And We Are Not Saved: The Elusive Quest for Racial Justice

by Derrick A. Bell

The author of  Faces at the Bottom of the Well  and “the man behind critical race theory” ( New Yorker ) offers an imaginative investigation of American race relations and the difficult struggle for racial justice. 
 
In  And We Are Not Saved , legal scholar and civil rights activist Derrick Bell calls for a deeper understanding of how white supremacy functions in the United States. Bell challenges the idea that significant social, political, and economic progress was achieved by the civil rights movement in the wake of the 1954  Brown v. Board  decision. Through a series of fables and dramatic dialogues modeled on the grim fairytales of the eighteenth century, Bell explains the true pervasiveness of racial oppression within the American legal system. Racial inequality, he argues, is an integral part of American law and society, and it cannot be easily reversed through legislation. 
 
Hailed as “fascinating” ( New York Times Book Review ) and “daring” ( Washington Post ), this is a landmark work in the study of race in America. 

Genres: Race, Nonfiction, History, Politics, Philosophy, Social Justice, Sociology

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Derrick Albert Bell Jr. was the first tenured African-American professor of law at Harvard Law School and is largely credited as one of the originators of critical race theory (CRT). He was a visiting professor at New York University School of Law from 1991 until his death. He was also a dean of the University of Oregon School of Law. [wikipedia]

Reviews

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Derrick Bell uses elements of critical race theory and storytelling to discuss issues of race through the perspective of Geneva Crenshaw. Bell's writing is creative, insightful, and forces readers to re-evaluate issues of race.

I was fortunate enough to find my copy of the book to not only be autographed by Derrick Bell but he lefts notes and a news article inside for the person he gifted the book to. I feel like this helped me to pull out messages from the stories that Bell found meaningful

[Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusually crafted argument, written in 1987, about the continuing legacies of racism, and the limitations on conventional strategies for overcoming those legacies. The book is set up as a series of conversations between a Harvard Law professor and his friend, an activist and former professor named Geneva, each of which is initiated by a parable of sorts meant to illustrate a continuing flashpoint in racial relations. Some of them work better than others, but there are lots of valid critiques about the ways the civil rights movement had been blunted by the mid-1980s--and when I read it in 2018, the outlook felt even more dismal and the optimistic coda less persuasive. The legal analysis works better than the social critique; the chapter about relationships between black men and black women is probably the least persuasive in the book, as it's rooted in all sorts of highly questionable assumptions about the nature of those relationships. But as a polemic about the need for renewal of the civil rights movement, it's extremely effective.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

This gripping book's strange premise threatens to become hokey at times, but in the end it works. The book uses a series of parables to explore how race works in America and why the groundbreaking accomplishments of the Civil Rights Movement have not brought about the positive change for many African Americans that might have been expected. Bell is an incredibly erudite and nuanced thinker, and this book is quite illuminating.

[Alexandra Pederson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for a race and ethnicities course, but I enjoyed its presentation of the early foundations of the U.S. and how racism and discrimination were carefully embedded in the social structures and institutions.

[RK Byers · Rating 5 out of 5]

i LOVED this book and i only understood half of it.

[Elgin Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read.

I cannot express to you the importance of reading this book, to address white supremacy. Very much a needed read.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a series of allegories, called "Chronicles", which make the issues clearer and the book easier to read. The discussions after each chronicle raised some very thought-provoking questions.

The sci-fi aspect of the chronicles makes them more fun to read while not detracting from one's ability to examine them and reflect on the real issues.

However the book is difficult to read if you have no legal background.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book on the continuing racial injustice in the united States told through allegorical stories

[Leslie Hitchens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!! Very thought provoking.

[Delwyn Campbell Sr · Rating 3 out of 5]

How can a problem rooted in sin be solved by sinners?

I read this book to understand the world view of the critical race theorists. Can some of us save all of us when some of us find benefit from the sin that easily ensnares us? All humanistic utopian solutions stumble on this point. There is no incentive inside of ourselves to embrace that which requires the crucifixion of corruption of this sinful nature. No matter how hard we try, self preservation energizes our “carnal minds” to resist their own demise.
If there is no God, no Gospel, and no salvation available apart from the very Divine Mercy that we reject, why would the world not continue to exist as it has to this day? If Jesus is NOT the answer, contrary to the message of the late Andre Crouch, and everything else has failed, not only is the title true, but the problem is intractable. We cannot save ourselves, because we share the same wicked desires as our oppressors. If the tables were turned, we would celebrate the turning rather than destroy the tables because “in Adam all fall.” Even so, “Marana tha” - Come Lord Jesus. Romans 1:16

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bell sets forth a series of science fiction-ish fables, each one followed by a debate (and sometimes argument) between a fictionalised Bell and a female counterpoint, Geneva Crenshaw. Each fable posits a circumstance which changes, for good or ill, the relationship between racial groups in America (some of which, the book published in 1987, turn out to be disturbingly prescient); the subsequent debate revealing how the fable illuminates the current 'quest for racial justice.'

Sometimes disturbing or depressing, sometimes annoying, sometimes revelatory. The book is definitely worth reading.

[Leigh Horvath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book for school 😛 I quite enjoyed this book, but I found myself wanting there to be a better balance between the length of the chronicles and the length of the discussion. I understand why the discussion is longer, however, the Chronicles were so interesting and creative I wanted more!

[Nitzan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had to read for psych and law. Interesting but way too academic and philosophical for my taste

[Ruby Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely thought provoking. Very strange plot. I was thoroughly entertained.

[Isabella Stillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly was not into the fictional aspect of this book

[Finlay Kusik · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10

[Sarah Pavelko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought provoking but too weighed down in legalize

Thought provoking content and well researched. However the book is difficult to read if you have no legal background. It read like a casual legal brief or oral argument.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asks a lot of pointed questions about race and justice, and then provides what could reasonably be predicted as the sad reality.

[Anastasia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book.

[Lynn Henslee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Book!