Race Code War: The Power of Words, Images, and Symbols on the Black Psyche

by Khari Enaharo

"There are more than 200 negative words associated with the word black and more than 100 positive meanings or synonyms attributed to the word white . This analysis of semantics and semiotics illustrates how words are not racially neutral and can convey negative values within the African American community or any community of color. Also examined are the impact of images, from paintings of Jesus to images of Santa Claus, and how they have shaped the way blacks are viewed and how they view themselves. This is not a book on political correctness, but rather a guide to becoming more aware of and sensitive to the impact that words and images can have on the psyche."

400 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

Reviews

[Tracey]

i got about halfway through the book, but the more i read it, the more difficult it was for me to keep wanting to read it. there are parts of the book that i could definitely understand; racism isn't nearly as defeated as we would like to think it is, and code words are effective in taking any "-ism" underground. however, there are other parts that really were tricky for me to wrap my brain around. from what i've read so far, the book fluctuates between trying to make a point about racially coded language, and having that point turn into a disjointed rant that, at times, becomes racist in its own way.

if the intention of the book is to encourage us to recognize racial code words, then it achieved its task, because i'm noticing that i'm looking for signs of these codes more often. however, i don't want to get so paranoid that i think that *everything* is cleverly disguised racism, and there were several times when i felt that the author was deep into that line of thinking. i would be interested in giving this book another try after i've gone further into my Black Studies degree, to see if i get the same vibe from it.

[Charles]

Excellent!