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A review by pattydsf
Blood at the Root: A Racial Cleansing in America by Patrick Phillips
4.0
“This book would not exist without a kind but determined push from Natasha Trethewey, who challenged me, more than a decade ago to tell this story. Having grappled with America’s racial history so often in her work, Natasha turned to me during a cab ride in New York City and asked why it was that she, a southern woman of color wrote about ‘blackness,’ yet I, a white man from one of the most racist places in the country, never said a word about ‘whiteness.’”
It is so easy, at least for me, to find excuses for why I don’t deal with issues that make me uncomfortable. For example, when I moved to my community in the 1980’s there were residents who still didn’t have indoor plumbing. That seemed appalling to me, but I didn’t try to figure out why or if there was a solution. I didn’t want to deal with the idea that some people had less access to services that I saw as common in the United States.
This is a poor example, but I wanted to state that I understand why Phillips may have found it hard to speak and write about “whiteness.” What does it take to write about your home in such a way as Phillips does? I suspect there are many in Forsyth County, GA who never want to see him again. This history does not do many people credit – it shows clearly that racism can easily take over a community.
Fortunately for our country and hopefully for Forsyte County, Phillips eventually researched and wrote this amazing work. This is a part of our history and it needs to be told. It probably needs to be written about other places, but at least the light has been shown on Forsyth County.
I think anyone who regularly reads or studies American history should be picking up this book. This is not easy reading, but it is necessary.
It is so easy, at least for me, to find excuses for why I don’t deal with issues that make me uncomfortable. For example, when I moved to my community in the 1980’s there were residents who still didn’t have indoor plumbing. That seemed appalling to me, but I didn’t try to figure out why or if there was a solution. I didn’t want to deal with the idea that some people had less access to services that I saw as common in the United States.
This is a poor example, but I wanted to state that I understand why Phillips may have found it hard to speak and write about “whiteness.” What does it take to write about your home in such a way as Phillips does? I suspect there are many in Forsyth County, GA who never want to see him again. This history does not do many people credit – it shows clearly that racism can easily take over a community.
Fortunately for our country and hopefully for Forsyte County, Phillips eventually researched and wrote this amazing work. This is a part of our history and it needs to be told. It probably needs to be written about other places, but at least the light has been shown on Forsyth County.
I think anyone who regularly reads or studies American history should be picking up this book. This is not easy reading, but it is necessary.