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A review by transportedlfl
Black Skinhead: Reflections on Blackness and Our Political Future by Brandi Collins-Dexter
4.0
I have long admired Color of Change, where Brandi Collins-Dexter used to be a senior campaign director. So I was pleased to be able to read this book.
The book begins almost like a memoir or biography, telling her father's story. In doing so, it underlines the point that politics are personal. And as the author herself says, they are cultural as well.
This book is trying to do a lot. It is an examination of disillusionment with the Black American Dream. It is unflinching in its critique of the Obama White House and of the Democratic party. It draws on popular culture and equally on the author's experiences. I found the overall ideas included quite powerful.
However, I was not impressed by the execution. The arguments made weren't well organized. Interspersed between the chapters were Interludes. They seemed to hold content that didn't differ much from the chapters, and neither followed chronology or other clear structure. I think a stronger Introduction and flow could have improved the book greatly.
Likewise, I kept waiting for more on the interviews she had conducted of people from a variety of political identities. But they were a much less prominent part of the book than early chapters suggested. When they picked up again at the end of the book, she listened deeply and empathized even with those she didn't agree with. And she was able to portray their views in a way that encouraged me to do the same.
So I am left struggling to sum up my review. The book brings together many different ideas in ways I haven't seen before. Throughout, it made me think. But I felt like another round of editing could have made the book much more persuasive and powerful. And we need a book on this topic.
3.5 stars rounded up
The book begins almost like a memoir or biography, telling her father's story. In doing so, it underlines the point that politics are personal. And as the author herself says, they are cultural as well.
This book is trying to do a lot. It is an examination of disillusionment with the Black American Dream. It is unflinching in its critique of the Obama White House and of the Democratic party. It draws on popular culture and equally on the author's experiences. I found the overall ideas included quite powerful.
However, I was not impressed by the execution. The arguments made weren't well organized. Interspersed between the chapters were Interludes. They seemed to hold content that didn't differ much from the chapters, and neither followed chronology or other clear structure. I think a stronger Introduction and flow could have improved the book greatly.
Likewise, I kept waiting for more on the interviews she had conducted of people from a variety of political identities. But they were a much less prominent part of the book than early chapters suggested. When they picked up again at the end of the book, she listened deeply and empathized even with those she didn't agree with. And she was able to portray their views in a way that encouraged me to do the same.
So I am left struggling to sum up my review. The book brings together many different ideas in ways I haven't seen before. Throughout, it made me think. But I felt like another round of editing could have made the book much more persuasive and powerful. And we need a book on this topic.
3.5 stars rounded up