostile to their success.