Collective Amnesia: American Apartheid: African Americans’ 400 Years in North America, 1619–2019

by Eugene Defriest Betit

Collective American Apartheid is a comprehensive study of the treatment African Americans have encountered since their arrival in Virginia in 1619, a saga of racism and white supremacy. It is actual history, not the popular mythology about the Civil War and its aftermath taught in our schools. Numerous tables, photographs, maps, and charts make the study easy to read. The topic is extremely pertinent due to the four hundredth anniversary of African Americans’ presence in North America in 2019 and encouragement of racism from the White House. Chapters cover white supremacy and racism, slavery, the service of US Colored Troops in the Civil War, devastation of the South, evolution of emancipation, and Reconstruction and the Freedman’s Bureau. Other chapters address “redemption” and the “lost cause,” Jim Crow, blacks’ significant military contributions in the two world wars, the Great Migration, the civil rights movement, and the backlash that continues today. The book also addresses contemporary issues, including white supremacy, Confederate statuary, and evaluates the status of blacks compared to other groups in society. Note is taken of Professor James Whitman’s observation that Hitler admired Jim Crow and antimiscegenation laws, as well as Richard Rothstein’s study of federal and local housing law, documenting whites’ responsibility for creating inner-city ghettos.

502 pages, Paperback

Published February 13, 2019

Reviews

[Lisa]

I feel like this book has so much important information, crucial for the evolution of this nation’s social and economic structure. The author, Eugene Bétit, has obviously done his research, and I hope that many people will read this book with an open heart and open mind, willing to examine their own part in the titular apartheid. That said, WHAT THE HECK WITH THE EDITING?!!! There were some passages- at least a couple per chapter- that I truly could not make sense of. There were missing and extra prepositions in many places. Some of the explanations and graphs of different statistics were were really hard for me to understand. Here is an example: “During academic year 2000-2001, the of percent blacks or Hispanics stood at 95 percent in Detroit; 94 percent in Washington, D.C.; 87 percent in Chicago; 84 percent in Los Angeles; 82 percent in St. Louis; and 78 percent in Philadelphia and Cleveland.” WHAT?! Maybe someone can explain to me what this means. I am sad that a book with such important information and history has such bad editing. I don’t know why it has such good reviews in the sleeve. I am tempted to buy this book so I can take a red pencil to it and send it to the author.

[Sandra Berryman]

This book was a hard book to read. A gut-wrenching history that literally had me crying. My history is a middle class white woman, born in 1953 in a suburb of Cleveland, where I lived until 1969. I then moved to Daytona Beach Florida where I went to school, which was the first time I interacted with Black children. To me there was no difference between black and white to me. My knowledge of black history is mostly limited to movies like Roots, Glory, Mississippi Burning and Hidden Figures. This book is an eye-opener and hard to read but should be required reading for students, along with Night by Elie Wiesel, for those who have little or no knowledge of the Holocaust. I received an e-book from NetGalley in return for an unbiased review. Thank you NetGalley and thanks to the author for this comprehensive look into Black history.

[Nuha]

Thank you to Xlibris and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Now available.

Precise yet horrifying, Eugene DeFriest Betit's Collective Amnesia sets out to answer the question - why did the Nazis look up to America as a leader in racial subjugation and how does that narrative play a role today? Starting with the history of American plantations, Betit casts an unflinching gaze into the deep, bloody history of American racial politics. Most of the information is known, but it sits differently when presented in such a rapid fire manner. While the information presented was clear, I didn't enjoy Betit's writing style, finding it a bit dry and pompous which is a personal preference. Overall, an informative read.

[Nuha]

Thank you to Xlibris and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Now available.

Precise yet horrifying, Eugene DeFriest Betit's Collective Amnesia sets out to answer the question - why did the Nazis look up to America as a leader in racial subjugation and how does that narrative play a role today? Starting with the history of American plantations, Betit casts an unflinching gaze into the deep, bloody history of American racial politics. Most of the information is known, but it sits differently when presented in such a rapid fire manner. While the information presented was clear, I didn't enjoy Betit's writing style, finding it a bit dry and pompous which is a personal preference. Overall, an informative read.