Customer Reviews

Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

This is unquestionably the best piece of factual non-fiction scholarship I have ever read. John McWhorter hits the nail right on the head in eloquently explaining the three "cults" that plague us as Black Americans - Victomology, Separatism, and particularly ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM. As a young Black man whose dearly departed mother instilled in him the value of education at an early age, who did well in school, and who was viciously ostracized and ridiculed by his Black peers for "actin' white" as a result, reading LOSING THE RACE represents the ultimate validation for me. The fact that so many Black young people see not only academic success, but a mere love of learning as something "not BLACK" is a CULTURAL problem I have witnessed my entire life. I realized in reading McWhorter's book that I am not alone.

The many anecdotes he gives poignantly and accurately explains the Black American self-induced psychological phobia of anything scholarly: how Black freshmen accepted at Berkeley after affirmative action was repealed (i.e. because of their high academic prowess and not their skin color) were looked upon as "OREOS" by the Black preference-benefitting upper-classmen; how when he was growing up one of his childhood friends had his little sister slap him for correctly spelling the word "CONCRETE"; how, while in graduate school, after engaging the professor in a discussion on the Swahili verb TO BE - a subject of dear interest to him - some other Black grad students approached him afterwards asking "whether or not he was a TRUE BROTHA." While reading, I had flashbacks of my own childhood experiences of being dissed almost daily by my own "people" for being smart and having the audacity to actually ENJOY school.

For years I have grown sick and tired of liberal "blacker than thou" pseudo-intellectuals who claim to have MY best interests at heart as a Black American. They blame all of our problems on racism, constantly making us out to be victims - even 30-plus years after the Civil Rights Movement! Yet, they are never willing to turn the microscope on us as Black Americans and how we should take responsibility for the ways in which we do ourselves in, but are quick to try to censor, berate, and/or brand as a "traitor" someone like McWhorter for doing so, all for the so-called crime of "airing our dirty laundry." If I, the youngest of six children and the product of a broken home in inner-city Cleveland, OH, can graduate high school VALEDICTORIAN, become the first college graduate in my family, earn a master's degree, and ultimately become a diplomat for the U.S. government, then what in God's name is wrong with (suburban) middle-class black students - as the author clearly points out in his discussion of Shaker Heights High School - who attend the best schools, with top-notch teachers, guidance counselors and other educational resources, have college-educated parents and therefore no excuse NOT to succeed, yet STILL choose not to apply themselves, blow off the importance of education, care more about being popular than being smart, and then later on want to turn around and blame "WHITEY" for all of the opportunities that they missed? The three "Cults"as accurately explained by the author are what's wrong.

Furthermore, for those Blacks who fear that this book will serve as "further ammunition for racist Whites to use against us," I say that such an arguement is a copout. We need to stop worrying about what white people think of us and start getting our collective house(s) in order.

This book NEEDED to be written, and I applaud Professor McWhorter for having the guts to write it as passionately and critically as he has. It serves as a much-needed wake-up call for the entire Black community.

As an African-American high school teacher, I can wholeheartedly agree with much of what McWhorter says. It has puzzled me for quite some time why, despite having educated parents, equal access to resources an intricate knowledge of the educational system, and extra attention from me as well as the other black teachers, my African-American students were routinely the worst in any of the classes I taught. They put forth less effort, are less ambitious, and seem permanently indignant at being challenged and expected to work hard. By contrast, the Nigerian, Senegalese, and West Indian students I taught turned in work of the same caliber as my White and Asian students. Like McWhorter, I also grew weary of trying to make excuses for students who really had no barriers to achieving success, especially when being educated side-by-side with students who looked just like they did.

Apparently a few of the previous reviewers missed McWhorter's point, as he predicted they would. For example, one reviewer points out "gender equity" and the fact that the book does not address this. The title of the book is "Losing the Race," not "Losing the Boys," or "Losing the Girls." Discussing gender equity would have been an unneccessary detour in subject matter. The reason for the gender gap is easily explained anyway: lack of black male "academic" role models, boys focus more on athletics, and also have other options that females tend to approach less avidly, such as the military and technical fields which don't necessarily require degrees. Regardless of even this, Mr. McWhorter is addressing the LACK OF QUALITY of Afican-American students IN GENERAL, not just the NUMBERS.

This book is a must-read for black parents, teachers, and administrators in particular, but also for anyone who is looking for a fresh take on the race debate.

it seems to me the people who disliked the book are usually the ones who saw themselves in the book but did not like what the saw.

As a Black Man I agree 100% with McWhorter. The black people who do not choose to be blind to the truth. They would prefer to blame others for their own failings. That is not new. It is a story as old as man. It is easier to blame "the man" than actually taking responsibility for your own actions.

In effect, it is great he gets negative reviews from people who admit to not reading the book. It proves his points more powerfully than he ever could.

Like they say, Buy the book, don't wait for the movie.

Bill

Thanks to John McWhorter for having the courage and honesty to write this book.He writes of things that are desperately overdue to be talked about;things that our politically cockeyed and o so correct times have wholly failed to address.Thanks to Mr.Mcwhorter for tearing into those who would perpetuate the "I'm a victim" syndrome for their own selfish interests(the Reverend Sharpton and his ilk).I personally have seen the anti-intellectualism and cult of victimology that pervades inner city students especially.I went to school with many kids who were afraid to succeed for fear of what their "homeboys" might think of them.So much wasted potential and time-it is sickening to think about.One thing that Wcwhorter could have gone into depth about but didn't, was how the mass media portrays the only successful black Americans as football and basketball players,and ignores the sizable contributions of black scientists,doctors,lawyers,educators and many other professionals.This book will anger you,make you question the motivations of the same old talking heads rehashing the same old politics that has yet to provide solutions, and it offers hope that people are waking up to the fact that the past cannot be used as an excuse for failure.Most of all it shows that the saviors and sheisters(one and the same usually)and papa government and its endless programs will not cure the problems so long in the making.This book is a wake up call for our society in general and the black community especially.

In "Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America," John McWhorter shows in devastating detail what is behind the stunning failure of black Americans to do what so many other once-depised minorities have done as a matter of routine in American history: rise to a level of intellectual (and thus economic) parity with the majority of the nation.

McWhorter's work is a stunningly painful personal account of racism (or the lack thereof) today, and the lingering psycho-social effects of past racism and discrimination on black Americans. McWhorter is in a fine position to write such a book. He's a professor of linguistics at Berkeley, an African American who grew up in comfortable homes, in safe suburban towns, in a family without financial problems, who attended excellent schools with supportive and dedicated teachers, whose mother was a college professor, and who never experienced serious discrimination on account of race. You'd expect success of anyone who's fortunate enough to have grown upin such privileged surroundings.

And you probably wouldn't expect success of anyone growing up in poverty, studying in dilapidated schools, with no family history of academic success.

The problem is: you'd be wrong on both counts. As McWhorter makes clear, black Americans who grow up with all the advantages do worse in academics than white and Asian students who come from poorer families, attend worse schools, and so on.

McWhorter analyzes all the easy answers that would explain black academic underachievement. He examines and discards theories that the underachievement is caused by lower family income, by racism of teachers or society generally, by underfunded schools, and by the practice of "tracking" students. Rather, McWhorter shows that the culprit is an attitude within black America, an anti-intellectual bias.

McWhorter's book is extremely intimate. He describes his experiences at Berkeley, the apparent disinterest in academics shown by many black students, and the unintended effects of affirmative action in university admissions. He also recommends steps to take to eliminate the anti-intellectual bias among African Americans.

This book is a terribly important addition to the literature on the black/white gap in American education and society.

...

Despite its title, McWhorter's book is really rather optimistic and hopeful in tone. He believes that a growing number of blacks are abandoning the self-destructive ideas that are being nurtured in the black community, specifically: victimology, separatism, and anti-intellectualism.

I suspect that many of the reviews of this book will be knee-jerk reactions rather than reasoned responses. Many will refuse to read the book at all. That is a sad shame, for even if one disagrees with some of his conclusions, his book is well worth reading and thinking about.

It seems today that the vocal elements of black culture have become subdivided into three main categories.

In the first category are those like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton who want to pretend that things are not much different today than they were in 1960 or 1950 - or that they are worse (They say this while dressed in $500 suits and eating caviar). These people look for every opportunity to scream racism and are the target of much of McWhorter's book. Unfortunately they fail to take into account that their actions result in a black community that cannot rid itself of being perceived as somehow inferior. They can do nothing else when they consistently insist that blacks aren't up to the same intellectual standards as whites and others, and that all blacks still need affirmative action based school admissions - which is nothing more than the educational equivalent of the special olympics. Blacks need to stop letting these self-appointed leaders shout out to the world that blacks are mildly retarded.

In the second category are the ultra-violent hate filled groups like the new Black Panther party, and certain segments of the Black Muslim movement. This group feeds on the failures caused by the first group and nurtures hatred and violence towards whites, jews, asians and others. These men and women should be dealt with as the criminals they are. They are no different than the KKK or the Aryan Nation.

The third group according to McWhorter is a growing segment of the black population that wants to realize Martin Luther King's dream to the fullest. These men and women have realized that while affirmative action may have been useful for a while and may still be useful in certain limited (income-based), and temporary situations, it is no longer justified as an across the board permanent solution. These men and women realize that blacks have the same average native intelligence as whites, hispanics, and asians and that if the standards were the same, they could prove it.

I hope that McWhorter is correct and that more and more blacks will decide they no longer want to be portrayed as inherently inferior "special olympians" by the established politically correct black leadership - the Jesse Jacksons, Al Sharptons, and NAACPs of the world. I hope that most will decide that the alternative proposed by McWhorter and other great black leaders and intellectuals like Thomas Sowell is the path to follow and that they will thoroughly reject the bigoted hate-filled bile of the new black panther party. McWhorter is right that blacks are not that far from Martin Luther King's mountaintop. The problem now is no longer external white opposition, but internal fear and self-doubt imposed on them by unfortunate circumstances and opportunistic "leaders." It's time for black and white and hispanic and asian to stand side by side as the equals they are and to help each other as the human beings they are.

The first step for those who aren't sure how to do this would be take this book and read it - not once, but several times.

My hat's off to you John McWhorter for picking up the torch of MLK that has been ignored for too long, for calling everyone out of the mud and back to the pathway that leads to the mountaintop.

Anyone who lives in the real world knows that McWhorter is speaking the truth. It's unfortunate, but it's true.

Go to just about any college in the U.S. and you'll see prime examples of all the anecdotal evidence that McWhorter uses. Even at an advanced level, you'll see the negative attitude towards education and the anti-intellectualism spoken of so many times in the book. For some reason, it's not cool to be smart.

If you listened to all of the so-called experts, or at least the ones who are yelling the loudest about the problems addressed by McWhorter, you'll hear one word: racism. Yep, he covered that one too; it's called Victimology. Constantly making "the Man" and "the System" out to be the problem is just ridiculous, and it fuels that mindset shared by those like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Yet the professional victimologists are never willing to turn the microscope on Black Americans, asking why there is no self-responsibility; however, they are quick to try to censor, belittle, and toss around the phrase "Uncle Tom", given to those who disagree with their agenda (like McWhorter).

Bravo Mr. McWhorter. Thank you for exposing the main problem in the on-going problem that American children face in our schools today.

Why do African-Americans perennially score lowest on SAT tests? Why can't Blacks climb out of their ghettos, when Vietnamese did so in two generations (and they couldn't even speak English)? Why does every Black criminal, no matter how red-handed he is caught, yell, "Racism"? How could Blacks acquit O.J. Simpson in the face of incontrovertible DNA evidence, when even they now say, "Sure he did it, but . . ." Why did Blacks fight so hard for integration, and then hang out only at the Black Student Union in colleges all over this land? And why, with all the billions of dollars this country has poured into special education for minorities, is it only African-Americans whose scores on all forms of educational tests have not closed the gap between Whites and Asians?

Every five or ten years I read a book that changes my world view, in some important way. This book profoundly changed the way I view African-Americans. It gave me answers to questions like those posed above, and many more. It gave me principles which can be applied to future questions that will surely arise in race relations in this country.

Professor John McWhorter's logical presentation and defense of each of his three theses is, in my opinion, unassailable. And lest you think that Prof. McWhorter is some racist red-neck, know that he is an African-American professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkley, one of the premier, liberal universities in this country.

He posits that Blacks are "Losing the Race" because they have a built within their community a "cult of victimology". This has fostered a strong "cult of separatism" and perhaps most damaging, a "cult of anti-intellectualism". He tells of students who excel in school being abused with taunts of "going White" and being an "oreo". He concludes that Black Americans have the mental powers to succeed (contrary to the thesis of The Bell Curve) because Africans and Caribbean Blacks who emigrate to this country excel in academia, they not being inflicted with the Black American anti-intellectualism to stifle their pursuit of educational excellence.

While Prof. McWhorter's logic is impeccable, his writing style leaves something to be desired, which was all the more distracting because he is, after all, a professor of linguistics; though perhaps I expected too much from such a language specialist. He needed a good editor to eliminate a number of glaring typos and incomplete sentences, which distract somewhat from the compelling ideas he presents.

In a word, this was one of the best, most mind-changing books I have ever read. If African-Americans worked as hard to excel in school as they do on the athletic field, the occasional incident of racism would pale in comparison to the achievements of Blacks rich and poor. Were it within my power, I would send a copy to every Black journalist and African-American leader who thinks racism is the only thing that keeps Blacks down and out in America and losing the race in every important arena except the sports stadium.

The rather patronizing review from Amazon.com notwithstanding, this is actually a very well written and thoughtful analysis of a thorny and emotionally-charged topic (witness the personal attacks on the author in many of the previous reviews). Somebody has to say the things John McWhorter is saying or the problem of academic underachievement in the African-American community will never be adequately addressed. Several reviewers have criticized Dr. McWhorter's use of anecdotes to make some of his points, but I suspect that many of the areas he discusses have not been the subject of rigorous research, probably in part due to the political correctness that pervades the social sciences today. I found this book to be refreshingly candid and courageous. Although this man and his ideas will surely be vilified by more closed-minded members of his own ethnic group and by some whites as well, he has done all concerned a great service by shining a bright light on a subject that is usually tiptoed around (when it is acknowledged at all). Pretending that the problem doesn't exist or that it is all due to institutionalized racism helps no one and dooms another generation of students to mediocrity at best.

I am a 38 year old African-American woman who had never heard of John McWhorter prior to this year. While perusing books at a local bookstore, I picked up a copy of ''Losing the Race'' in which someone had defaced the cover with the inscription: "This book is a must read!" Two pages into the preface and I was hooked! No other author has ever written a book that so articulated and validated the beliefs of many ''silent'' blacks who truly feel that our fate and our future is within our own control. John McWhorter presents such a compelling thesis regarding the cult of victomology, seperatism and anti-intellectualism that explains, exceptionally well, why so many African-Americans fall short. He has brought to light the discussions many blacks have in the privacy of their homes or only in the company of other blacks and he has done it in a manner that is poignant, eloquent and thought provoking to say the least. As some critics have charged, he does not deny that racism is alive and well in America nor does he minimize the struggles of African-Americans, but what he does do is present a challenge. Buy the book, read it and make up your own mind about it!