Race and Reality: What Everyone Should Know About Our Biological Diversity Review

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Race and Reality: What Everyone Should Know About Our Biological Diversity ReviewSkeptic Michael Shermer described races as "fuzzy groups," promoting the idea that race is a social rather than scientific concept. Harrison took this idea and made it truly solid.
I've long believed that racism is sort of like Freddie Krueger: if we didn't pay so much attention to race, racism would go away. Thank goodness we'd still have sexism to make things interesting. It looks to me like a lot of the ways we think about race in the US are counter-productive and incorrect. I have heard blacks say, for example, that racism is worse now than it was sixty years ago before the civil rights movement-- which I find very hard to believe!
Because race is such a taboo subject, at least for a Caucasian writer such as Guy P. Harrison, it took guts to point out that the emperor is in fact naked. He points out, for example, that in the US, if a person has any black ancestors at all-- say, a great-grandparent-- that person is often labeled as "black." When people call Obama black, I point out that he is half-and-half and could just as truthfully be called Caucasian. (I usually prefer to say Caucasian rather than white, and black to African American-- what if the latters aren't American?)
Harrison brings up many surprising facts and incidents: the white Australian who made a hate-filled joke about Aborigines. Two humans of different "races" still have more genes in common than two chimpanzees from the same troop. Many non-blacks get sickle cell anemia--which sounds like a great episode of House.
Harrison heavily quotes Jared Diamond's bestseller Guns, Germs and Steel (so it helps that I've read that) Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies to illustrate why European (white) people came to dominate the world. His point: cementing that the success or failure of different races or ethnic groups has nothing to do with innate talents or intelligence. Much of it can be attributed to geography.
It is my hope that anyone interested in race will read this book to get the bigger picture.
For more skepticism about race and racism, read Playing the Race card by Richard Thompson Ford. The Race Card: How Bluffing About Bias Makes Race Relations Worse
I have a lot of thoughts about race and racism, but feel that as a Caucasian person, I am not "allowed" to say them, no matter what those ideas are. (And they are not about organizing cross-burnings, believe me.) Maybe having a rational dialogue would go a long way towards mending fences and Harrison came forward to do so.
Race and Reality: What Everyone Should Know About Our Biological Diversity OverviewThe concept of race has had a powerful impact on history and continues to shape the world today in profound ways. Most people derive their attitudes about race from their family, culture, and education. Very few, however, are aware that there are vast differences between the popular notions of race and the scientific view of human diversity. Yet even among scientists, who understand the current evidence, there is great controversy regarding the definition of the term race or even the usefulness of thinking in terms of race at all. Drawing on research from diverse sources and interviews with key scientists, award-winning journalist Guy P Harrison surveys the current state of a volatile, important, and confusing subject. Harrison's thorough approach explores all sides of the issue, including such questions as these: If analysis of the human genome reveals that all human beings are 99.9 per cent alike, how meaningful are racial differences? Is the concept of race merely a cultural invention? If race distinctions are at least partially based in biological reality, how do we decide the number of races? Are there just three or maybe 3 million? What do studies of racial attitudes reveal? Are we all, in one way or another, racists? How does race correlate with environmental and geographical differences? Are race-based drugs a good idea? How does race influence intelligence, athletic ability, and love interests? Harrison delves into these and many more intriguing, controversial, and important questions in this enlightening book. After reading this book you will never think about race in the same way again.

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'78: The Boston Red Sox, A Historic Game, and a Divided City Review

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'78: The Boston Red Sox, A Historic Game, and a Divided City ReviewRed Sox fans have watched over the past two decades as free agents have turned their city down, the most famous being David Justice. For anybody under 45 years of age, it's been a head-scratcher. Why is Boston labeled as a racist city by outsiders?
Reynolds' book explains the heavy racist hatred that plagued the city during the 1970s, through the story of the busing experiment that attempted to systematically integrate the city's neighborhood schools. Paralleling the busing story is the tale of the 1978 single game playoff between the Red Sox and Yankees, how it froze time in the city and focused everybody's concentration - black and white - on the game. The author also explores the hypocritical stance taken by many fans of the day, cheering black ballplayers like Jim Rice and George Scott, yet protesting busing once the games got out.
So the problem for Bostonians today is one of simple math. If they lived in the city in the mid-1970s and were cognizant of the busing controversy, they remember the hate. If David Justice had a friend who grew up in Boston during those turbulent, violent days, his opinion of the city could easily have been swayed. If you moved into Boston after 1980, you might never know the importance of the names Judge Garrity, Mel King and Louise Day Hicks.
In the end, the author uses the game as a metaphor for the race relations. After Carl Yastrzemski popped out to end the dramatic game, the Yankees visited the Red Sox clubhouse to say that neither team should have lost, that in the end, both teams should have been labeled winners.
If the Red Sox and Yankees could get along, so could South Boston and Roxbury.'78: The Boston Red Sox, A Historic Game, and a Divided City OverviewThe thrilling inside story behind a crucial chapter in Red Sox lore—and a turbulent time in a troubled city. George Steinbrenner called it the greatest game in the history of American sports. On a bright October day in 1978, the Boston Red Sox met the New York Yankees for an epic playoff game that would send one team to the World Series, and render the other cursed for almost a quarter of a century. In this book, award-winning sports columnist Bill Reynolds masterfully tells the story of the team and the players at this pivotal moment. This cultural history takes readers through the social issues that divided Boston that summer, and masterfully depicts their influence on one game beyond the realm of sports.

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By the Color of Our Skin: The Illusion of Integration and the Reality of Race Review

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By the Color of Our Skin: The Illusion of Integration and the Reality of Race ReviewThis is a distinctive book about race and, in particular, the failures of integration in the United States. American University communications professors Leonard Steinhorn and Barbara Diggs-Brown document and discuss black-white relations, drawing upon social science scholarship, the media and popular culture, and their own personal experiences. The authors talk about integration and segregation not only in schools and the workplace, but also in worship, leisure, and recreational pursuits. In doing so, they provide a well-rounded but perhaps even more dismal assessment (than others) of the failures of formal, legal efforts to achieve both equality and integration.
Drawing upon their varied professional experiences, they argue that the media has helped to foster an illusion of integration. In particular, they point to the typically diverse casting of on-air television news reporters at the national and local level that suggest an interpersonal racial ease only rarely achieved. The more common view, they argue, is a society where black and white people may work together [if mostly on unequal terms], but then pass each other like ships in the night on the way home to neighborhoods that are overwhelmingly white or black. Their analysis is especially significant for large northeastern and midwestern cities, where black-white relations mostly define the race landscape.
In the end, this book challenges scholars and citizens alike to reflect honestly on our values, our residential choices, and personal practices, not just on rhetoric. Steinhorn and Diggs-Brown show us that a commitment to integration requires hard work and difficult choices, both at the personal and community levels, in ways that national rhetoric about race misses.By the Color of Our Skin: The Illusion of Integration and the Reality of Race Overview

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Unbound Feet: A Social History of Chinese Women in San Francisco Review

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Unbound Feet: A Social History of Chinese Women in San Francisco ReviewJudy Yung traces the social history of Chinese American women from 19th century to post World War II, how events and circumstances shape the women to be who they are today. She talks about the changing roles that these women played, from 19th century, when women played limited roles in society, how they were still influenced by traditional Chinese values to post war where they participated in the war effort, gained independence and had an active role in the society.
The main theme of this book is the discrimination they faced being Chinese and women. It is astounding to see how far they have come, from the days when Chinese school children were being called "Chinks" and were excluded from the mainstream society because of their gender and race.
This book would definitely appeal to those who come from minority communities and to those who are interested in ethnic, women or immigration history. I definitely recommend this book as it deals with issues that have so far been ignored in our textbooks, but definitely played a major role in shaping our society today.Unbound Feet: A Social History of Chinese Women in San Francisco OverviewThe crippling custom of footbinding is the thematic touchstone for Judy Yung's engrossing study of Chinese American women during the first half of the twentieth century. Using this symbol of subjugation to examine social change in the lives of these women, she shows the stages of "unbinding" that occurred in the decades between the turn of the century and the end of World War II.The setting for this captivating history is San Francisco, which had the largest Chinese population in the United States. Yung, a second-generation Chinese American born and raised in San Francisco, uses an impressive range of sources to tell her story. Oral history interviews, previously unknown autobiographies, both English- and Chinese-language newspapers, government census records, and exceptional photographs from public archives and private collections combine to make this a richly human document as well as an illuminating treatise on race, gender, and class dynamics.While presenting larger social trends Yung highlights the many individual experiences of Chinese American women, and her skill as an oral history interviewer gives this work an immediacy that is poignant and effective. Her analysis of intraethnic class rifts--a major gap in ethnic history--sheds important light on the difficulties that Chinese American women faced in their own communities. Yung provides a more accurate view of their lives than has existed before, revealing the many ways that these women--rather than being passive victims of oppression--were active agents in the making of their own history.

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Danger Zone (Point Signature) Review

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Danger Zone (Point Signature) ReviewJimmy is a star in his hometown, but can he play with All Stars in the U.S? Jimmy is from Minnesota where he is the star in small town Granham. He can play Basketball, but can he compete with international teams as he joins the U.S. Teen Dream Team? They first travel to Los Angeles to practice with the team before the tournament. The top ten teen players in the country make the team and Jimmy is one of the two white players. Does his color make him look bad in the first practices? "Danger Zone" published in 1996 by David Klass shows Augustus' (black player on Jimmy's team) life in L.A. is very different from Jimmy's small town life. After Jimmy puts that and other conflicts behind him the U.S. Teen Dream Team flies to Italy for the tournament. There are more conflicts and a death threat is sent to them. Racism and loyalty take over the tournament.
Racism collides with teammates and others, as they meet for the first time in L.A. and Italy. In the first practices, Jimmy cannot make a shot to save his life. Augustus thinks his cousin should have made the team instead of some no name. His thoughts turn into fists as he says to Jimmy, "You only made the team, because you're some rich white boy." Then it becomes Jimmy vs. Augustus in a fist fight. As the U.S. team flies to Italy some of the fans don't like Jimmy's teammates or the color of their skin. The dark skinned people in Italy are treated differently, as Augustus sees black people poor and living on the streets and he discusses this issue in a press conference. Fans from other teams think he and his black teammates should not be in this tournament.
Are you loyal to your team and teammates though the whole tournament? Some players on Jimmy's team are loyal to their team in hard times, but one is loyal to them all the time. Augustus is that one. He toughened up and put the death threat behind him when others worried about what was going to happen during the tournament. Augustus was accustomed to being treated differently because of his childhood in L.A. and kept the team alive in the tournament. He is concerned about his teammates and when Jimmy is having a rough time sleeping, Augustus tells him "You're not helping us win and you look like death warmed over." Augustus is thinking about the team as a whole and for Jimmy's welfare.
"Danger Zone" by David Klass is successful at showing anyone can overcome different types of obstacles when they have a goal. This book shows not to judge a book by its cover and "Danger Zone" shows racism plays a part even in a basketball game. This book has thrilling hoop action and is excellent to read. I would recommend this book to anyone, because it's story on how a teen copes with racism in a team environment. You won't want to put this book down; you'll just keep turning the pages. I give this book nine out of ten stars.
Danger Zone (Point Signature) Overview

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Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete Review

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Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete ReviewRhoden's aim in this finely written and very readable screed is to explore the African American star athlete's paradoxical dilemma: On one hand, he is worshipped for his athletic prowess and is lavished with millions of dollars. On the other hand, he is beholden to white team owners, white league administrators, and as such is limited to the role of a super-paid lackey.
Some reviewers object to the slavery analogy and the exodus from the plantation to the Promised Land that is heavily used in Rhoden's argument. But Rhoden is correct to point out that the slavery is both spiritual and power-based. Spiritual because too many African American athletes, Rhoden charges, are so busy micromanaging their careers that they have no sense of the broader context, of African American history (one star athlete was shocked with disbelief when he discovered that blacks were once banned from Major League Baseball). Power-based because too many blacks are relegated to "black" roles and forget the larger mission of making more opportunities for blacks in positions of privilege.
Whether or not you agree with Rhoden's analogy, I would argue that the book is nevertheless very readable and entertaining, giving us powerful narratives of how black men, starting with the emancipated slave fighter Tom Molineaux, left America to fight the English champion Tom Cribb and showed whites that blacks' athletic performance defied stereotypes about being dense, ignorant, maladroit, etc. By studying Molineaux, Ali, and other African American greats, Rhoden shows how black athletes who see themselves as symbols of black power help forge the way for other black athletes.
On a personal note, Rhoden, an African American, explains in his own life growing up in Chigaco in the 1950s and 1960s, that sports are a great avenue for learning about race and American history. I am no exception. As a child, I loved Hank Aaron and one day as I read about the way he was bullied and denied white restaurants and hotels, I got a bitter taste of what this country was like for people of color and contemplated the hideous color divide.
Sports is a powerful metaphorical arena for talking about race and Rhoden has done an exemplary job of developing that metaphor in a book that is always engaging and provocative.Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete Overview

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Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink Review

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Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink ReviewI write this review as a 50 year old baby boomer, who as a child lived in the South through the civil rights struggles of the 60s, having parents from New York City, having a father who trod across Europe in W.W.II, and having family lost and damaged by Nazi terror. Despite that, and despite knowing so much of that history, the doors to the past opened by David Margolick's Beyond Glory were wonderfully and surprisingly illuminating.
Margolick does this by not just retelling the wonderful story of these classic boxing matches, but by presenting much of the story through the words of the journalists of the day. In doing so, the book carefully chronicles the paths to and from these historic fights, and in doing so, not only tells the tale of wonderful boxing characters, but exposes both the pervasiveness of racism in America, and the astonishing face of anti-Semitism and racism that was the Third Reich. Even though it is recent history, which we think we know well, it is still surprising to see and understand the clarity and depth of these issues as reported in Beyond Glory, in part through the eyes and words of an earlier generation of newspaper reporters. (As newspapers today shrink and consolidate, the creativity and glory of those reporters is especially interesting.)
The magic of what Margolick has done is to present the history of the Louis-Schmeling fights by weaving the words of the journalists of the day, reporters long silent, who wrote in the style of the day--and with the prejudices of the day. Margolick does not spare us the ugly side of either American racism, or German repression. Mainstream American journalism bluntly writing about this "colored boy," northern cities (not just southern) with segregated fight attendance, German media bluntly assailing the evil Jewish control of all things American, the weakness of American reliance upon Louis, a man from an "inferior race".
We all know these things, but to read them in the day to day quotidian press of those times gives vivid life to those years. One can see the social struggle far beyond the ring where these fights were waged, and it is truly eye opening. As well, it is fascinating to see the frightening German press, and on the American side, two different press corps, the white press, and the black press. Amid the racism of the thirties, there stirred the growing civil rights movement in a vital black press (now largely forgotten) with its own distinct voice, again brought to life in Beyond Glory.
By not only reporting on the history of these famous fights, but fully immersing us literally in the words of the day, Margolick brings vivid life and reality to an extraordinarily important transition in history. By putting us back in those days, he not only well presents the course of these fights, the wonderfully colorful characters of the boxing game, the descent of the world into war, but gives a different understanding of our own history than might be expected. Beyond Glory does not just retell history, it puts the reader in the time, thereby creating something very vital and unexpected--a sometimes uncomfortable understanding of "a world on the brink".Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink Overview

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