afreema3's review against another edition
I want to first say that the reason I am not rating this book is because I took a break and came back to it, and my memory of the first half of the book is a little hazy. I just believe that while this book is good, since I started this book I went through a whole semester of college.
Talking about college I want to mention that this past semester I took a course on the history of North and West Africa, and I really enjoyed it. While reading these essays/speeches in the last few chapters I really connected what I learned in that class with what Rodney was writing about. I really want to reread this book relatively soon because I now know a lot more about African History.
I found Rodney’s writings on Black Power the most interesting and the chapter on African History and Culture. They were probably the most enlightening to me, and as someone that wants to be a history teacher I would love to bring one or two of these chapters into a class.
I will say though that the commentaries section was not really my thing, and I did skim it. It wasn’t bad and when I’m interested in learning more about Rodney I will reread it, but I just wasn’t drawn into them.
In the end I feel this was a good introduction into Rodney’s writings and thoughts before tackling one of his more well known works in the future. Let’s just say that I expect to be reading another book of Rodney’s before 2024.
Talking about college I want to mention that this past semester I took a course on the history of North and West Africa, and I really enjoyed it. While reading these essays/speeches in the last few chapters I really connected what I learned in that class with what Rodney was writing about. I really want to reread this book relatively soon because I now know a lot more about African History.
I found Rodney’s writings on Black Power the most interesting and the chapter on African History and Culture. They were probably the most enlightening to me, and as someone that wants to be a history teacher I would love to bring one or two of these chapters into a class.
I will say though that the commentaries section was not really my thing, and I did skim it. It wasn’t bad and when I’m interested in learning more about Rodney I will reread it, but I just wasn’t drawn into them.
In the end I feel this was a good introduction into Rodney’s writings and thoughts before tackling one of his more well known works in the future. Let’s just say that I expect to be reading another book of Rodney’s before 2024.
colin_cox's review against another edition
5.0
The Groundings with My Brothers is a provocative text that situates the struggle for Black or Pan-African liberation in the hands of the people, which is to say, those on the "ground." In a supplemental essay included after Rodney's text, David Austin argues, "as important as it was for us to acquire knowledge of our African past, this was no substitute for being grounded in the more particular experiences and histories that have shaped us in the Americans" (96). Here, Austin articulates Rodney's sustained emphasis on the people and their unique, individual experiences in contrast to particular African histories that live in the halls of academia. This is not to suggest that Rodney rejects the sorts of African histories housed in libraries, quite the opposite, in fact. Rodney's point, however, endeavors to disrupt the stratification of knowledge and knowledge production that exists in many societies by suggesting that the people, too, have the power, right, and privilege to make history. Rodney clarifies this point in Chapter 6 when he writes, "Now, what is my position? What is the position of all of us because we fall in the category of the black West Indian intellectual, a privilege in our society? What do we do with that privilege? The traditional pattern is that we join the establishment; the black educated man in the West Indies is as much a part of the system of oppression as the bank managers and the plantation overseers...How do we break out of this Babylonian captivity?" (66). Rodney sustains this critique throughout The Groundings with My Brothers. This is a distinctly anti-capitalist critique that sees the intersection between race, class, and wealth accumulation as the larger battle worth fighting.
Rodney's perspective on "grounding" is a necessarily humbling but, more importantly, egalitarian experience. He writes, "I was prepared to go anywhere that any group of black people were prepared to sit down to talk and listen. Because that is Black Power, that is one of the elements, a sitting-down together to reason, to 'ground' as the brothers say. We have to 'ground together'" (67). Rodney's perspective on disrupting the social, cultural, and political gap that exists between a people's intelligentsia and its workers is one that shifts the bounds of power in a culture. That is to say, we cannot expect to create an egalitarian world if figures of exception exist. Hierarchical formulations, even ones with the best intentions, produce the kind of stratification that Rodney argues against in The Groundings with My Brothers, and he is far from subtle on this point: "Black bourgeoisie and white people in the West Indies have produced nothing! Black people who have suffered all these years create. That is amazing" (73).
Rodney also explores terms and concepts that are new to me but help me better understand certain contemporary phenomena. For example, his widow, Patricia Rodney, writes, "With Walter as my guide, I learned firsthand of the extreme socioeconomic disparities in Jamaica. Like many other former colonies, class and skin colour/tone played a significant role in the distribution of wealth and resources -- a phenomenon referred to by the late Professor Stuart Hall as 'pigmentocracy'" (80). The term "pigmentocracy" labels a disparity I have attempted, to varying degrees of success, to describe to my student when we, for example, discuss the characterization of complexion in the texts I ask them to read.
The Groundings with My Brothers is a short but necessary text for anyone interested in exploring race criticism from a distinctly international, non-American perspective.
Rodney's perspective on "grounding" is a necessarily humbling but, more importantly, egalitarian experience. He writes, "I was prepared to go anywhere that any group of black people were prepared to sit down to talk and listen. Because that is Black Power, that is one of the elements, a sitting-down together to reason, to 'ground' as the brothers say. We have to 'ground together'" (67). Rodney's perspective on disrupting the social, cultural, and political gap that exists between a people's intelligentsia and its workers is one that shifts the bounds of power in a culture. That is to say, we cannot expect to create an egalitarian world if figures of exception exist. Hierarchical formulations, even ones with the best intentions, produce the kind of stratification that Rodney argues against in The Groundings with My Brothers, and he is far from subtle on this point: "Black bourgeoisie and white people in the West Indies have produced nothing! Black people who have suffered all these years create. That is amazing" (73).
Rodney also explores terms and concepts that are new to me but help me better understand certain contemporary phenomena. For example, his widow, Patricia Rodney, writes, "With Walter as my guide, I learned firsthand of the extreme socioeconomic disparities in Jamaica. Like many other former colonies, class and skin colour/tone played a significant role in the distribution of wealth and resources -- a phenomenon referred to by the late Professor Stuart Hall as 'pigmentocracy'" (80). The term "pigmentocracy" labels a disparity I have attempted, to varying degrees of success, to describe to my student when we, for example, discuss the characterization of complexion in the texts I ask them to read.
The Groundings with My Brothers is a short but necessary text for anyone interested in exploring race criticism from a distinctly international, non-American perspective.
sloopaslowlyreads's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
rodney really has an undeniable love and interest in the masses, as he says “every human being is a human being”
doomfelter's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
5.0
This man is seriously overlooked in the Black Power movement. These works should take center stage along with the BPP, Kwame Ture, and a host of other voices. Just great stuff.
sashasghost's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
a seminal text in bringing together academics and activism. the commentaries on the position of black people still ring true today. i will be going to purchase Rodney's other works