Disintegration : the splintering of Black America / Eugene Robinson.
Material type: TextPublication details: New York : Doubleday, c2010.Edition: 1st edDescription: xi, 254 p. ; 22 cmISBN:- 0385526547
- 9780385526548
- African Americans -- Economic conditions -- 21st century
- African Americans -- Race identity
- African Americans -- Social conditions -- 21st century
- Group identity -- United States
- Social classes -- United States
- Social mobility -- United States
- United States -- Race relations
- United States -- Social conditions -- 21st century
Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book | Main Library | NonFiction | 305.896 R659 | Available | 33111006295972 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Instead of one black America, today there are four.
"There was a time when there were agreed-upon 'black leaders,' when there was a clear 'black agenda,' when we could talk confidently about 'the state of black America'--but not anymore." --from Disintegration
The African American population in the United States has always been seen as a single entity: a "Black America" with unified interests and needs. In his groundbreaking book, Disintegration , Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist Eugene Robinson argues that over decades of desegregation, affirmative action, and immigration, the concept of Black America has shattered. Instead of one black America, now there are four:
* a Mainstream middle-class majority with a full ownership stake in American society;
* a large, Abandoned minority with less hope of escaping poverty and dysfunction than at any time since Reconstruction's crushing end;
* a small Transcendent elite with such enormous wealth, power, and influence that even white folks have to genuflect;
* and two newly Emergent groups--individuals of mixed-race heritage and communities of recent black immigrants--that make us wonder what "black" is even supposed to mean.
Robinson shows that the four black Americas are increasingly distinct, separated by demography, geography, and psychology. They have different profiles, different mindsets, different hopes, fears, and dreams. What's more, these groups have become so distinct that they view each other with mistrust and apprehension. And yet all are reluctant to acknowledge division.
Disintegration offers a new paradigm for understanding race in America, with implications both hopeful and dispiriting. It shines necessary light on debates about affirmative action, racial identity, and the ultimate question of whether the black community will endure.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-245) and index.
"Black America" doesn't live here anymore -- When we were one -- Parting of the ways -- The mainstream : a double life -- The abandoned : no way out -- The transcendent : where none have gone before -- The emergent (part 1) : coming to America -- The emergent (part 2) : how Black is Black? -- Urgency, focus and sacrifice -- We know who we are, but who will we be?
Explains how years of desegregation and affirmative action have led to the revelation of four distinct African American groups who reflect unique political views and circumstances, in a report that also illuminates crucial modern debates on race and class.