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It deservedly won the Pulitzer. It is an encyclopedic survey of the author's identifying racism (especially in the South iif slavery and Jim Crow, then was copied by the German Nazis) and with the lowest caste in India, the latter less convincing to me. I ended up skimming when she would give not one example, but three for everything. Maybe because I have lived it since the early days of civil rights movement, I could skim a lot of the material, chosen for emotional impact.
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Isabel Wilkerson uses her very readable writing style to attempt to compare Nazi Germany, and India's religious social structure to America's deliberate and destructive "Caste" system, created by white Americans for their benefit. As with so many black authors, the first 160 pages are all about pre-1950 history and slavery, as if this is somehow justification for behavior today of ANY people. Unfortunately, the notion that Blacks in America are oppressed by White people doesn't really make sense. Rather than being discriminated against, American Blacks enjoy special rights, privileges, and advantages that are unavailable to White Americans. These advantages extend into every aspect of America’s public life and can be traced to legislation passed back in the 1960s. “A system of racial privileges for blacks was forced on universities, employers, and the population. Less qualified blacks were given preference over more qualified whites in university admissions, employment and promotion. Freezes are used against white admissions, employment, and promotion until racial balance is achieved.” Rather than being institutionally oppressed, American Blacks have been accorded a whole array of institutional advantages over Whites. This represents a truly remarkable state of affairs because it stands as the only known instance in history whereby a racial majority in power has voluntarily agreed to relinquish its standing and allow discrimination against themselves in favor of a racial minority in the name of trying to create a more equal and harmonious society - which is a good thing. It is unfortunate that amidst all this opportunity, in the year 2020, some people still feel the need to find fault and complain that their lives are somehow not within their control, all while writing books that are quickly accepted and published, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in supplemental income for their hard work and dedication.Read full review
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Everyone in US, especially white people, should read it. Much of the information will already be known by informed people, but it is presented in a new context and will therefore be processed differently than when you read it before. But the presentation does not, for me, make compelling reading like the author's book about the great migration. I had to force myself to return to this book each day, but the read was worth the effort.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The book Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson, was inviting, informative, captivating and honest. The writer captures and explains moments in time that history books either scanned over or left out completely. She provides missing information and fills the void in history that left African American's clueless to why negative events continues to happen decade after decade. The book is engaging and her facts were supported by references throughout the chapters. I love this book and gained so much knowledge by reading it.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Extremely well written, thoughtful and thought provoking. The author uses metaphors and event descriptions to examine out history--and that of the wider world--to demonstrate how our current political turmoil, trend toward authoritarianism, and acts of inter-racial brutality are rooted in our past.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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