White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide is a 2016 nonfiction book by Emory University Professor Carol Anderson, who was contracted to write the book after reactions to an op-ed that she had written for The Washington Post in 2014.[2]
 | |
| Author | Carol Anderson |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | White backlash, white identity politics |
| Published | 2016 |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing[1] |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print, e-book |
| Pages | 246 pp[1] |
| Awards | National Book Critics Circle Award |
| ISBN | 978-1-63286-412-3 (Hardcover) |
| OCLC | 959941616 |
Summary
editAnderson details her thesis of white backlash in the United States[1] and states that structural racism has brought about white anger and resentment. Her analysis of American history is that whenever African Americans gained social power, there was considerable backlash. She describes the Jim Crow era as a reaction to the end of the American Civil War and to the Reconstruction era. She further describes the shutdown of schools in response to the Brown v. Board of Education, ruling of the US Supreme Court and the opposition to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as causes of the Southern Strategy and the War on Drugs, which she says were both attempts to disenfranchise black voters.[3]
Reception
editWhite Rage became a New York Times Best Seller,[4] and was listed as a notable book of 2016 by The New York Times,[5] The Washington Post,[6] The Boston Globe,[7] and the Chicago Review of Books.[8] White Rage was also listed by The New York Times as an Editors' Choice,[9] and won the 2016 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism.[10]
At the January 2017 confirmation hearing for Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, candidate for U.S. Attorney General, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin offered Sessions a copy of White Rage, saying "I'm hoping he'll take a look at it".[11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c McCarthy, Jesse (June 24, 2016). "Why Are Whites So Angry?". The New York Times Book Review. p. 18.
Anderson, a professor of African-American studies at Emory University, wrote a dissenting op-ed in The Washington Post arguing that the events were better understood as white backlash at a moment of black progress, a social and political pattern that she reminded readers was as old as the nation itself. Her essay became the kernel for this book, which expands and illustrates her thesis.
- ^ Elaine Justice (May 31, 2016). "Anderson explores country's racial past, present in 'White Rage'". Emory University. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- ^ "Why has America taken so long to confront its dark history?". The Independent newspaper. August 31, 2019.
- ^ "Race and Civil Rights". The New York Times. 14 August 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- ^ "100 Notable Books of 2016". The New York Times. November 23, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- ^ "Notable nonfiction books in 2016". The Washington Post. November 17, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- ^ "Best books of 2016". The Boston Globe. December 7, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- ^ Adam Morgan (December 14, 2016). "The Best Nonfiction Books of 2016". Chicago Review of Books. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- ^ "Editors' Choice". The New York Times. July 1, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- ^ "National Book Critics Circle Announces 2016 Award Winners". National Book Critics Circle. March 16, 2017. Archived from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
- ^ Lauren Gambino; David Smith (January 5, 2017). "Democrats target 'troublesome' Trump cabinet nominees". The Guardian. London. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
External links
edit- White Rage on Bloomsbury Publishing website
- Presentation by Anderson on White Rage, June 16, 2016, C-SPAN
- Washington Journal interview with Anderson on White Rage, December 21, 2016, C-SPAN