The Myths That Divide Us: How Lies Have Poisoned American Race Relations, Second Edition [Paperback]

John Perazzo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2, 2007

To effectively refute any lie, however large or small, it is first necessary to be properly informed. Toward this end, "The Myths That Divide Us" stands as a most important boo on the subject of America's enduring national dilemma -- race. This treatise offers -- in a clear, logical, and intrepid manner -- powerful evidence that the most serious social and economic problems afflicting black Americans are not due to societal racism, but rather to the tragic disintegration of the black family. By taking this position (which the author supports with hundreds of references to vital sociological, historical, and contemporary research), Perazzo's work differs markedly from the vast majority of books on race. While noting that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. declared as early as 1965 that the civil rights movement had already achieved its principal goals, Perazzo asserts that King's successors have nonetheless done everything in their power to keep alive the false perception that American society mistreats the black community in a host of ways, both overtly and covertly. "They contemptibly use their personal agendas to keep fueling the fire of racial enmity," he says. Perazzo contends that civil rights crusaders evaluate matters of race by two sets of standards. For instance, one chapter of his book discusses how these leaders relentlessly drew worldwide attention to the evils of South African apartheid during the 1980s, yet have said virtually nothing about the far greater atrocities perpetrated against black victims all over the African continent. Another chapter details how civil rights leaders have loudly denounced the white enslavement of blacks that occurred in a bygone age (and have gone so far as to demand that reparations be paid collectively to present-day blacks), yet they have remained silent about the black-on-black slavery that pervaded Africa since time immemorial. Indeed, these leaders refuse even to denounce the modern-day slavery that currently exists in some African nations. Closer to home, Perazzo demonstrates such major points as these: -- Notwithstanding civil rights agitators' irresponsible charges to the contrary, white racism in the United States has declined dramatically since the middle of the 20th century, to the point where the black Harvard sociologist Orlando Patterson has said that America "is now the least racist white-majority society in the world." -- Contrary to popular belief, the American criminal-justice system treats black defendants no more harshly than white defendants. -- Affirmative action has heightened racial tensions while doing almost nothing to improve the economic condition of black Americans, and is merely a variation of similar failed policies elsewhere in the world. Perazzo further details research which shows that: -- Fatherlessness, not race, is the most accurate predictor thaty a child will end up in poverty or in prison. -- Black full-time workers today earn slightly more than white workers of the same age, sex, and IQ. -- College-educated, black working couples earn more than similar white couples in every age group and in every region of the country. This book does not tread lightly in its assessment of those individuals currently recognized as the foremost civil rights leaders in the United States. It exposes them, without apology or euphemism, as charlatans who prefer to sermonize rather than educate; who deliver hackneyed platitudes rather than knowledge; and who substitute elaborate exhibitions of moral preening, for reason.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book demolishes a whole spectrum of cant. Anyone who reads it will definitely be educated on the subject of racial issues in America. They may also be saddened, if not outraged, at how political rhetoric and media spin have distorted reality beyond recognition and in the process created huge and unnecessary racial polarization and strife. But most important, any reader of this book will be a lot less susceptible to rhetoric and spin in the future." --- THOMAS SOWELL, Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow, The Hoover Institution "John Perazzo has marshaled compelling facts and persuasive arguments showing that what was once a moral struggle for civil rights has turned into a racial spoils system. The Myths That Divide Us shows where we've gone wrong and what needs to be done to accomplish the original goal of the civil rights movement." --- WALTER E. WILLIAMS, Distinguished Professor of Economics, George Mason University "An important book. You don't want to miss it." --- DAVID HOROWITZ, author of Unholy Alliance, Radical Son, and many more books "John Perazzo's unsettling but important book brings to bear clear thinking, common sense, and extensive research to puncture some of the most comfortable and pernicious lies of our time. Ultimately, The Myths That Divide Us is an explosive book not because its main points are so outrageous, but because they are so obvious. --- MICHAEL MEDVED, author, film critic, & radio host "John Perazzo's book blasts us beyond the myths of 'racism' with a shocking incandescence of truth that will inspire all who do not have a political stake in the lies of hate." --- GEORGE GILDER, author of Wealth and Poverty "Perazzo exposes the hypocrisies of 'civil rights leaders' like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Louis Farrakhan in the most devastating of ways -- by using their own words and deeds. His case is backed by a seemingly endless string of anecdotes, facts, and statistics. This book is well researched and a valuable resource for anyone involved in the race debate." --- ANDREW OLIVER, National Review "The Myths That Divide Us is a monumentally important book. The truth is finally being told, and it is the truth that will set people free. Thank you, John Perazzo, for your honesty and courage." --- REV. JESSE LEE PETERSON, President of the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny --These reviews were provided by each individual.

This book will make many people very unhappy. John Perazzo has written a profound and well-argued expose of today's "civil rights leaders," who, under the guise of brotherhood, have made an art form of fomenting interracial enmity. "Instead of working towards racial harmony in America," Perazzo asserts, "many civil rights leaders actively promote an agenda of hatred and division for their own selfish purposes, knowing full well that their own actions and words actually harm the very people they profess to help." ... Perazzo is a ... skilled writer who puts forth a most convincing argument that Martin Luther King's dream and worthy principles of racial harmony have been suborned and perverted by self-serving civil rights leaders who find racist bugaboos everywhere, everyday, to justify their own positions, power, financial backing, and political influence. And any critic who challenges them is immediately labeled a racist. The myths that Perazzo describes have purposely been created to exploit the vulnerability of blacks and whites to believe that all whites are guilty, that somehow all the problems associated with being black are the white man's fault. Perazzo exposes the double standard of civil rights leaders who howl in protest over white-on-black violence, but who remain strangely silent regarding equally vicious black-on-white violence. These same civil rights leaders who vigorously protested South Africa's apartheid policy have never criticized, but actually embraced, black African nations where tyranny, bloodshed, and slavery are still big business. Perazzo also debunks the absurd conspiracy myths that AIDS is a white-inspired form of racial genocide, and that racially motivated crimes are an exclusively white phenomenon. Case by case, Perazzo reveals the duplicity, double standard, and outright charade of civil rights leaders who "have taught an entire generation of black youth to see racism everywhere, even where it doesn't exist." He provides numerous startling examples of race-baiting by Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and many others whose livelihood is based on "the continued existence of social injustice." This book is a disturbing and thought-provoking story that ... will certainly wake up some folks. --Independent Publisher Magazine

From the Inside Flap

Twenty-four centuries ago, when the Greek playwright Euripides wrote that "cleverness is not wisdom," he scarcely could have foreseen the lamentable degree to which the greater part of mankind would fail to grasp such a simple yet profound truth. Indeed, our contemporary society is filled with individuals who exalt cleverness far above wisdom, and for whom a lie told convincingly makes a satisfactory substitute for truth. Dazzling us with their verbal maneuvering, they waltz away from reality with carefully worded ambiguities and evasions. Effortlessly they twist their faces into pained and pious countenances -- thereby giving the appearance of passion and sincerity. And when their orations have ended, media pundits and academics expertly analyze their "performance," as if to imply that deception is a skill which, when practiced artfully, is in itself worthy of admiration. Politicians traditionally have been the most visible of these deceivers. Less scrutinized have been the mainstays of the modern-day "civil rights" establishment who, under the guise of promoting "brotherhood," have made an art form of fomenting interracial enmity.

This book does not tread lightly in its assessment of those individuals currently recognized as the foremost civil-rights leaders in the United States. It exposes them, without apology or euphemism, as charlatans who choose to sermonize rather than educate; who deliver hollow platitudes rather than knowledge; and who substitute elaborate exhibitions of moral preening for reason. With incessant fervor, they mischaracterize our country as a racist wasteland wherein African Americans are doomed to misery and failure under the yoke of white bigotry. Upon these pages are their lies exposed. Herein is the sorrowful story of the millions whose lives they have ruined and whose souls they have corrupted. Ultimately, the purpose of this book is to demonstrate that under the light of reason, the elaborate myths of these demagogues silently melt away like ice sculptures in the sun.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 629 pages
• Publisher: World Studies Books; 2nd edition (December 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965126811
• ISBN-13: 978-0965126816
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #362,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for the societally aware!, March 6, 2002

By 

"jamaal_michaels" (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Myths That Divide Us: How Lies Have Poisoned American Race Relations, Second Edition (Paperback)

This is an excellent book. In it, John Perazzo examines, chapter by chapter, some of the common myths and sociological fables that continue to separate parts of the US populace today. Perhaps his most valuable contribution is showing how so-called leaders such as Jackson and Sharpton have twisted reality to suit their own ends. To me, the most compelling and honest part of the book looked at the myth of race in the United States. US blacks are clearly the most privileged people on earth, yet vicious racists such as Kwesei Mfume, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Carol Moseley-Brown continue to perpetuate groundless black grievance, hatred, and jealousy towards our larger society. This stands in direct contradiction to the tremendous achievements of many, many blacks, who are now predominantly members of the US middle-class. Perazzo correctly and explicitly points out (in Chapters 3 - 7) that a comparative handful of vicious racial hypocrites (Jackson, Sharpton, et al) distort and hinder (the "myths" in the title of the book) what ought to be an honest, helpful conversation on society in America today. As a black man, I feel privileged to live in the United States, and don't understand why anyone could possibly complain about how we've been treated here when we compare it to the horrid, brutal life common throughout Africa these days. Perazzo has authored an impressive appeal for us all to set aside the people who wish to gain by anger and bitterness, and he wants us all to work together for a common good. This is a great book - I'd highly recommend it. His extensive foot-noting and meticulous research make it a valuable text for those of us who want to help all Americans move forward peacefully and with our due intelligence. Buy it today at Amazon.com and pass it on to a friend.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "There are none so blind as those who will not see", May 9, 2001

By 

M. A. Treu (Bordentown, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Myths That Divide Us: How Lies Have Poisoned American Race Relations, Second Edition (Paperback)

This book is a welcome addition to the mountain of expository evidence, which depicts the cupidity and disingenuousness in which the civil rights industry is awash.

This book is surely one giant step toward the inevitable awakening of America. An awakening that will cause the entire world to condemn the narrow-mindedness and self-interest of all race hustlers, particularly the well known intellectual Lilliputians: Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. The author points out the double standards of the civil rights industry whose very existence depends on pointing out racism everywhere, even when it isn't there. Perazzo exposes the hypocites with well researched facts and statistics illustrated with anecdotes.

This book harmonizes with Jared Taylor's books: "The Real American Dilemma" and "Paved With Good Intentions" et al, as isolated voices become a chorus demanding truth and reason in discussions of race.

This book should be read by everyone concerned with the future of America.

This book should be read twice, twice by everyone in Academe and in the media.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible revelation of the lies of civil rights leaders, November 4, 1999

By 

George T. Williams - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Myths That Divide Us: How Lies Have Poisoned American Race Relations (Paperback)

This book is an eye-opener. The truth of incidents that we are not told by the media are revealed here. We find out why the Sharpton's and the Jackson's are interested only in money and promoting divisions between the races. This is a must read for every American, white and black. It's time to face the reality of race relations so we can move together without these charlatons of racial division influencing minority thinking for their own benefit, and this book is a great start.