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singem1's review against another edition
5.0
This book got to me. It’s the truth and many times confronting the truth is uncomfortable. Certain parts of the book left me angry and ashamed of what we have done and continue to do as white people (as a collective, as we need to work on others to help influence change)in this country. This book should be required reading and it is a must read for anyone who is working on being an ally to the black and brown communities.
princessrobotiv's review against another edition
4.0
This book was infuriating. Many times, I found myself needing to put it down to keep myself from feeling sick to my stomach.
In her Epilogue, Anderson calls America the "Land of Missed Opportunities," and that phrase certainly sets the stage for the litany of horrid disappointments and flagrantly racist obstructions of civil rights that she documents in this book. It's sickening and frightening and horribly sad what we've missed out on, what unforgivable crimes we've committed, simply because hatred and fear and ignorance has caused us to destroy ourselves and our country. It's even worse to know that we're still doing it every day and that most of us believe it's morally correct - even patriotic and brave - to strip the dignity and rights from millions upon millions of people. As if, as Anderson speaks on more than once, this will have zero lasting consequence to our society as a whole. As if somehow, flying against the face of reason and factual evidence, this will somehow make us stronger. What absolute delusion.
This book is an invaluable text for anybody wishing to cement their anti-Conservative/GOP talking points in legislative and historical fact. And it isn't just recreating the wheel, either; I've been delving into social justice discourse for several years now, and there were so many times in this book that I found myself shocked at the information I didn't know.
I borrowed this book from the library, as I do most of my books, but take my advice if you're thinking about reading it: buy it. I'm going to.
In her Epilogue, Anderson calls America the "Land of Missed Opportunities," and that phrase certainly sets the stage for the litany of horrid disappointments and flagrantly racist obstructions of civil rights that she documents in this book. It's sickening and frightening and horribly sad what we've missed out on, what unforgivable crimes we've committed, simply because hatred and fear and ignorance has caused us to destroy ourselves and our country. It's even worse to know that we're still doing it every day and that most of us believe it's morally correct - even patriotic and brave - to strip the dignity and rights from millions upon millions of people. As if, as Anderson speaks on more than once, this will have zero lasting consequence to our society as a whole. As if somehow, flying against the face of reason and factual evidence, this will somehow make us stronger. What absolute delusion.
This book is an invaluable text for anybody wishing to cement their anti-Conservative/GOP talking points in legislative and historical fact. And it isn't just recreating the wheel, either; I've been delving into social justice discourse for several years now, and there were so many times in this book that I found myself shocked at the information I didn't know.
I borrowed this book from the library, as I do most of my books, but take my advice if you're thinking about reading it: buy it. I'm going to.
kirsten0929's review against another edition
5.0
[2016] notes to self…5-stars for quality of writing and content; 1-star for miserable and disheartening reading experience. This book should be required reading in the history curriculum of all U.S. high schools. Anderson discusses five key moments in Black American history from the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction through to the election of Obama in 2008, and in the afterword of my paperback edition, the 2016 election. Although each touchstone is a huge and complex topic in and of itself, she clearly and succinctly but with nuance sums up each in a single informative chapter. As difficult as the entire book was to read, perhaps nothing was more heartbreaking than the picture painted by the paragraphs towards the end of the afterword that started out, “Imagine if Reconstruction had actually honored the citizenship of four million freed people…” Yes, indeed, imagine how much better off we would all be.