Customer Reviews

Two Nations : Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal

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3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I chose to read this book for a history course, wanting to spread my wings a bit and examine a point-of-view I don't consider often enough. Certainly, I am not the white man Mr. Hacker imagines all white people to be. Even if one considers himself a good person judging people on merit rather than skin color that should not be the end of the discussion. All Americans need to recognize and honestly look at the current state of race relations in our country. If we can look at things with an honest eye, we can then attempt to fix the problems that do plague race in our country.

On the other hand, this book is useless in a more practical sense and even harmful. Hacker makes innumerable blanket statements about white people (of which I am one and he is one). I get a strong sense that Mr. Hacker is experiencing transference in place of any sort of objective analysis. He claims to write about the "realities" of race relations, but make no mistake; he is telling you his personal opinion on the subject from start to finish. He weaves into the story many statistics, but you cannot find any number of statistics that can support blanket statements about the hearts of people. His analysis is highly biased, composed of many statements that cannot possibly be true. He appoints himself of the personal spokesman of white people's deepest, thoughts, feelings, and prejudices. Only on such a touchy subject is such marginal scholarship praised.

I have lived in the lower middle class all of my life and attended a school in which I was a minority. I have had black friends and got a decent view of black culture. I am not a perfect person, but I do try to keep my prejudices about a great many things under control, including race. I was raised in a household where my father was a hateful racist, and I had to overcome my learned prejudices. I do not suffer guilt about being white, my conscience is clean. That is not to say that I believe there is equality and justice in race relations, there is not. Yet, going off the deep end bloviating and stereotyping does zero to move the race discussion forward. Unfortunately, some people might take Hacker seriously when he suggests that all or most white people believe black people are inferior. If people like Mr. Hacker are to define future race discussions in our country, I have already jumped ship. Of course, Mr. Hacker has an answer at the ready for me; I am simply lying about my true feelings. That is the core flaw in all of his reasoning and the fatal in his book. Maybe Hacker and Kreskin can team up for his next book on race, maybe giving some validity to his mind reading.

First, I would say that this book is refreshingly dispassionate and un-overheated, both qualities that have been sorely lacking in recent discussions of race. Also, there is plenty of truth in it--some explicitly stated, some not quite so obvious. But truth is a two-edged sword, and Mr. Hacker doesn't come clean about all of it. I think he truly believed he was presenting an objective discussion, and he actually came pretty close, but for a few caveats.

The book does a good job of showing the daily trials black people face, and includes a clever exercise that can jolt you into awareness of just how much you do value your white skin. It also talks straight about how much racism runs deep underground or happens behind the façade of political correctness, and about both sides of the slavery issue. But it runs into trouble in a few ways. First, the author theorizes that other minorities such as Asians and Jews, become "honorary whites" by virtue of their achievements. He thinks the dichotomy is white/nonwhite, but I think it's just the opposite: black/nonblack. Nobody thinks Asians or Arabs are white, but because they're not black, they get more openings and more respect than black people do.

Then there is the statistical data. In every chapter, Hacker gives plenty of it, but then explains or excuses away what the numbers say. And some of his arguments are pretty specious. He says that blacks do less well in school because the oppressive presence of whites makes them feel so hopeless they just give up before they start. Well, that's on a par with my saying that I never did well in math because the fact that there were Asian kids in my class made me feel so insecure I didn't even try. If I'd tried that excuse at home, my parents would've laughed in my face and then told me to quit blaming everybody else, get off my hind end, and either hit the books or go to my teacher for extra help. Hacker never connects the dots, but the data say that blacks have sex earlier and less responsibly; do poorly in school and are more likely to drop out; and commit a disproportionate amount of crime, usually on each other.

Hacker offers the usual explanation for all this: It's white people's fault. I'm willing to grant that it's probably not a lot of fun to be black, and that blacks have suffered some unbelievable injustices that still sting and probably leave a psychological residue. But Hacker leaves unsaid the problem that blacks keep digging their own graves in a lot of ways. He seems to think white guilt is some kind of solution to the problem; but what would feelings of guilt really accomplish without action? And I mean action on the part of both whites and blacks. Nobody's saying pretend all those terrible things never happened--but nobody's holding a gun to anyone's head telling them to start having babies in their teens, drop out of school, start dealing drugs, and commit crimes on their fellow citizens either. At some point you have to take some personal responsibility.

How to achieve a real solution? I don't know. I felt unsettled after reading the book, like only half the story had been told. I understand that the author is a journalist and that presenting current reality is his job, and he does it very well. I hope he will write a follow-up where he explores possible solutions, because an intelligent, even-handed, level-headed discussion could only benefit everyone.

While Hacker uses statistics to illustrate the divide between black and white America, his book is anything but dry. Furthermore, while Hacker is an academic, he avoids the text book type of writing that many academics are known for. Two Nations is interesting, provocative and should be required reading in any class that attempts to address the problems of race in America. Although Hacker's book doesn't provide any solutions, he doesn't proport to. He is truly the foremost writer on race in America. Read Two Nations and find out why.

I'm amazed at some of my fellow reviewers. Hacker pickes on whites? Sucks up to blacks? Hardly.

I read the book some years ago and was very impressed. Hacker's use of statistics cuts through a lot of the rhetoric that surround the issue of race in America. I don't agree with all his conclusions--on the topic of race, none of us agree on every point--but he makes some very good points. My only complaint, actually, is the analysis is a bit light. I would have liked to see him draw some more conclusions. Still, if you want a statistical overview of race, linked with some good commentary, here's a place to start.

Oh, and I suppose I should mention I'm a white guy. Not a self-hating white guy, just a white guy. And I didn't and don't feel picked on by Hacker's book.

Remember the multiple choice exams with only one right choice? Remember the tweaked version with three seemingly right choices but really only one right choice? If you did well on those exams, then you can read this book. It purports to be straight-forward and serious academic scholarship but it fails in several ways.

The author is an old White liberal and makes no bones about it which adds color (no pun intended) to the study and keeps it from becoming dry but you need to keep on your toes in order to distinguish fact from conjecture. He is also an intelligent well-read university professor but beware giving him too much credit. He's an ivory tower academic used to reading tables of statistics. As my coworker used to say, if all you own is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail. The first chapter both sets and doesn't set the tone for the entire book. It sets the tone in that for purposes of expediency and let's face it, sheer laziness, the author proposes creating two buckets: white and black and putting everybody in one or the other. Even foreign students (grad and undergrad) get tossed into the blender. He then proposes speaking with one voice for the entire mix of "white" and another voice for the entire mix of "black". He then glosses over several issues within the black community that have been well documented and references several studies in order to establish credentials. Remember, all this in chapter one. Then he collects some random facts from the U.S. Census Bureau and the FBI and talks about them one by one in the remaining separate chapters. Each time, he makes observations about the facts in question but backs up none with any studies hence the references in chapter one were a ruse. Close inspection shows that observations in some chapters are refuted in others but that apparently doesn't matter. The part that makes me wince is every chapter includes the insight that "this is what 'white' people really think" after always first prepending an appropriate disclaimer that no studies of "white" views on this topic have ever been done. It's very much like saying, I can say this about Black people because one of my friends is Black. Similarly, we get "this is what 'black' people really think" but without the disclaimer for some odd reason.

If the buckets concept doesn't bother you, you should have your head examined. Among other things, because Asians get to be "White", it explains away the higher SAT test scores for Asians and Whites rather than giving the issue serious analysis. Similarly, higher rates of Blacks in prison are blamed on hip hop music. Seriously. Can you say HATER? In retrospect, why not pick video games like everybody else? :) If the lack of breakdown by social class doesn't bother you, reflect on how many people you hang out with regularly and admire that just happen to be in lower social classes. Why then would you assume that people you don't know would behave in a monolithic fashion despite having dramatically different incomes?

While, the author is somewhat aware of rifts in the Black community such as a generation gap, an income gap, a social class gap, assimilation vs. preferred segregation, northern heritage, southern heritage or caribbean heritage, but an over reliance on summation data from his two sources severely handicaps analysis. But don't worry, painting with broad strokes is still allowed. After all, he assures us that behaving as a monolith is better for minorities. I would really love to expose him to some of the minority on minority prejudice I have to put up with but I digress. We get dramatic observations like blacks only get jobs that whites no longer want. That sure explains all of those Hispanic fast food workers in my neighborhood. Similarly it explains the 33% earning 50-100K per year. Who's job did Naomi Campbell steal BTW? I guess he isn't a fan of America's Next Top Model. Similarly, there is an observation that the private sector is more discriminatory than the public section because of less scrutiny effectively blocking entire occupations from hiring blacks. Proof? 30% of blacks that declared their occupation as X to the Census Bureau work in the public sector. OK. Doesn't that imply that a) blacks are able to work in said career and b) the remaining 70% work in the private sector or did I miss something?

On the plus side, the author is old, well-read and an academic with established credentials. So his unreferenced observations do share some insight into what was happening before many of us were born and how it may have spilled over to today. The big question of course is, is this real information or his spin. For example, "all 'whites' are racist" sounds a bit extreme and rightfully so but he probably means that unknown to you, many "white" businesses have established business practices that deliberate exclude "black" candidates from employment. If you aren't invited to interview candidates and don't work in HR, how will you know aside from taking a break to examine the demographics in your work environment? OK, I remember American history. I did not sleep in class. I remember thirteen colonies: some with slavery, some without. I remember consistent and repeated fights over the peculiar institution in Congress. I remember limits on acceptance of new states into the union. I remember the abolitionist movement. I even can recall the Civil War and Reconstruction. But I don't remember reading the part where all those racist Southern plantation owners fled north with all their gold and co-opted all major sources of jobs in order to impose apartheid in the workplace and still managed to keep it that way in the south too. That's actually quite an accomplishment. Consider the amount of planning required, the ability to execute on such a large scale and the initiative. And one wonders, did every immigrant with money that moved here afterwards just willingly buy into this system of apartheid? Truly amazing. Why is this not taught in school?

The author does shine in one area. He will note when a specific topic has only been explored from the minority perspective rather than from a comparison of minority to majority. It's a shame he only has two buckets or he might consider multiple minority perspectives. However, in all such cases, he claims that the majority "white" view will reflect badly hence it has deliberately been covered up. He may have a point or it may be like the fascination with the poor half of blacks prevents any meaningful study of successful blacks. Come on now. 33% earning above 50K/year in just one generation? Now that's a story! While I don't recommend not reading this book, I definitely recommend reading it with care. I also recommend reading "Don't Believe the Hype" which covers many of these statistics from a different perspective.

This book points out, that even in the 21st Century; the separation of black and white, with hostility and un-equality still exists.
The United States is still seen as two separate nations, with the two races living different worlds. The dimensions of race and how it still controls the lives and divisions of our society is still present.
His book has 12 chapters, but I am focusing on chapter 7 which is the "equity in employment, qualifications and quotas". It is unfortunate to say, that this is still a sensitive race-related issue, without a proper balance; even so affirmative action is involved. The statistics which are used in his book are indeed fact. Hacker tried to be fair, however struggled to accomplish this goal of equal employment.
Hacker argues that as recent as the year 2000, areas of employment were still closed to African Americans; he used the census to document the representation, which was only 11.3%. On another note was the income gap among the African American population vs. the white families which earned more. He argues that the African American woman finds jobs easier then her male counterpart, however these jobs are considered "black jobs"; this would include services such as housekeeping.
Affirmative Action brought about some change for the workforce, but mainly for the females, white or black, which left out the African American male. Hacker points out that the possibility of why the African American male struggles with obtaining an average position could be because the white man is threatened by the African American male, or feels uncomfortable in a business that has an abundance of African American males working and therefore only employs a minimal number. It is pointed out in his book that the people in power use the race as a means of domination and discrimination. He also points out that it is America which made being a member of the black race so difficult. It is noted that the inequality of pay difference gives the African American population a lesser start in life.
If race plays the role in how people fare financially, why is it then that the with American tells the African Americans that there is plenty of work, when what black Americans want is no more and no less than what with Americans wants; a chance for steady employment at a decent pay.....to be black in America is to k now that you remain last in line for so basic requisites as the means of supporting yourself and your family. The discrimination exists, as well as the un-equality which is faced in every level of society. Overall, the problem to the African American is not how to deal with this knowledge, but how to make the society as a whole aware of these inequalities.
The book states also that the white American s believe is, that there are no issue at hand in respects to this continuous problem.
Hacker does not offer any solutions to this problem our society faces. He points out the truth, that African Americans and whites live in different worlds. The discrimination the African American race is facing, shows that common sense can tell us that racism is far from ending; therefore we all must begin to work towards a solution.

What can be said about one of the most noteworthy works of the late twentieth century! Hacker's "revelations", although surprising to some, are familiar to the millions of minority Americans who have felt the stares, the unwanted job placements, the overt and covert acts of discrimination, and the other biases inflicted upon them since the first slave ship landed or the first white man entered "Injun territory." Mr. Hacker's writing style makes the facts contained within the pages easy to grasp and ponder. By including a segment on the differing racial reactions to the O.J. Simpson trial, Hacker has tapped into a serious flaw in America's mettle: how the justice system is definitely NOT colorbind! The book should be mandatory for high schools, colleges, workplaces, police departments, and even future and present residents of the White House!

In Two Nations, Hacker does and excellent job in documenting the statistical inequalities between blacks and whites. Such a good job, in fact, that Hacker considers his impressive array of numbers to be, in and of themselves, evidence of injustice. Only peripherally does Hacker contemplate the effects that various cultures and subcultures may have on, among other things, black earning potential. He usually discredits such considerations by attempting to "hold various factors contstant" and then to arbitrarily attribute the residual difference to racism. Since racism is much less apparent today than in, say, 1950, much reference is made to the concept of "institutional racism" - a nonsense term that divorces racism from deliberate intent and instead alledges the subtle workings of unfriendly ghosts. Yet again, Hacker does little to reconcile his argument with the various evolved cultures and sub-cultures within the black community. It becomes, ultimately, a polemic designed to cast black Americans as victims of a hidden racism that acts through the institutions of society to thwart their aspirations. Whether its culturally biased exams, white middle-class norms, racist police officers, racist "vigilantes" such a Bernhard Goetz, racist corporate America, racist cab-drivers, racist store owners, or racist schools, his inability to hold black Americans in any way responsible for their circumstances serves the function of corrective epicycles to preserve his edifice of cultural relativism and to retain his faith in black capacity. This can be exemplified most clearly at the end of the book: In raising the question as to "why so many black Americans are enguaged in what seems to be a self-inflicted genocide?", he provides a very predictable answer: "It is white America that has made black such a disconsolate estate."

Hacker cogently illustrates race relations and racial attitudes in a way that is very honest and incisive. Although some may feel that he leans a little too far to the left, on the whole he was balanced and fair. Especially insightful was his dissection of white America's deep-rooted feelings on race. Contrary to another posted review, Hacker never claimed that blacks cannot be racist, he simply repeated the assertion of Coleman Young. Rather, he made the point that racism against an overwhelming majority by a _relatively_ powerless minority is ineffectual; it is like the soldier telling the general to go to hell. This was but one of his many salient points.

Andrew Hacker's research and insight have shown us that all of us who live in this country (United States) are racists. Regardless of status, money, color, race, we are all products of a racist society. Every day customs, courtesies, perceptions, and attitudes are expressed by even the youngest of us. As we sit on the edge of our country's embrace of "diversity" it is important for us to understand our actions and why it is important to "un-muddy" the term "racist" and define it for what it is. Stop the denials. Accept and choose not to act in a negative manner. A definite must read for all leaders public and private