The Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist for the Chicago Tribune presents a series of essays examining the central questions of race, gender, and ethnic identity that have emerged since the civil rights reforms of the mid-1960s. The essays address such topics as how racism still acts to keep nonwhites in subordinate political, economic, and social status; how the hip-hop generation has turned -black is beautiful' on its head; and the volatile relationship between blacks and Jews. Page reflects on changes in the racial landscape since the 1960s and reconnects the increasingly abstract political debates about black conservatives, affirmative action, and the race card to the people for whom these words mean something more than just votes.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Despite the title, this book contains far more about race than gender, and Page, a syndicated columnist based at the Chicago Tribune, is not so much impolite as pragmatic, a skeptical liberal whose views are shaped by experience. Thus, while he recognizes the value of blacks-only organizations and warns that many who call for integration really want assimilation, he also fears that a wholesale retreat into blackness harms black folk. He observes trenchantly that Nation of Islam minister Louis Farrakhan succeeds by wrapping middle-class values "in the trappings of the racial outlaw." Though he'd hardly say that racism and black rage have dissipated, Page also argues that the worst problem facing black Americans is the "failure . . . to take advantage of opportunities that already have opened up." He also analyzes pressures facing middle-class blacks, touches on the relations between blacks and Jews, defends affirmative action and muses on the prospects of a miscegenated America. The book is billed as original essays, but it sometimes reads like blenderized columns, lucid but less compelling than it could be.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
All-new essays on racial politics from the black commentator you've read in the Chicago Tribune, heard on National Public Radio's Sunday Morning Edition, or seen on the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read for every white person in America!,
By ellenward@aol.com (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Showing My Color: Impolite Essays on Race and Identity (Paperback)
Clarence Paige is a voice of wisdom in a discussion often dominated by the most strident, offensive voices. He pulls no punches about what race means in America, yet he offers hope. I plan to buy multiple copies to give to all of my friends, black and white, who often seem baffled or hopeless about the future of race relations in this country.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great reading; very real; very informative.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Showing My Color: Impolite Essays on Race and Identity (Paperback)
Found book to be very enlightening and imformative; easy to read, understand, and relate to. Says what needs to be heard; unfornately many who need to hear aren't listening.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The author's picture drew me to this book,
By
This review is from: Showing My Color: Impolite Essays on Race and Identity (Paperback)
Watching Clarence Page on the McLaughlin Group, with his flashing eyes, his subtle stutter and his insightful comments on whatever subject was under discussion at the time, I knew when I saw this volume (as a tourist) in a Pensacola bookshop (The Bookworm-$6.00)it was mine. Although it has taken me several years to pull it down and begin reading, I'm glad I did. While it was published 15 years ago, it is still current; things haven't changed that much (have they?)except for a black president. I was impressed with the 57 "selected bibliography" references and wondered how he had time to work and do all that reading. The last essay contained several phrases new to me: the one-drop rule, "brown paper bag" clubs, and "blue vein" societies. I especially liked the personal references he shared with readers to illustrate his point. Also, he referred to a book I inherited from my mother; in fact, I gave the book to her in 1997, but I have no recollection of why or where I found it: Shirley Morris Taylor Haizlip's The Sweeter the Juice (1994). This will be my next reading project. No wonder Clarence Page has a Pulitzer; he writes intelligently for the reader who cares about the subject of race and class. Recommended.
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