White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m not really sure what to say about this book, other than I think everybody should read it. It’s a very powerful and horrifying narrative of race relations in the United States beginning with Reconstruction to the end of the Obama presidency. The author has done an amazing job of condensing a lot of important history into an easy to read narrative that is documented with an extensive set of footnotes.

The book was definitely an eye-opener for me. In the chapter on the Reconstruction for example, following the Civil War promises were made to the emancipated slaves, most of which were never kept. And although the former slaves had the legal right to vote, violence and threats of violence prevented most of them from voting. By the time the Reconstruction ended, it was as if the Civil War really never happened. Sure, “slavery” was gone, but the former slaves really weren’t all that free. The same people ran the system for their own advantage. Needless to say, this was not the story of the Reconstruction that I was taught in my high school American History class.

I highly recommend this book. I think it provides valuable insight to why our society is the way it is.