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A review by epubprincess
Black Skinhead: Reflections on Blackness and Our Political Future by Brandi Collins-Dexter
4.0
This book does a good job of breaking down my political angst as a black woman in America. Many of us feel unserved by both political parties and disillusioned with the two-party system as a whole. We feel unappreciated in the Democratic Party and unwelcome in the Republican Party. Collins-Dexter brands these political outliers as Black Skinheads (from the Kanye West song).
The structure of this book is odd. In between some chapters are interludes, which are unrelated shorter chapters. I didn’t really like these. The book starts off strong and very focused on the main thesis of the book: that black voters are increasingly disillusioned by our current political system. at the disappointment of the Obama years and the ways in which our political landscape has changed since then.
There are lots of personal anecdotes — this book is part memoir. I didn’t feel like this aspect of the book was as strong or as necessary as the political analysis. As the book goes on, it explores other topics like wrestling and Playboy. While interesting, these tangents made the book feel unfocused.
I also think that the author gives way too much credit to Kanye West, someone who has become extremely hard to support these last few years. I appreciated her attempts to provide nuance for some of Kanye’s more offensive statements, but he’s no longer someone I look to as a leader of any kind. (Update: Kanye has announced that he doesn’t read. Enough said.)
Collins-Dexter looks at black MAGA supporters, their subculture, and what led them to their current political beliefs. This part is interesting because it explores the possibility of more black voters voting against the status quo. Overall, I think this book does a good job of exploring the political future of black voters.
The structure of this book is odd. In between some chapters are interludes, which are unrelated shorter chapters. I didn’t really like these. The book starts off strong and very focused on the main thesis of the book: that black voters are increasingly disillusioned by our current political system. at the disappointment of the Obama years and the ways in which our political landscape has changed since then.
There are lots of personal anecdotes — this book is part memoir. I didn’t feel like this aspect of the book was as strong or as necessary as the political analysis. As the book goes on, it explores other topics like wrestling and Playboy. While interesting, these tangents made the book feel unfocused.
I also think that the author gives way too much credit to Kanye West, someone who has become extremely hard to support these last few years. I appreciated her attempts to provide nuance for some of Kanye’s more offensive statements, but he’s no longer someone I look to as a leader of any kind. (Update: Kanye has announced that he doesn’t read. Enough said.)
Collins-Dexter looks at black MAGA supporters, their subculture, and what led them to their current political beliefs. This part is interesting because it explores the possibility of more black voters voting against the status quo. Overall, I think this book does a good job of exploring the political future of black voters.