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Thursday, August 28, 2008

Books for Dumb White People

posted by on August 28 at 11:05 AM

Because I have been thoroughly taken to task about books by Paul Constant, who is definitely more delightful than me, I would like to take this opportunity to put together a list (with the help of Paul Constant) of non-academic, contemporary looks at race relations.

In other words, you’ve already read Invisible Man, Beloved, The Color Purple, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, etc etc etc. We’re not talking about those. I stand by my claim that those have become historical abstractions. You’re looking for something more—besides, of course, the book of Barack. (The first one, the real, pre-candidate one.)

Here’s a start, and please suggest more:

1. James McBride, “The Color of Water”
2. Rick Bragg, “All Over But the Shoutin’”
3. Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, “The Random Family”
4. Colson Whitehead, “Apex Hides the Hurt”
5. Beverly Daniel, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”

RSS icon Comments

1

Still haven't read Apex Hides the Hurt, but I really enjoyed Whitehead's The Intuitionist.

Not American, but Zadie Smith writes fantastically about mixed-race characters in her novels. White Teeth, e.g.

Posted by Ziggity | August 28, 2008 11:12 AM
2

I heartily agree on Beverly Daniel, though I haven't read the rest.

Two books I thoroughly enjoyed, even though they are about colonial era slavery rather than modern race relations:


  • "The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano" (autobiography)
  • "Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America" by Ira Berlin
  • Posted by gember | August 28, 2008 11:20 AM
    3

    I heartily agree on Beverly Daniel, though I haven't read the rest.

    Two books I thoroughly enjoyed, even though they are about colonial era slavery rather than modern race relations:


    • "The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano" (autobiography)
    • "Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America" by Ira Berlin
    • Posted by gember | August 28, 2008 11:21 AM
      4

      I heartily agree on Beverly Daniel, though I haven't read the rest.

      Two books I thoroughly enjoyed, even though they are about colonial era slavery rather than modern race relations:

      "The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano" (autobiography)

      "Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America" by Ira Berlin

      Posted by gember | August 28, 2008 11:22 AM
      5

      I always thought that, There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in The Other America by Alex Kotlowitz, was an excellent book. Non fiction too! About children growing up in the projects of Chicago.

      Posted by Jonny H | August 28, 2008 11:41 AM
      6

      Oh I adore "The Color of Water." GREAT LIST! I will add these to mine.

      Is there something like Netflix for books? Oh, right ... it's called the library.

      Posted by Peggy | August 28, 2008 11:42 AM
      7

      Ah yes, "the color of water": A paean to a white incest surviving mother who beat her african american children black and blue while in PTSD induced trances, by a son who basically says he and his siblings needed to be beaten to stay in line.

      Posted by LMSW | August 28, 2008 12:13 PM
      8

      Beautiful Light Lady... nice article on the slayers office.

      May I suggest holding on tight with a rose in your teeth and keeping your hands and feet out of the water as an answer to your last line in s.C.A.?

      Posted by pinwheel guy | August 28, 2008 12:22 PM
      9

      While "The Random Family" is a great book, how is it a book about race relations? This is a book about some dingbats who happen to Latinas.

      Posted by Fly-Over Illinois | August 28, 2008 12:41 PM
      10

      Anne Moody's Coming of Age in Mississippi is set in the 40s/50s but it's still an amazing read!

      Posted by anna | August 28, 2008 12:47 PM
      11

      Oh, and I get to hang out with Rick Bragg this weekend at the Decatur Book Festival (in Decatur, GA).

      He's terrific and extraordinarily smart and right-on with his social commentary.

      Posted by anna | August 28, 2008 12:48 PM
      12

      The White Boy Shuffle by Paul Beatty
      Ego Trip's Big Book of Racism by the editors of Ego Trip
      Native Seattle by Coll Thrush

      Posted by Strath | August 28, 2008 1:19 PM
      13

      The Celestine Prophesy?

      Posted by formerly OR Matt | August 28, 2008 1:38 PM
      14

      I recommend Obama for Beginners.

      Seriously, it's a real book.

      You'll find it at the UW Bookstore, right above Understanding Feminism and Understanding Plato.

      Posted by Will in Seattle | August 28, 2008 1:47 PM
      15

      i HEART colson whitehead. he has such an original voice. i am in the middle of "apex hides the hurt" right now and i loved the intuitionist.

      but how can you forget octavia butler? "kindred" is a good one more directly about race, but "parable of the sower" and "parable of the talents" are my favorites.

      Posted by kyd | August 28, 2008 2:30 PM
      16

      The Color of Water is a DUMB book for DUMB white people. He goes on and on about how great his mother was about race with Black people, but I got the impression that she was profoundly anti-Semitic.

      And I actually had to read it for college, so it probably should be disqualified from the list.

      Zora Neale and I got along well, though - she should be on the list.

      Posted by Jason | August 28, 2008 3:06 PM
      17

      What about Pete Dexter? Train or Paris Trout come to mind.

      Posted by LeAnne | August 28, 2008 3:37 PM
      18

      Thumbs up on Beverly Daniels!

      The book helps explain a lot of phenomenon that white people are generally clueless about, as well as pointing out common mistakes/assumptions that most white people make.

      Posted by Ashley | August 28, 2008 3:48 PM
      19

      If you're recommending these books to people, wouldn't that just underscore your point that Obama's book is much more widely read?

      Posted by Chris in Tampa | August 28, 2008 5:11 PM

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