In a time where people are freaking out over CRT being taught in grade schools (it’s not), hate crimes against people of color are too numerous, and Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida wants to cut AP African American Studies from high schools because he doesn’t think it has any educational value, Ellis Cose’s book Race and Reckoning: From Founding Fathers to Today’s Disrupters is a very needed and important book.
Race and Reckoning takes a very comprehensive look at the entities and actions and how they affected various races and America as a whole. Ellis muses on slavery, the New Deal, Jim Crow, the Covid Pandemic. He talks about the seminal labor and decisive resolutions that resulted in inequity, disinformation, and other problematic outcomes even in the modern age. And this labor and resolutions didn’t just affect people who were around when they were implemented. They have affected generations after.
Race and Reckoning examines America’s history, slavery, bigotry and exclusion of Asians, the removal of Indigenous people from their native lands and so much more. And America has prospered in the wake of this bigotry take advantage of the work of people seen as “lesser.” Even after people proved themselves and served their country, they still faced discrimination. African American soldiers and veterans were denied benefits that went to their white peers. Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps during World War II. And we can’t forget how Black people were denied the right to vote in the days of Jim Crow.
Now in 2023, there are people who think racism is no longer a problem. We’re living in a post-racial world. After all, Barack Obama was President for 12 years. Vice President, Kamala Harris, is both Black and Asian. Certainly, she’s in a position of power. We have many more people of color who are successful and in notable positions in everything-politics, media, business, sports, and entertainment.
But to anyone who has been paying attention, we are not living in a post-racial world here in the United States. Racism is still so much a vile problem we are still dealing with. And Race and Reckoning explains this is a way that is both thought-provoking and maddening.
I got quite the education reading Race and Reckoning. This book filled in so many gaps that were lacking in my formal schooling. I recall learning about the Civil War, but truly learning about the horrors of slavery were barely mentioned. Instead, our class watched “Gone With the Wind.” Sure, that movie is a classic, but it’s hardly an honest depiction of slavery during the those times. I never learned about internment camps during World War II or the removal of the Indigenous people. I’m angry that my schooling was so lacking, but I’m very grateful for Ellis Cose’s Race and Reckoning. This book may not be on Ron DeSantis’ reading list, but it should be on yours.
thebookselfblog 