The United States of the United Races: A Utopian History of Racial Mixing Kindle Edition

You know that old curse "May you live in interesting times"? Well, we live in interesting times in terms of race relations in the U.S. right now. Greg Carter's book is, I hear, an important contribution to scholarship. But for me it's an important tool in my ability to talk to my kids about who they are and the history of racial mixing in our country. I'm reading it as not just the story of racial mixing, but as the story of who we see ourselves as as a people. And then I'm talking about the history and the stories with my kids,m who are 8 and 11 (my older one--a history fan--is waiting for his turn to read it himself).

Our first discussion was based on the cover illustration. Then we moved on to the world "utopian." Then we opened the introduction and started talking about President Obama and his ethnic background and how he represents that in various ways. There are things to talk about in every sentence of this book. And, because it's a positive history, I'm not having to censor too much (it's not all rosy, obviously, and if your kids are really little you're definitely going to have to read it yourself and give them the edited version).

Important to note that the book covers a variety of races, not just the usual black/white split, and that Carter explores some complex and twisty and changing themes. So this isn't a "here's the answer" book as much as it is a "here's a bunch of really interesting facts and stories that lead to a lot of really interesting questions" book. I definitely think it's a useful tool for parents (of all races, mixed or not) who want to know the background of how we got here as a country, but it's also a smart, complex but readable, engaging history for anyone who's interested in America.

Carter's book delves into a topic that American history and society has a hard time understanding-racial mixing. In this book, he confronts our (well most of us) limited view of the history of people of mixed race in the United States. It was not all tragic as commonly depicted, nor was it all optimistic (we have only to point to miscengation laws for that), but it was as complicated as all human relations tend to be. Carter explores the complexity of race both in individuals and in society as a whole.

For example, Carter's analysis of Thomas Jefferson's understanding and actions regarding race reflect some of this. As Carter discusses, Jefferson was a firm believer in human rights for all, yet he retained slaves. Not only did he retain slaves, he fathered children with one in particular, Sally Hemmings. Throughout his life, Jefferson Others close to Jefferson took a different route.

Carter also demonstrated well that what is written in history books is not as simple as it appears. In Chapter 3, he discusses Plessy vs. Ferguson, a case I had assumed was between a "Black" person who wanted equality. In actuality, Plessy's race was mixed. His race was used as part of the legal strategy to bring down the segregationist laws.

Throughout the book, Carter demonstrates that there is more to the issue of racial mixing. It's not a simple issue of "Black/White" nor it is a "mixed versus not-mixed". The history of race-mixing is much more complex. There are those in the past who have been adamantly (and sometimes violently) opposed to interracial marriage and then there are those who have been adamant supporters of interracial marriage to the point of idolizing people of mixed race descent. There have been places in the US where interracial marriages were violently opposed and places in the US where interracial marriages was a typical occurrence (Louisiana comes to mind).

In summary, this book does an excellent job at getting readers to revisit their own perceptions of race, whether they consider themselves mixed race or not. The categorization and labels that we use to describe us have a confusing and sometimes bright,sometimes painful history that we need to share in order to have a brighter future. You will need your "thinking cap" on because the book uses college-level vocabulary and historical anecdotes, but your mind will be blown away by the complexity behind even the simplest answers involving identity, love, and society.

Too often, the history of "race mixing" is maudlin and full of tragic stories about children not accepted by "either side." Dr. Greg Carter of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a rising academic star in the field of multiracial studies, has looked at the positive ways that race mixing has been seen in the United States. Although I have done a great deal of reading in this area, there was much I did not know. If you are interested in how different racial groups have interacted throughout United States, this is an important addition to your library.

Fantastic.

The book ok but when i got it the cover was really week and it started to break down kind of. I mean you can read and use it but if you wanna sell it to someone else it is not gonna have perfect cover.