How Race Is Lived in America: Pulling Together, Pulling Apart

by The New York Times, Joseph Lelyveld (Introduction)

In 1999, the New York Times embarked on the most ambitious project in its history. Starting with one central question--What are race relations like today?--a dedicated group of editors and writers began work on an intense, demanding form of narrative journalism, finding compelling stories in fifteen communities around the nation and following their subjects for up to a year until their stories played out. The result, How Race Is Lived in America, captures the emotions and candid words that often churn just below the surface and presents an uncommon view of the country's private and public discourse on race.

Whether it's the struggles of a biracial partnership in a high-tech start-up, the tension-filled merger of a white church with a black church in the South, the simmering resentments of a multiracial slaughterhouse workforce, or the hip-hop dreams of a suburban white teenager, the powerful and intimate stories in this book follow real people leading complex lives, often but not always side by side.

Aqeelah Mateen, one of a trio of young friends in Maplewood, New Jersey, finds herself torn by racial identity as she approaches adulthood. Sergeant Maria Brogli suspects that the black undercover officers on her Harlem narcotics squad fear being accidentally shot by white officers. Achmed Valdes, a white immigrant from Cuba, wonders why his best friend from Havana has chosen to align himself with Miami's black community. As each shares hopes, fears and assumptions, an intricate and poignant understanding of race relations emerges.

Throughout these chronicles, which are enriched by an extensive poll and commentary from the journalists and citizens, it is clear that America has not become two distinct nations--one black and one white--as was feared a generation ago. America is now an inescapably multiracial society, discovering day by day how perceptions of race affect the fabric of human relationships. But deep divisions and frustrations persist, in minds and hearts if not in the laws of the land.

This landmark book offers a personal yet panoramic view of real-world conflict and aspiration, pain and resolution--a portrait of a country torn apart and brought together by its attitudes towards race

Genres: Race, Nonfiction, Social Issues, Sociology, African American

400 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2001

About the author

The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. Founded in 1851, the newspaper has won 112 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other news organization. Its website receives 30 million unique visitors per month.

Reviews

[NCHS Library]

From Follett: Whether it's the merger of a white church with a black church in the South, the hip-hop dreams of a suburban white teenager, or the struggles of a biracial partnership in a high-tech start-up, race relations continue to permeate American lives. Powerful yet intimate, the stories in this volume present the real voices of America speaking out on the impact of race in their daily lives.

The result of a virtually unprecedented commitment of talent and resources, theNew York Times landmark series "How Race Is Lived in America" captured the cultural landscape of the nation in provocative, eye-opening articles following people from all backgrounds and every corner of society.

The stories in the series are enhanced by additional commentary from the writers, photographers, and editors; results and analysis of an extensiveTimes poll on attitudes about race; and selected reader responses. Together they offer a highly personal yet panoramic view of real-world conflict and aspiration.

[Emily Hill]

this was an incredibly insightful and important read for someone beginning work in social services.

when i started reading i didn’t realize there were interviews and excerpts from the people involved in making the pieces themselves. i ended up re-reading the original stories after being able to understand it from their perspective, and at times it made me appreciate the stories more. other times, it made me realize how the writer’s past and implicit biases affected their writing.

very important read for anyone interested in learning more about the intersectionality of race in social, political, and professional circles.

[Ellen]

Some solid reporting on how race and racism is experienced in schooling, policing, business, religion and above all interpersonal relationships. The interview with the reporters themselves was key to processing it more.

[Dez]

read for a class in college

[Elizabeth]

How Race Is Lived in America: Pulling Together, Pulling Apart (Paperback)
by Correspondents of The New York Times

ISBN 0805070842

[Karla Kitalong]

The book was published 20+ years ago. The stories could have happened today.

[Edwin]

A compelling collection of essays on race. I read one essay about a white quarterback on a historically black college's football team and I was hooked. I went on to read essays about race relations among workers in a slaughterhouse, among high school students, in the newsroom, etc. Each essay offers revealing and frank insights about the state of race relations in everday, workaday America. Sometimes positive, often negative, very often poignant.

[Valarie]

Some articles in this book were interesting and enlightening, but many were incredibly dull. "Part II" of the book is devoted entirely to the NYT contributors patting themselves on the back for being so progressive and writing about race relations in America.

[Ami]

like "class matters", i wonder how these stories would change, if at all, after the last presidential election

[Simon]

This was a book assigned for a class on race that I never quite got to. It was pretty good.