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Why Are They Angry with Us? Essays on Race
FROM THE
Race is what I always have thought most about. In fact, I have been thinking about race as long as I can remember thinking about anything. Race was very much a topic in our home and, most probably because of this, it became my primary tool for analyzing life. Much as the Marxists used economics, I have used race. Virtually all of my thinking on religion, politics, crime, conomics, neighborhoods, and relationships has employed race as a cutting stone to dissect and try to understand them. As a seven year old boy, I remember asking myself, If we (black people) were slaves, why are they (white people)
angry with us? This question stayed with me into my early thirties and into my doctoral studies at the University of Michigan. Some two and one-half decades after I first formed this question, I finally found what, for me, was a satisfactory answer to it.
ABOUT THE Now, more than at any time since the 1960s, issues about race have taken center stage in America. From the killing of young black boys, to the travesty of mass incarceration, America is every day presented with evidence that the struggle for equality and justice is far from over. This book responds to many of the timely, sensitive, and often uncomfortable conversations that are taking place on our television screens, the front page of newspapers, on Twitter, and in homes around the country.
Why Are They Angry With Us? attempts to resolve the questions and conflicts about race in America that have plagued our country from the days of Jim Crow, through the battle for civil rights, and remain with us today. The author's personal journey and his professional scholarship have lead him to an understanding of our collective history. This collection of eight essays relates racial incidents and observations to address the deep misunderstandings our country holds about race and attempt to explain the workings of race and racism in America. These essays attack the core of many commonly held attitudes which contribute to racism in America.
Race is what I always have thought most about. In fact, I have been thinking about race as long as I can remember thinking about anything. Race was very much a topic in our home and, most probably because of this, it became my primary tool for analyzing life. Much as the Marxists used economics, I have used race. Virtually all of my thinking on religion, politics, crime, conomics, neighborhoods, and relationships has employed race as a cutting stone to dissect and try to understand them. As a seven year old boy, I remember asking myself, If we (black people) were slaves, why are they (white people)
angry with us? This question stayed with me into my early thirties and into my doctoral studies at the University of Michigan. Some two and one-half decades after I first formed this question, I finally found what, for me, was a satisfactory answer to it.
ABOUT THE Now, more than at any time since the 1960s, issues about race have taken center stage in America. From the killing of young black boys, to the travesty of mass incarceration, America is every day presented with evidence that the struggle for equality and justice is far from over. This book responds to many of the timely, sensitive, and often uncomfortable conversations that are taking place on our television screens, the front page of newspapers, on Twitter, and in homes around the country.
Why Are They Angry With Us? attempts to resolve the questions and conflicts about race in America that have plagued our country from the days of Jim Crow, through the battle for civil rights, and remain with us today. The author's personal journey and his professional scholarship have lead him to an understanding of our collective history. This collection of eight essays relates racial incidents and observations to address the deep misunderstandings our country holds about race and attempt to explain the workings of race and racism in America. These essays attack the core of many commonly held attitudes which contribute to racism in America.
150 pages, Hardcover
Published October 9, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 7, 2017
I wanted to read this book as the author is going to be a presenter and put on a workshop at the university where I work. Glad that I read the book, it was a easy read and not a big book, the author used a lot of his own stories and his family to relate it to racial issues. It is not a book that is big on statistics but the author deals more with social issues dealing with race. I loved the perspectives that he brings to the conversation. A good intro to someone that may not have much background on this issue. Definitely would recommend.
March 17, 2019
Approachable, not-too-academic essays on race by a true academic. Rather than writing essays, Dr. Davis speaks from a more personal place, and tells stories. Most memorable for me is the chapter in which he describes African American communities prior to desegregation -- and how they were often economically-diverse, self aware, self-supporting, and strong -- and how desegregation undermined and unwound many of those communities. Painfully ironic.
July 3, 2020
Easy read but still thought-provoking. Directly addresses some big issues in race and society, weaving in personal stories with some social science and psychology. The essays seemed to build on each other but then just stopped--a concluding section might've been helpful as a summary. And it was a bit repetitive in places--could've used a bit tighter editing in my view. But still, very well worth the read.
July 26, 2016
Just an excellent book written by a scholar, not an apologist or a critic.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews