A review by janayagr
Fires in the Mirror by Anna Deavere Smith

5.0

I had no idea that this happened until I read the book. The collection presents many perspectives, which are familiar to me as being an African American with family members who hold similar thoughts about non-black people. But it was nice to see the Jewish perspective the events at hand. I could understand both sides frustration but what I think the essential issue of the two was is that they both have a history of being shunned by those outside of their groups. Yet, Jewish people were (are) more easily able to assimilate in American society because of their skin color. Black people will always be considered, more directly and openly, an outside, ostracized group, because of the melanin of their skin.

I am not ranking which group "has it the hardest" because essentially that does not matter. But I feel like beyond the car accident, that's what caused the racial tensions in Crown Heights. I loved it.