The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide - White Rage

i am only giving this 4 stars.
Not because of the research. It is spot on. Its due to the blanket assumption that this rage is directed to all blacks in America.
Middle and Upper middle class black built an insular society parallel to middle and upper middle class whites after slavery. When Jim Crow laws became too invasive, the fight for desegration began. Middle class women didn't ride the buses in Montgomery, but it had to be one because a pregnant girl or a dark skinned poor one was a bad example. The movement to desegregate lunch counters, interstate buses and other economic niceties the white middle class enjoyed only benefited the black middle class. Did anyone really believe a poor sharecropper could afford to either eat or shop at Woolworths?
The decisions in Rodriguez and other education cases, the voter ID laws, do they really have a blanket effect on the entire african american community? It isn't the children of middle and upper middle class blacks who are being slaughtered in Chicago, or going to sub standard schools. Its poor blacks who were denied jobs by trade unions after their migration to the north, herded into ghettos, denied decent education as the supreme court upheld eugenic education funding and denied participating in a fundamental right to vote.

Carol Anderson's White Rage is a brilliant achievement at connecting the many events of African American progress with historical events of American history. When I commenced reading the book, I realized that in order to be fully engaged with her intellectual prowess I would need to set aside my personal connections with the events (as an African American) and emotions, and be more objective. Once I did that, I was able to get through some of the most difficult parts of the book to read (Reconstruction, Great Migration, War on Drugs, etc.). Reading White Rage with many other books this summer (The Lynching, The Condemnation of Blackness, The New Jim Crow, Between the World and me, etc.) was an added value and informed perspective to what this country is experiencing today.

This book was FASCINATING. It explains so much, in-depth but understandable, about what is and has happened over the past few centuries to African-Americans. It gives vivid examples of how African-Americans have and still are struggling economically because of systematic racism. This book is a must read!

This is a detailed and stirring account of how African Americans have been denied justice, voting rights, and economic aid from the ending of slavery to the present. It is well written and well documented. It puts the recent outbreak of white supremacist showings in historical perspective. A must read for all American citizens.

I have strongly recommended "White Rage" by Dr. Carol Anderson to everyone within the sound of my voice. It is a history book that chronicles the oftentimes negative reaction of white America to the social, political and economic progress of black America. It is very well documented with 62 pages of footnotes.

Admittedly, it is a painful book to read. The violence, the full fledge denial of rights and the insulting and denigrating actions, often taken by our government will be news to many (see Prince Edward County school system following the Brown decision by the Supreme Court in 1954 or Ronald Reagan's arms sales for the Contras in Central America using funds he managed from street level drug deals, namely crack).

Everyone, especially whites, should read this book. It helps explain how we got where we are in America today. The racial divide, the vast economic imbalances, the political disadvantages can be understood as intentional consequences of reactions to black progress. We built these circumstances and they can only be removed by an intentional demolition movement with honest apologies, reparations and forgiveness. Even America's original sins can be forgiven, if it is willing to do penance.

Very informative book! Some parts may be a little too wordy, but the information presented really creates a great foundation for thoughtful discussion (reading as part of a book club). I would rate it 4.5 stars, but didn't have that option.

White Outrage would be a better description of what I was feeling as I read this book. I was reading this during a time when the movie Hidden Figures was playing in theaters and was amazed that the real people that the movie was based on were able to achieve what they did, given the attitude toward blacks at that time. It makes me feel sad that we don't seem to have progressed much in 2017 . This was a good historical summary of life in the US after the civil war and paints a very disturbing picture of the lengths to which so many have gone to keep black people "in their place" when it comes to education and having a voice in our government. This was chosen as a community-wide book to read and discuss. My guess is that those who most need to have a greater understanding of this topic did not read this book.

Dr. Anderson calmly shows how America has attempted to negate any advances made by blacks in America. Do not think that we should just forget and move on.
The past informs the future. Notice the attempts that are being made to gut the voting rights act. Multiple hurdles are being place that will make it difficult for minorities to vote. Widespread voter fraud wasn't an issue until conservatives realized that their ranks were diminishing.
The criminalization of poverty points back to the vagrancy laws of old that were used to keep newly freed slaves in virtual slavery. This book is not a call to victim hood. It is a call to action. Get to the polls. People died for our freedoms and rights , do not take them for granted.

This is an outstanding book and should be required reading. It explains why racist exist today in America. Reading this book helped me to understand why my race is hated because of the color o their skin.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone trying to understand why the Black Community is so angry.

The book is an interesting expansion on some of the topics discussed in "Slavery by Another Name". Where "Slavery" discusses how Southern Whites used control of the courts and incarceration of Blacks to reestablish control, this book discusses how the laws were written which disenfranchised the entire Black Community including residential restrictions, voting restrictions, education, financial security, property ownership and other aspects of life most take for granted. After each court win, the establishment created new laws or created propaganda which continued to subjugate the Black Population.

As an individual who grew up in the South and graduated from high school in 1966 I was well aware of the segregate school systems. What I did not realize was the abject difference in access and quality of education between the two races. As the book expounds, we as a country wasted 150 years of potential talent and contributions because of the roadblocks created to stop Black education.

My only reservation is the tenuous tie the author makes between crack and the black community. Although the author successfully ties the government supported sale of drugs in the United States to attempts to fund revolutionary efforts in South America, the targeting of the Black Community is a little tenuous.

This story has not been a part of the national image, but is certainly the story we all need to know. And once we do, it is time to truly make America the place where all people are created equal, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

This svelte book packs a powerful punch. Although the Ebook edition states 236 pages, about 69 of those pages represent copious notes and the index. So, this book grows out of an op-ed that the author wrote for the Washinton Post after Ferguson, MO exploded. The theme was white rage against progress, rather than black rage against the cops. She expanded on that line of thinking and this volume is the result.

She lays out the clear case of white rage rearing its racist head throughout history every time Black people attempted to assert their humanity. "The trigger for white rage, inevitably, is black advancement. It is not the mere presence of black people that is the problem; rather, it is blackness with ambition, with drive, with purpose, with aspirations, and with demands for full and equal citizenship."

The historical anecdotes can be found in other books of course, but connecting those moments to the overarching theme of white rage was a dexterous feat, neatly executed. The second chapter, Derailing the Great Migration was especially potent, highlighting the many hurdles(read, The Warmth of Other Suns for depth)placed on Blacks attempting to "leave" the South. At ever turn, there was indeed white rage.

"The whole culture of the white South was erected on the presumption of black inability. And the Great Migration directly challenged that foundation. Black success was the white South’s bogeyman. And the fear that this engendered erupted in ticketed passengers being dragged off trains, interstate commerce getting blocked, the wartime needs of the nation going ignored, and labor becoming criminalized for taking its skills to an employer willing to pay."

So the more things change the more they remain the same. We need to be vigilant and keep our humanity and justice front and center when we engage in conversations that attempt to dismiss our humanity. Carol Anderson has presented a compelling argument that white rage has historically and presently been an actor upon Black lives.

Outstanding piece of scholarly work. I am assigning this to all of my US History courses at university from here on out. The work is flawless and utterly unassailable by those who feel 'threatened' by the truth of it all! Excellent!

Its one thing to know that you have fellow Americans who hate you because of the color of your skin, but to learn that Fed and State governments sanctioned this hate and discrimination is heart breaking. My hope is that we will choose a better course for our country, one where we truly live up to our motto E pluribus unum.

An excellent review of legal issues dating from the Civil War to the present. I had hoped for some exploration beyond the economic and legal issues, particularly about WHY we have such dislike of each other. The history of slavery is thousands of years old--apparently based on the belief that some humans have the right to subject others based upon their skin color, religion, nationality or just because they were unfortunate enough to be captured and sold. The racism in the USA is embedded, difficult for many to articulate and often blinds us to real issues. There are definite differences between humans in so many ways (just give type "a" blood to somebody with type "o".) The belief that differences must be ranked as superior or inferior totally blinds humans and inhibits progress for all humanity. I think that the title of this book was a bit misleading---and note that half of the book is references and footnotes.

This little volume is academically precise and thoroughly documented (60+ pages of notes), yet Anderson's writing style is clear and accessible for the average reader. The truth isn't pretty, but Anderson (no relation) tells it forthrightly. This is one of those rare books that I'll be reading several times in the months to come.

I couldn't put this book down. Dr. Anderson's analyses are straightforward, no pulled punches. She took me on a journey through tragic, heart-rending history. Yet never allowed me to languish in bitterness or resentment. Instead I came away with an invaluable education and a call to action. Everyone who loves America should read this book.

Once you pick this book up , it is almost impossible to put it down. I wish they would put this stuff in the history books so that all of us would know our true history. It would help to heal our country of the divide we have now .

This is a crucial piece of work regarding what has driven the Unites States into a racially wretched place.I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in an honest look at the issue of race in America, and the root causes of our division.

An outstanding indictment of how white rage/supremacy intensifies whenever African Americans start making any type of gains as a group. In an easy to read and clear voice, Ms. Anderson removes all doubt and lies about why African Americans have been at the bottom during and after slavery. In a very clear and lucid writing style with direct quotes and references, she proves beginning with slavery and to the present times how the system of white supremacy (politics, government, courts, businesses, religion, and States) have devastated African Americans, their families and communities. Please read the book for yourselves and not be influenced by some of the low ratings. It appears that some of these people have not read the book and/or have a hidden agenda. The many one stars will make thinking people read the book for themselves. It is a book that the racists obviously don't want anyone to read.
After reading this classic book about the atrocities after the Emancipation Proclamation up to the present time, it becomes quite clear that it is a miracle that African Americans are still standing!

One of the most important books since W.E.B. Dubois' "The Souls of Black Folk." Tells the bitter truth about race hatred in America and makes plain the reasons we cannot make headway in race relations. Should be read in tandem with "Democracy in Black," Eddie Glaude, Jr.

"White Rage" is a persuasive and devastating indictment of the United States, especially white America, about its treatment of African-Americans (and other ethnic minorities). Dr. Anderson's primary thesis is that white America, especially in the Southern states, has sought to thwart black advancement in education and employment for 350 years by all means necessary, legal or not. This historical account covers five major topics/periods:

1. The impact of Reconstruction policies
2. The Great Migration from the South to the North
3. The consequences of the Brown decision
4. The Nixon and Reagan administrations' Southern strategies
5. State voter ID laws as well as the Obama election

This book is likely to provoke discomfort among whites, not unlike the raw emotion that transpired when Alex Haley's "Roots" was released, but "White Rage" is an important book that must be read by all Americans collectively. Arguably, some white readers will reject the book and its premise as black propaganda for affirmative action, claims of victimization, or old news. But "White Rage" is not a work of fiction; it systematically documents the factual reality of the African-American experience in the United States that whites including myself cannot fathom because they are not black.

The book is well written and well documented with 63 pages of references. Readers with a serious and strong interest in American history will be able to validate the accuracy of each chapter from other historical works, experiential observations, and news. But it is valuable to have all this chronological information reported and analyzed in a single book. The chapter on the Great Migration was particularly interesting to me because this topic is not often covered in depth in standard U.S. history texts.

Dr. Anderson ends her book with a call to look toward the future and with some broad social prescriptions, such as offering quality education to all students and reforming a justice system that is often racially biased. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether policymakers have the fortitude to address these critical issues for the future of the country and work on bipartisan solutions to reduce social inequalities.

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson Ph.D.

“White Rage” is a powerful book about the racial divide in America and what is behind it.
Historian, professor Carol Anderson takes the reader on a harrowing account through a part of our history that rarely gets ink but it should. This revealing 248-page book
contains the following five chapters: 1. Reconstructing Reconstruction, 2. Derailing the Great Migration, 3. Burning Brown to the Ground, 4. Rolling Back Civil Rights, and 5. How to Unelect a Black President.

Positives:
1. A very well researched and well-written book. It’s engaging and thought provoking.
2. A fascinating topic, what’s behind our racial divide in the very astute vision of Dr. Anderson.
3. Does not waste time getting to the central idea of her thesis, “The trigger for white rage, inevitably, is black advancement. It is not the mere presence of black people that is the problem; rather, it is blackness with ambition, with drive, with purpose, with aspirations, and with demands for full and equal citizenship.”
4. The criticism is fair and even-handed. “The truth is that opposition to black advancement is not just a Southern phenomenon. In the North, it has been just as intense, just as determined, and in some ways just as destructive.”
5. Interesting and very astute observations. “The truth is that, despite all this, a black man was elected president of the United States: the ultimate advancement, and thus the ultimate affront.”
6. Troubling facts backed by sources. “Millions of enslaved people and their ancestors had built the enormous wealth of the United States; indeed, in 1860, 80 percent of the nation’s gross national product was tied to slavery.”
7. An expose of sorts. ““I am not,” Lincoln had said, “nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races.””
8. The economic reality. “The bottom line was that black economic independence was anathema to a power structure that depended on cheap, exploitable, rightless labor and required black subordination.”
9. Incarceration as a form of re-enslavement. “African Americans were then swept into the prison system to have their labor fill the coffers of the state and line the pockets of the plantation, mine, and lumber mill owners.”
10. A look at the judicial reality. “The Supreme Court thus identified states as the ultimate defenders of rights, although Southern states had repeatedly proven themselves the ultimate violators of those rights.”
11. Exposes economic systems created to abuse. “The sharecropping system required those who worked a farm to purchase all their supplies and foodstuffs from the landowner, regardless of price or the staggering interest rates charged. At the end of the year, the accrued “debts” would be deducted from whatever amount the harvest had brought and the difference paid to the sharecropper.”
12. The extent at which states went to deter African Americans from leaving the south. “The whole culture of the white South was erected on the presumption of black inability. And the Great Migration directly challenged that foundation. Black success was the white South’s bogeyman.”
13. The use of the law to abuse. ““Georgia’s legislature even went so far as to pass a resolution to “repeal the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America and to impeach the members of the Supreme Court.” On July 1, 1956, the state adopted a new flag, designed by segregationist John Sammons Bell, which “featured a prominent confederate battle flag. It was Georgia’s way of letting the NAACP and the rest of the nation know that white Georgians, once willing to die to protect slavery, were also willing to die to protect segregation.””
14. The redefining of concepts. “What President Reagan loathed was the Great Society that, despite its dispersal of benefits to middle-class whites and its measurable effectiveness in lifting the elderly out of poverty, he succeeded in coding as a giveaway program for blacks.” “Reagan’s job cuts, retooling of student financial aid to eliminate those most in need, and decimation of antipoverty and social welfare programs “virtually ensured that the goal of the African American community for economic stability and progress would crumble and fade.”
15. The impact of the Iran-Contra affair. “The crack plague had already swept through African American neighborhoods around the country with absolutely no warning. There had been minor use of crack in the 1970s, but it began to visibly show up in 1984 and exploded in 1985 and 1986—just as Congress cut off funding to the Contras, leaving the administration desperate to finance the war against the Sandinistas.”
16. Voter suppression exposed. “Wisconsin took another tack when Republican governor Scott Walker championed a bill requiring a government-issued photo ID to vote, and then proceeded to close the Department of Motor Vehicles in areas with Democratic voters while simultaneously extending the hours in Republican strongholds.”
17. The mistreatment of President Obama. “So vilified was Obama that the very office of the president ensured no respect. Breaking every rule of decorum and receiving millions of kudos for doing so, South Carolina congressman Joe Wilson shouted at Obama, “You lie!” during a 2009 joint session of Congress.74 In another unceremonious and unprecedented slap in the face, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) invited Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has had a contentious relationship with the president, to address Congress but didn’t inform the White House until hours before the speech.”
18. An excellent afterword. “Republicans simply refused to do the one thing that would have stopped the mogul’s destructive ascent to the White House cold: put an end to voter suppression.”
19. Many examples of voter suppression. “Some of the most aggressive efforts to put as many obstacles in the way of African American voters as possible occurred in North Carolina. The Electoral Integrity Project, in fact, would label the state a “pseudo-democracy” somewhere between Iran and Venezuela because of the vicious voter suppression laws and ruthless GOP government officials whose quest for control was shameless and relentless.28 The Republicans’ new law, HB 589, cut early voting, eliminated same-day registration, and imposed stringent ID requirements that affected 1.2 million citizens.”
20. Some statements stand out. “The unbridled anger at Obama for having had the audacity to become president and the subsequent Republican insistence on bogus voter fraud claims to justify disfranchising millions of voters, especially African Americans and Latinos, cracked the firewall that would have kept the most suspect and unpopular incoming president in recorded history from gaining access to the nuclear codes.”

Negatives:
1. I think her portrayal of President Lincoln as a racist is unfair.
2. No visual supplementary material.
3. No formal bibliography.

In summary, Professor Anderson provides compelling arguments in support of her main thesis, “The trigger for white rage, inevitably, is black advancement.” Books about race are difficult because they address unfairness, lack of justice, lack of opportunities and the cognizant dissonance of white privilege but in order to defeat racial injustice one must understand what drives it and this book goes along way in doing that. I highly recommend it!

Further recommendations: “Tears We Cannot Stop” by Michael Eric Dyson, “Under the Affluence” by Tim Wise, “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander, “The End of White Christian America” by Robert P. Jones, “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Medical Apartheid” by Harriet A. Washington, “White Trash” by Nancy Isenberg, “Slavery by Another Name” by Douglas A. Blackmon.

In clinical academic fashion, this author tells the story of "the America that white racist rage has built." It is an un-pretty cross-generational picture, but a story that finally had to be told: a narrative that goes down the palette hard because the truth of every word will scratch your throat. The facts of the author's truths are so contrary to the force-fed conventional wisdom about race in America that we devour daily, that the book is difficult to believe? But clearly every well-documented ugly word is true.

It is the story of a sordid world of cowardly people who throughout American history, both North and South, have seen themselves as exceptional, but have only managed to live on moral credit, backed up by the one-drop law of skin color, and have used them both to squander all of our democratic ideals on the altar of white supremacy. They have misused the very language of freedom, justice and the US constitution (all of which they profess to so cherish), as mere rhetorical fodder and top cover to normalize and then to cover up crimes that (to quote Frederick Douglass) "would discuss a nation of savages."

The backside of the white American mind, filled with cross-generational racist rage, is on full display here. It is filled with the brutality of slavery, lynching, pogroms and ethnic cleansing of African Americans, and the extermination of native Americans, reversals of laws intended to make America a more perfect Union, white flight from the cities, fomenting of the drug war to increase incarceration of blacks, and repeated defiance of the laws of the land enacted to foster racial harmony and equality.

This rage has only one consistency: the almost existential desire and need on the part of whites, both North and South, to maintain the racist caste system in a steady state forever -- and to do so by any and all dishonorable means necessary.

And here we see clearly that the most dishonorable of all dishonorable means, is to twist American institutions into a systemic racist battering ram that automatically does all the dirty work in the background: giving everyone permission to hate based on race, and training Americans of all races to turn their heads away from the truth, and in the process, defeating at every turn, the aims of the very democracy, fairness, justice and equality that are held up to be the highest values of the republic.

White American racist rage, is a dastardly basis upon which to construct a nation, but that is what this book shows consistently has been done in these United States of white America.

Just as in the case of the JFK assassination, somewhere in the back of our collective national mind, we knew that the racist chickens would have to come home to roost: that the full truth would eventually have to trickle out, and that the two and half centuries of societal duplicity and denial would eventually boomerang back on its perpetrators.

Now that the truth is out of the bag, that the whole of their scary existence (and ours) is tied together with bale wire, to the discredited lie of white supremacy, there is nowhere for them to hide? Their humanity is counterfeit! So, to avoid a psychological break with the deeply held but empty lie of white supremacy, filled with rage, whites have no choice now but to try to continue the lie in perpetuity.

Well, here told in its fullest glory, by a scholar who has arrived on the scene to earn her bona fides and a seat at the table, is the truth of how white racist angst (now sadly expressed in the form of one Donald Trump) has finally turned in on itself.

Told chapter and verse and backed up with rich citations every step of the way, this is a tour de force that reads like a travelogue through a special kind of anti-democratic hell.

As fearless as I am about the true meaning of our much fractured "American style democracy," I too preferred to keep my own head sunk deep in the comfortable sands of American style racist denial. But seeing this author's brave exposition, and her trail of incontrovertible facts laid out end-to-end across the canvas of American history, even I can no longer believe my own lying eyes.

Can it be true, as this narrative suggests, that white Americans would slit their own democratic throats, erase their own sacred code of democratic honor, commit racist Hari-kari just to maintain in perpetuity an immoral criminal anti-Christian racist way of life?

Anyone who reads this book can no longer turn his gaze away from what seems like an obvious answer of yes. For no matter what direction you look, or what time period in American history you probe, the truth just stares back at you and follows you around the room, like Jesus' eyes do in that picture on the dinning room wall. Fifty stars

I've read several books of this nature dealing with the very sensitive topic of race relations/racism and each book had a slightly different approach to the topic. And even if some books I read had a similar approach they still may have highlighted different things.

I would say that White Rage is very close to a book I read titled White Racism by Joe Feagin and Hernan Vera. White Rage starts with Reconstruction and ends with the election of Donald Trump. The author, Carol Anderson, much like Feagin and Vera, delves into the tools and machinations of racism. She details how racism has adapted and changed like a chameleon over the years. Gone are the days of massive gatherings for lynch parties and blatant use of the N-word, in are more disguised versions of racism such as government budget cutbacks on programs that help blacks and Latinos as well as more sophisticated disenfranchisement under the guise of "voter integrity."

As she says on page 3:

"White rage is not about visible violence, but rather it works its way through the courts, the legislatures, and a range of government bureaucracies. It wreaks havoc subtly, almost imperceptibly."

Carol showed how--as the country tried to right its wrongs--there always existed a resistance to change. The early resistance came in the form of brutish and overt attacks upon African Americans whereas when that became less and less tolerated the resistance had to adapt and change too. A George Wallace, an avowed segregationist, was replaced by a Ronald Reagan who preferred to have a "war on drugs", or have "colorblind" policies. The results every step of the way has added up to largely stifling African Americans.

The book is 287 pages with over 100 of them dedicated to notes and references. The reading is thick at times due to the statistics but they all have a purpose. The book is well researched and well put together and is an excellent book to arm oneself with in the face of white rage.

I thought I knew how bad things have been for African Americans in this country since the Civil War. It was (and is) much, much worse. When I read a non-fiction book that includes such horrible events I feel compelled to follow the footnotes to ensure that this is not just the echo of hear-say or "urban legends." I was satisfied that Dr. Anderson was quite thorough in supporting her writing with substantial footnotes for nearly every paragraph. This is important in a work of this nature as it is so easy for people with their heads in the sand to say to themselves that these are just exaggerations and hyperbole. These acts of viciousness and hatred towards African Americans debases our entire country. I feel a seething anger towards the racists and bigots in our midst, especially in light of the rhetoric from the recent election (2016), and I am white! I can't imagine how difficult it must be for a person of color to try and acclimate into the broad culture in light of this history. Racism explains a lot of what is wrong with this country. Yet it is all so unnecessary....

Professor Carol Anderson's White Rage is a wonderfully stimulating and thought-provoking extended essay arguing the historical and continuing bias and discrimination of white American power against black American's fight for their rights. From the end of the civil war and the reconstruction period to the de facto slavery in the Southern part of the US until WWII to the continuing efforts to fight the Brown v Board of Education decision and to present day battles over President Barack Obama and the right to vote, Anderson tells an impassioned tale of wrongdoing by resentful white forces. Also including the Reagan administration war on drugs and drugs deals with Central American insurgents. Fascinating reading. Highly recommended.

Excellent, excellent,excellent!!!!! One of the most down to the nitty gritty truthful books i have ever read! A lot of the issues she talks about in this book I have experienced first hand. If you are a black person living in America this is a must read and a must have book!!! Hands down no if and buts about it!!!

This should be required reading for every American citizen. It's stunningly horrible and it's the truth. Much of the history I have known and yet I learned so much more. It's a succinct history, devastatingly delivered. It's simply not acceptable to respond to race issues with denial, defensiveness or hostility. American will not be great by going backwards. We can hope to be great by understanding out past and amending our society.

Dr. Anderson makes some very strong arguments about how fear of black progress has played a concerning role in our nation's history starting with the Civil War and moving forward to present day. She does a wonderful job explaining how racism is a mechanism that evolves with time and can be disguised by politicians as altruistic, patriotic, and democratic in order to convince white populations that their liberties are in jeopardy. The book is so relevant to our current reality as a society and helps to explain how we arrived here.

If you are a self-proclaimed racist and believe that people of color are inferior to you, don't read this book. Its well-documented information and decency will only confuse you. However, if you believe in fairness and justice, you must read this book. First it debunks several myths (just to name a few) that many of us would like to believe :
a. Most of our presidents beginning with Lincoln wanted justice for all, including an end to the oppression of black people.
b. That racism has linearly and progressively diminished because of civil rights laws.
c. That racists are in the minority in this country.
d. That ending racism is simply a matter of educating white people about the errors of their ways.

Anderson does a compelling and thoroughly researched job of revealing the depth and breadth of injustices aimed at African American people, as well as other people of color. She cites incident after incident of legal battles to right the wrongs of slavery only to have those laws turned against the very people they were designed to help. She describes horrendous crimes committed against black people that were witnessed and condoned by the powers that be, both physical crimes as well as economic and legal crimes. She shows that systemic racism has been built into the very framework of our country.

But the book is not a litany of woes. It is not depressing. It is insightful and points to lessons we should all learn if we are to fight against areas of oppression including but not limited to racism. Some of arguments against black people, like the special privileges schtick or the government handout illusion, are used against women, gay people and other people of color as well. If we are to build a united movement for social justice (which is imperative with this administration) we must understand the tools of the enemy. This book helps to do that. If you are an advocate for social justice and believe that freedom and liberty are possible, read this book.

It's such an embarrassment that this great country of ours refuses to progress. The research that went into this book is outstanding. If authors continue to bring forth the truth, as painful as it is, maybe we can advance as a society. I highly recommend this book.

I originally got this book at the library, but I soon knew that this was a book that I needed to have. this is a field in which I am well versed, and Dr. Anderson's book is accurate and concise. I am white and my great great great grandfather fought for the Confederacy from Mississippi. Everything in this book is consistent with what I know or have experienced. This is a must read.

Anderson has written an elegant, deeply moving accounting of the way whiteness is constructed in the U.S. (and, less directly told in this book, throughout the global system). Anderson is a historian. Her deep knowledge sets the table for this book's thesis. She is so expert at her craft, that she can weave important historical moments into a cohesive narrative without drowning readers in minutiae. I read a lot of history and social thought. Many, many brilliant historians struggle to make that transition. There are times to revel in the details of history and other times when synthesizing historical knowledge is more effective. Knowing the difference and being able to write both is a rare skill. Anderson displays it in this book. The thesis is that history shapes our present: the recent black (youth) social movements of the past decade are a direct response to affirmative white identity politics. It is an important and timely message. Media accounts too often attribute black "rage" to direct conflict over police brutality, for example. Less attention is paid to how white rage benefits and even demands the constriction of non-white civic and human rights to maintain the U.S.'s racial hierarchy. Racism is not just some bureaucratic efficiency, although it is that. It is the expression of white identity politics that has the power of the increasingly militarized police force on its side. The argument is elegant. The timing is perfect. The writing is divine. This is an important book.

Cogent, thoughtful and entirely earned, WHITE RAGE, coming from one of the country's preeminent historians of race, is a major, *major* piece of scholarship, not to mention an invaluable opportunity for all readers -- not just those of color, those who have lived the trials of personal and systemic racism -- to grow and to heal. Just before coming onto this site to post this, as soon as I put the book down practically (having seen rave reviews of WHITE RAGE in both The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and the New York Times Book Review), I could not help but see a great many attempts by those who are clearly non-readers (or certainly non-readers of this book!) to try and pull this gift of a book down. Do these people not even see themselves?...

There are VERY few books that I would consider critical reading for every intellectual being-this book is among that few! Dr. Carol Anderson, PhD does something that I few authors, historians, and intellectuals can achieve with White Rage. She provides historical context-while establishing awareness of the current-to the racial animus that many white people may either consciously or subconsciously harbor against people of color, especially black/African-Americans. Make no mistake, White Rage is no "black nationalist piece" nor a "black elitist/separatist" agenda; Anderson presents all facts, data, and analysis to present some thought-provoking truths and challenge long-held idolized notions of "integrationists." In other words, this text will shatter your warm and fuzzy notions of an Abraham Lincoln that wanted to do right by slaves; a North sympathetic to newly freed slaves; a Democratic Party that truly supported civil rights and equal citizenship for blacks/African-Americans; and a current sociopolitical infrastructure in America that is "colorblind" and values the presence of black/African-American advancement. (Yes, the election of former President Barack Obama is dissected and discussed thoroughly.) With piercing data, Dr. Anderson makes one single assertion-in the Introduction-and spends the entire body of the book presenting fact after fact; the works cited pages are comprehensive at worst and robust beyond comprehension at best. The woman did her research at every angle, and even the most ardent detractor-who has read the book cover to cover with a mind set to be challenged-would have to agree with this point!

WOW. This book is a huge eye-opener. It's not that it covers things we haven't learned about or heard before - the Civil War and Reconstruction; Jim Crow and segregation; the Civil Rights movement; the war on drugs and unbalanced arrest and incarceration rates; the unprecedented obstruction and vitriol leveled at the first black president - it's that Dr. Anderson takes all of these things and condenses them into an infuriating, heart-wrenching, shame-inducing 164 pages.

Forget "Hillbilly Elegy" and "White Trash" and all of the other recent stories trying to get everyone to pity and excuse the "white rural" people who "feel left behind." THIS BOOK RIGHT HERE completely explains and underscores the rise of Trump and those like him in this nation. Read it and weep. And then RESIST.

I read this book in one sitting, and I'm NOT a fast reader. It's that good. This book should be, MUST be, required reading for every American history class. You'll never see your country the same way again, and maybe that's a good thing.

Will never feel thye need to pick it up. Only the truly open minded among us-those who're white-will see the title of this book and contemplate reading it......and that is a shame. Thank GOD for this younger generation, because they truly are the most evolved generation thus far and the majority of them have zero tolerance for inequality, discrimination & hate. They should read this book in order to understand exactly what they're up against. I loved this book and will definitely share with my children.

An important book, I think, especially in light of what is currently happening in Washington, DC. I found it very readable, well documented, impassioned and clear. Another reviewer, I believe, said it could be titled "White Fear." I agree and think the less favorable reviews support that view and demonstrate that we've got work to do. But what and how? I hope Carol Anderson will continue to speak up.

DO NOT listen to the "haters"....the first chapter blows you away with the hard truths!
I really wouldn't be surprised to find out that there is or are groups of people trying to discredit this astounding story of true hatred in the past and present.

Amazingly thorough and researched historical account of post civil war America's inner conflict between progress and racial hatred; based initially on the economic fortunes of the south and then as a damaged cultural inheritance of the entire US. A must read for the general public as k-12 education in many areas of the US does a revisionist account that glosses over and nullifies the true history. Many today attach themselves to political doctrine without knowing their true origins. This uncovers those origins with all its warts and scabs revealed but gives hope that through understanding and owning up to the transgressions of the past there is a better tomorrow for all.

Anderson has written a solid book on the history of black progress and white backlash: well-cited enough for the academic reader, but concise and engaging enough for the casual reader.

White Rage fills in the gaps of the standard American history lesson plan. Chapter One covers the Reconstruction era, which is normally taught as “40 acres and a mule” and something about Johnson getting impeached. Anderson adds specific, grounded facts of the opportunity, and failure, of Reconstruction to set the foundation for racial equality.

Chapter Two covers the Great Migration, a topic never covered in grade school history class that I had only even heard of myself a few years ago. What I learned from Anderson’s book was the aggressive, sometimes violent, pushback by southerners to *prevent* blacks from leaving the South for job opportunities (and the pushback from white communities in the North at this influx of black workers).

Chapter Three covers the backlash against the Brown vs the Board of Education decision ending school segregation. Or, at as Anderson notes, ending it on paper. Integrated schools were entirely nonexistent in many southern states for a decade after the Brown decision. She chronicles the legal maneuvers employed by states to maintain the segregated status quo.

Chapter Four covers the backlash against the Civil Rights Movement and the rollbacks the Nixon administration achieved by tapping into white resentment. Anderson goes into great detail of the “race neutral” tactics and legislation developed during this period to undo the Brown decision and Voting Rights Act.

Chapter Five covers the backlash against the election of America’s first black President, and the many GOP attempts (and successes) of voter suppression across many black and minority areas. This is perhaps the most alarming chapter since it shows that while White Rage is a history book, it’s mistaken to think racism and its tactics take place solely in the past.

Anderson uses the occasional racist quote from town hall meetings or blog comments section in her book, and her critics (as you can see in the one star reviews) seize on this as her overblowing fringe internet comments. But she uses these comments for illustration, not as load-bearing arguments. Mentioning these comments could be construed as cherry-picking, but I’d say that pretending that these comments don’t exist or are rare would be the greater mischaracterization of the two.

One gets the sense from this book that while progress is made, it’s of the “two steps forward, one step back” variety. I found myself reading arguments against black advancement that I recognize in modern times; the Supreme Court arguing that Jim Crow laws were neutral in regards to race and to think they were racist was “not by reason of anything found in the [train car segregation] act, but solely because the colored race chooses to put that construction upon it”.

The Lee Atwater quote is even more explicit of this “colorblind” reasoning: “ You start out in 1954 by saying, “N*****, n*****, n*****.” By 1968 you can’t say “n*****”—that hurts you, backfires. So you say stuff like, uh, forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff, and you’re getting so abstract. Now, you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is, blacks get hurt worse than whites…”

Those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it, and Anderson illustrates how oft-repeated America’s history of white backlash has been. But Anderson has created an invaluable (and thoroughly readable) book for us to learn our history to create a more compassionate future. Five stars.

This book is a must read if you are interested in facts. Kudos to Dr. Anderson for writing such a wonderful book about a history we won't read in text books. As history is trying to repeat itself, we as Americans must do everything we can to stop the madness that is the current administration. The actions in this history lesson is what I believe is meant by make America great again. America was not and is still lacking today to be a great place for many African Americans and others whose skin tone is of a darker shade of beige.

A very good book about the history of the American institution of racism, specially of white racism against black people. This is really a book about institutional oppression of black people from the Civil War to present day. It is wonderfully thorough and covers a lot of ground. It is not about why white people hate Black people (although clearly from the tons of 1 star reviews there are plenty of white haters), but how the American State has kept Black people oppressed. In that sense White Rage doesn't really accurately describe what's in the book, although it does discuss and explore many instances of white rage (lynchings, burnings, beatings, murder et. al.). The book is about how the American site apparatus at all levels has done everything it can to keep black people oppressed.

What a devastating, brutal masterpiece. I consider myself well-educated, but there was so much in here that I hadn't known before. The legacy this country has been built on is horrifying. I hope with people like Carol Anderson so effectively conveying knowledge, we can start to do better.

For anyone wishing to be intellectually honest about the state of America's racial divide, this book is required reading. We've made some serious mistakes and all been complicit in the systemic oppression of our black and brown neighbors. It's time we all face it, and this book demonstrates how to see the mistakes of the past, without negating the possibility of a better future, for everyone.

Excellent, excellent read. Thoroughly and, well written, intelligent, honest, very informative. Exposes white supremacy ideologies and practices throughout American history; both then and now. Warning; all white racist WILL get enraged.

Wow! This book was shocking. As a middle class suburban white woman I am embarrassed by how little I knew of the history of black voter suppression. The subject matter was painful to read but necessary. I highly recommend.

I listened as she read her entire indictment. In her recitation of facts, she provided credible, and verifiable if not sourced, illustrations of outrageous conduct by the perpetrators. She named her principle of justice that applied to the case: that black people should be treated just like white people, no less, and I concurred in her identification of the moral law.

But no charge of this kind can be raised without a discussion of the penalty. Throughout the book, the prosecutor was so full-throated as to be engulfed in the fire of her own passion, yet when it came time to propose society's relief from the documented evils, the firebrand went as silent as night.

How are White People to be punished, Ms. Anderson? After all this, after igniting the righteous indignation of this national grand jury, just tell us what charges you wish to lay, and we will go along with you, wherever you lead. Only name the price that White must pay.

This is an informative and well-written book. The chapter, Burning Brown to the Ground, should be required reading. At one point during the reading of this chapter, I had to stop and close the book for a few minutes because I was stunned by what I was reading. This is a must-read.

Not crazy about this book. There does not seem to be a conclusion. Rather, the author just points out that there has been an underclass in this country since its founding. The narrative does not flow smoothly.

I finished reading White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide, by Carol Anderson, Ph.D., two weeks before the 2016 Presidential election. Had I finished a critique of Dr. Anderson’s book prior to the election, my conclusions would have been unaltered by the election results; my conviction that she was operating with a flawed hypothesis would be the central theme of this review.

That being said, White Rage, inadequately described by Dr. Anderson and applied with too broad a brush, is an overly simplistic answer to the question: “who or what is responsible for our racial divide? With apologies to the late Paul Harvey Sr.: “Where’s the rest of the story?” Or, more to the point: Where are the white people of good will in Dr. Anderson’s version of U.S race relations?

Where are the stories of the average white volunteers at inner-city schools? Or stories of the average white voters who cast their ballots for color-blind candidates? Or stories about the kindness of average white strangers who donate time and money in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters?

A book based upon a flawed hypothesis can be partially redeemed by a retelling of important episodes of American history and Dr. Anderson does this well, most notably with the narrative of the great Negro northward migration, where the attempts to improve one’s economic lot was thwarted by whites in both the north and south.

Next project for Dr. Anderson: Convene a gathering of 100 randomly selected African-Americans in their 70’s; individuals unencumbered by a connection to the diversity industry. Ask them a single question: Are their lives and the lives of their children and grandchildren, on balance, better today than they would have been in 1965 or 1995?

But this reviewers’ perceptions of White Rage were altered a bit by the results of November 8, 2016. Those white voters who were choosing Mr. Trump merely as the “lesser of two evils” candidate may be given a pass with respect to the white rage issue. However, the white voters who were swayed by the aura of manly white nationalism on display at Trump rallies, should not be given that same pass. Sadly, many of them can trace their genealogical and ideological roots back to the White Citizen’s Council, the presidential campaigns of George Wallace, the white nationalism of Patrick Buchanan and the segregationist poster boys, Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond. Yes, you “birther” deplorables and you newly minted millennial racists within the “alt-right” movement, I’m talking to you.

I don't think the book matches the title. It is a thorough and horrifying account of injustices perpetrated on Black people by whites. Lots of sickening examples of white rage. But I didn't (or couldn't) pick up on reasons for white rage.

If you look at most of the 1 star reviewers they are all "raging" Trump voters. One of them even gave a 1 star negative review to a cookbook by Michelle Obama which they admitted they would "never read" because it was written by Michelle Obama. I assume that some right wing-nut posted that all the trolls should come out and go after this book and its author. Moral to the story here is white rage is real, and half of these reviewers are buffoons who have never even read the book, and by the looks of their reviews rarely read any books, they just watch FOX news all day. Get the book.

Rating: 2.25

There was only one black public high school in the entire state. As a consequence, by 1950 African American adults in Deleware had finished, on average 7.2 years of school; whites on average finished more than 10 years. Only 505 blacks in the entire state had earned at least a bachelor's degree.

"One man bragged, as long as we can legislate, we can segregate."

George Wallace: After receiving more than a hundred thousand telegrams half of which were from north of the Mason Dixon line. Right then he had a revelation " they all hate black people, all of them. They're afraid, all of them. Great god! That's it! They're all southern! The whole United States is southern. "

This book to me started strong. It gave the background of post-Civil-War America and how many white truly hated blacks. Anderson take us all the way through current times and discusses how Blacks were held back many years in education and voting privileges. The first half of the book was laying great ground work, but I felt the second half of the book lacked a true direction. She references Dylan Roof and George Zimmerman as current cases. This book left me looking for more answers

If you believe …

African Americans and other minorities have more than sufficient opportunity to enjoy all that life in the United States has to offer without the continuing need for safety nets …

The North has never been as overtly racist as the South …

White political leaders on the national, state, and local levels have never sought to impede or delay black advancements in education and employment …

Reagan deserves a place next to Lincoln on Mount Rushmore for his civil rights record …

White flight to the suburbs has no economic impact on inner city neighborhoods and schools …

The War on Drugs has been colorblind regarding the incarceration of drug offenders …

The South actually lost the Civil War in the long-term …

Conservatives are doing everything they can to safeguard voting rights for African Americans and other minorities …

The Republican Party wants to be more than just a party for angry white guys …

The Supreme Court is unambiguously on the side of Brown v. Board of Education and the Voting Rights Act …

Moral indignation and outrage by white constituencies is justified based on a premise of reverse discrimination …

Racism and bigotry are relics of a long-past, unenlightened America and have no bearing on current events …

The Civil Rights struggle is over …

There is no hope for bridging the racial divide in this country and healing our wounds from discrimination both given and taken …

… then you really need to read this book!

A history lesson every American should read. Scholarly and captivating in a story so disturbing that understanding "Black Lives Matter," emerges with complete clarity. Carol Anderson succinctly sheds light on some of our nation's darkest secrets.

I found parts of the book to be interesting, particularly the Ossian Sweet case. Being from Detroit I knew of it but not the aftermath of what happened to the family That his wife, daughter, brother all died of TB that they contracted from the "dank' cells" they were held in while awaiting trail. That Sweet would lose the house, go bankrupt and ultimately commit suicide. The house still stands on Garland along with a plaque from the State of Michigan denoting its historical significance. The house appears to be in the same condition that it was in at the time of the shooting (1925).

The professor writes of the "Great Migration" to Detroit to seek work at Ford where they would earn $5/hour (sic) when in fact it was $5/day. How anyone could make that mistake, let alone a college professor, is beyond me. As its slipping by the editor. One can only wonder how much other she wrote was incorrect too.

According to her Blacks are the least likely of all groups to buy and sell drugs. Perhaps she's like to pay a visit to Detroit where not only is the buying and selling of drugs rampant they shooting and killing each other too.

The professor seems it is an injustice (discrimination) to lay off Blacks from government jobs because of the large number of Blacks employed by them. I live in majority Black Detroit suburb that made drastic cuts during the "Great Recession" yet still managed deliver the same level of service.So the residents of the city, the majority which are Black) tax dollars were being misspent.

According to the professor President Eisenhower was a "states right" guy, yet he ordered Federal troops to Little Rock to enforce Integration at Central High.

Next comes her claim that requirement in some states that valid State ID or valid passport at time of voting suppresses the vote of the poor and elderly. In pointing out the cost she only mentions the cost of the passport and ignores cost of the state id. The passport is claimed to equal to two weeks pay. In my state a state Id or driver license fee is $16 and is valid for four years. Not exactly a financial burden no matter how poor. I question how anyone can live and function with out those one of those pieces.

She also goes on about Georgia's requirement of proof of social security number by either a social security card or W-2. The claim here is that this is a burden because so many blacks have no job while ignoring that the card fulfills the requirement too. The social security card that most people get shortly after birth is ignored since it doesn't fit in with her narrative.

She mentions an incident with Harvard professor which could only have been Henry Lewis Gates. It seems Gates door with jammed and whatever he and his driver were doing caused a neighborhood to report a break-in to the police. I assume some "words" and other things occurred and Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct. President OBama soon chimed in without knowing the facts saying the police "acted stupidly."

In the last chapter entitled How To Unelect a Black President she opines on the great things President Obama did. First was reducing the deficit while omitting mention that during his presidency the national debt was more than that of all prior presidents combined. That he masterminded the killing of Bin Laden. The information that CIA received that led to Bin Laden's death was obtained a GITMO which Obama wanted close and by the use of enhanced interrogation techniques (waterboarding) by inference or actual use. Again Obama was against EIT.

While speaking of the wonders of the ACA she neglects to mention the President knowingly lied when he said "I like your plan you can keep it. Period! Nor does she say anything about the plan requirements that has maternity benefits that no man will ever use. Yet I'm sure she screams to high heaven that woman normally have to pay more at a certain age then me, ignoring the that the is because they have different "plumbing" that accounts for problems as they age. I never hear any woman screaming about men having to pay more for life insurance the a woman of the same age.

While I could go on and on about her misrepresentations, I won't. There are certainly enough valid to other claims that there was no need for the other nonsense.

Later

What a profound piece of literature which will stand the test of time. Sadly, it will still be as relevant and truth-telling fifty years from now. Well documented and researched. I read it over two nights straight.

Very instructive and in-depth diagnosis of "America birth defect",racism.we must heed to erudite to understand our challenge past and present and this book offer another prism thereby we ought to give sens to our racial divide.the one-size fit analysis seems obsolete in the light of the underlying arguments provided in this scholarly work.

this product is one of the best purchases i have ever made! it has lasted a very long time for me and i really recommend it! It is great for adults and teenagers, but I would not recommend it for young children because it would be complicated to put on. I hope this was helpful!

I don't really agree that all the problems we have now with race are founded in the civil war and the racial divide that caused it. I hope we've moved on from there. But she backs up her premise with lots of other peoples' research. (Looking into all of the places cited would take more time that either of us have.) Well-written, though.

Considering the book opens by referencing the Michael Brown incident (he was proven to have physically attacked a police officer) you know the author is unable to engage in independent thought and analysis, which is too bad considering the topic needs serious discussion.

The book contained certain interesting facts I did not know, particularly about reconstruction, it lacks any suggestion for race improvement. Also, I was hoping to gain some insight into how the author wants to punish or fine certain races in order to make them pay for the wrong doing she accusing them of. This is my main concern as the elected officials become more violently leftist they will begin the call for race based taxes and fines. Also, since America is obviously the worst country in the world for black's to live, why not provide some case studies as to why certain other countries are better and more egalitarian? (Hint: It can't be done.) While substantial discussion is given to the "drug war" and it's negative effect on the black community, no mention of the current opioid addiction epidemic and it's disproportionate effect on whites. This type of intellectual honesty was not expected, but would at least allow her tome to have a modicum of authenticity.

It's time to look inward and to see the role blacks play in the divide. You can't argue that you want to be treated the same and simultaneously continue to separate and isolate yourselves. Either celebrate that you are different or commit to being one people, regardless of color. White rage is a completely inaccurate description of the issue.

This is a very poorly written book. Its mostly a reflection of Carol Anderson's rage. She says a great deal of true things about the past, but the problem is that she has has NOTHING to offer the present and no useful vision of the future at all.

Most of what she says about history is correct. Lincoln was far less than perfect. Reconstruction totally failed. The history of Northern Racism is usually swept under the rug and the great migration idealized in a false way. Many parts of the south successfully resisted the result of Brown vs. Board of Education and continue to resist it.

But Ronald Reagan didn't make people use Cocaine. The Voting Rights act is still in effect. Brown vs. Board of Education is still enforced as it was decided in the 1950s. The various civil rights laws are still in effect. Are things perfect? No. But the days of easy solutions are also gone. Spending money or passing more laws isn't going to solve the problems of today. Neither is just electing more democrats. There are as many racial problems in states controlled overwhelmingly by liberal democrats as there are in states controlled by Republicans. You have a police shooting in conservative republican Louisiana.and you have a police shooting in liberal democratic Minnesota. The racial situation in democratic California is not much better than in Republican Texas.

The book really falls down at the end. She first attempts to blame Trump for mass murder in South Carolina.Then she next claims that Texas is worse now in terms of voting rights than it was in 1942 under the poll tax. She proves it by claiming a statewide turnout of 1.48% in Texas. But what she doesn't say is when and why that happened. That low turnout happened in a 2014 "runoff" democratic primary in which the only being seriously disputed was who would be the democratic candidate for Ag Commissioner. Literally nobody voted not because of voter discrimination, but because nobody cared.

She then claims that there was no drug problem in the US in the 1980s. But there is a drug problem today that was somehow created by law enforcement and the government. How? What does it matter. She is angry that the US failed to harness the awesome power of President Obama to change the entire world. She claims that Obama made Russians and Iranians see the spiritual superiority of American in the world through his magic power.

Her solution to all problems is generally the same: spend money. Pour money into schools, into public housing, into free health care, into free food and more generally into free everything. All our problems can be solved by throwing money at them. She wants to reform the police and the courts, but presents no real ideas how to do that.

Talk is easy. Anger is easy. Going over historical injustice is easy. But ideas and action are difficult.

Either narrowly focused or just based on the same old same old. America is no longer just black and white. Blacks are 10% of the population and are mostly an economic drain. While the blacks suffered tremendous hardships, and I salute them for struggling through and making the society as a whole better.

However, there larger problem faced by America today is the white-rage against the "Creative Class" which is largely Asians: Chinese, Indian, Pakistanis and the Philippinos. This class is highly educated and is a huge driver of the economy now. Yet, we pretend they don't exist. Popular culture does not celebrate them, American courts are viciously biased against them in rare instances when they end up in court. The coworkers are harshly resentful against them.

Will this lead to the flight of the creative class while America only views the country as black or white.

The historical misrepresentations in this book undermine the author's credibility, or at least her knowledge of history. Holding up Madison and Jefferson as examples of men who understood the tragedy of slavery, while accusing Lincoln of "anger", anyone who has studied Lincoln, knows he was not prone to anger, and anyone who has read the transcript from which she "lefted" (yes I meant that term) the quote knows what Lincoln meant. This book offers no solutions and is terribly divisive. Skip it. Read "Lost Champions" if you want a better look at the problems of racism which does exist.

I checked this book out at the library expecting to be informed in a different way than the everyday media slants things. Unfortunately, it's the same old dogma, but with an even greater left turn, albeit,some new twists. It's seems anything that blames the whites for others failures gets favorable reviews these days. Today's mob-style thinking seems to be so pervasive. I think this book would have gotten the same rave reviews if the pages were left blank.

It would be so helpful if people's first reaction to solve a problem wasn't "blame." Ms. Anderson's writing is so slanted it is appalling. The reality is that there is sickening racism on both "sides," from the streets all the way to politicians and folks writing as "experts." The truth is, a lot of bad things have happened in this country. What makes us different as a nation, is that because of OUR Constitution, we are set up to recognize and change injustice for the better. It may take a while, but it works. It may not be easy, but it happens. America is built on freedom. We may occasionally falter in its pursuit, but we DO correct course over time. While pockets of racism will probably always persist in all segments of society, the ills of the past are NOT the ills of the present.

I know many successful African Americans. People to be envious of by most of the population, to be sure. In my (limited) experience, here is what they have in common: strong families, concern for education, speaking "proper English," an absence of focus on how they are different and an evident focus on being good, family-based AMERICANS. Take that for whatever you want, but that is truer than anything that I read in this book. White Rage is a finger-pointing rant, not a thoughtful search for positive change.

Whose truth - according to who?? The author, of course. I picked up this book expecting to find an informed and objective opinion, supported by fact - noting the Ph.D. after the author's name. Instead, it is just more of the leftist, racial dogma that we are barraged with in the media these days. You don't support Obama? You must be a racist, with a bad case of "White Rage." It doesn't matter if you disagreed with his far left, socialist agenda. As I read a bit more, I couldn't help but wonder if Al Sharpton co-wrote this book. Utter garbage, written by a racist and a simpleton.

The author states in the first chapter: "The trigger for white rage is inevitably black advancement." This is an incredibly stupid statement and cannot be proved in any scientific way, and encapsulates the entire premise of this book which is equally stupid and without any validity.

Full of leftist propaganda and unsubstantiated lies. The Willie Lynch slave papers was made up by a black student at NYU in the late sixties. The myth of Gator bait black babies was created a few years ago around the time of the release of the movie 12 years a slave, this a falsehood with no proof ,the small pox infected blankets is not true and was a lie released around the time of the movie Dances with Wolves.. While America had no theory of germ or bio warfare in the 1700's. Nor would white slave owners leave a slave infant out for gator bait, nonsense made up nonsense.

filled with anti-white racism which is of course very much in vogue in recent decades. another african-american studies professor spouting from the unassailable towers of the mono culture of the american system of higher (spare me) education.

I have tried to confirm the veracity of Carol Anderson’s initial claims in this book that 1) many media types were disavowing “black rage” in news commentary (Anderson’s words); and 2) that the victimization Anderson discusses unceasingly in her book is an untold story. The result is obvious: Anderson isn’t being genuine or honest in her claims from the very first premises of her own book.

Yes, there are grievances, but children learn them in grade school these days. Anderson goes further, with the ad hominem accusation she dredges the entire blogosphere and country dredging up things said (and labeling them as references) from such obscure places as some deputy somewhere making a bigoted comment. To demand racial perfection in a nation of 300 million people is a ridiculous demand (the perfect, after all, is very often the enemy of the good), but one can easily see that this ubiquitous indignation is the fuel the author burns to sell her bad ideas.

While Anderson would have you believe the term “black rage” is a bigoted comment, evidence shows the opposite. Its history is as an exculpatory phrase dating back some decades and meant to justify excusing bad behavior such as the 2014 riots in Ferguson, Missouri. On the other hand, the term “white rage” Anderson claims to have invented is accusatory. Its purpose is the opposite, to blame a third party for the actions one wishes to excuse.

So the book goes in sections, each increasingly disingenuous, and each of which seems to be a 2000 to 5000 word essay on some random listing of grievances, growing in feverish intensity. It is an open question whether the author is simply trying to obfuscate for bad behavior or whether she is trying to intimate something more radical.

Anderson does display a breathless ignorance of how the United States is perceived around the world. To my eye, she writes like a dogmatic leftist infatuated with her own bad reasoning and self-defeating emotional attachments. For example, her gushing admiration of Barack Obama is an embarrassing attempt at two contradictory and impossible goals, to both deify and declare as a victim a fellow who is, in the opinion of many, a poor President in over his head.

This is not a light summer read, but neither is it a well-written or honest one.

When examined factually, Ferguson shows us failed schools as a result of white flight. Mike Brown was the storybook vessel to communicate to the country that anger is supposed to translate into virtue, the sequel to failure resulting in victimhood. In 2008, Barack Obama was voted into the presidency with the cooperation and enthusiasm of Independents and disenfranchised Republicans even after Obama was selected over darling Clinton within the Democrats. Here we see a case of the woman delayed behind the person of color. The same had already happened, with voting rights and the difference between 1866 and 1920.

"White Rage"? In the United States of America, blacks kill more whites than whites kill blacks. Blacks are 13% of the population, have a twice elected president, two Attorney Generals, and a Supreme Court that does not lean Republican, white (by rulings), or conservative. Whites have embraced Oprah Winfrey, Morgan Freeman, Will Smith, and no end of sports icons, not to mention an entire industry of music that contains neither musical instruments nor melody. That we would even allow ourselves to focus on the "justified killing" of 1 petty thug by an officer with a spotless record in the first place exemplifies that Eve Carson, Zemir Begic, Hannah Graham, as well as whites killed by the police, reflect a soft and timid placidity within whites, a disconnect further exemplified by how much they stay at home and mind their business and their families during the violent protests across the country. There are many more white democrats and liberals than there are black republicans and conservatives, by percentage and of course total. The Carol Andersons of the academic world, so called, are the biggest advocates not just of "exposing" the racial divide but promoting it subversively. For example, support of Black Lives Matter promotes less, more fearful, and more reactive policing, thus more violent crimes in predominately black neighborhoods committed by young black men against young black men. Through the Ferguson Effect, we have seen two years of the devaluation of black lives by their own advocates. Isn't this what Bill Clinton said when booed and jeered by BLM earlier in 2016? I don't need Bill Clinton to tell me this, but it's very true.

The vast majority of per capita violent crimes in this country is committed by "raging" people in our inner cities. They are not white. The vast majority of enablers of this continued crime is white, and they are indifferent, not raging; they are deaf and blind to statistics, percentages, and a bombardment of isolated cases of horrible crime that once pieced together tell a clear and undeniable narrative that is snowballing into a bigger problem all the time. They are aided by black people like President Obama who invite Rick Ross to "My Brother's Keeper" White House meetings. This deadly combination of per-child welfare benefits on the taxpayer's dime is nothing short of a diabolical plan to destroy the black family and isolate whites from blacks, diabolical in effect if not in intention. (Robert Byrds of the world have the intention.)

President Obama was elected after his period of "community organizing" in Chicago. Chicago is the most violent city in the country as a direct result of Obama's and his party's destruction of the black family. President Clinton gave the subprime home lending its short leash and it broke the national economy in 2007-09. Obama has done to our country what he has undeniably done to Chicago, which is orchestrate chaos and isolate those he is supposed to be perceived as representing, "my people" as he and Holder have repeatedly said. The ultimate bellwether is the capacity for willful ignorance and cognitive dissonance, that people would continue to let their identity supersede their ability to evaluate results and to recognize a ruse, a ruse such as this book. Whites voted for a racial minority about whom they knew next to nothing, so I'm not talking about them, just as four years later they could not be said to be "raging" when people withheld their vote for, of all things in the context of this discussion, a Mormon. Raging indeed.

If you want to dream a nice childlike dream that explains a racial divide is the act of whites, read Anderson, agree with her, and take up "the good cause"; it will massage your ego and make you feel better for a little while. If you want to grow up and face reality with common sense, you'll see this book for what it is, a typical example of the deflection of accountability and responsibility that provides a darker path into the long term future.

This woman is a complete racist spewing white hate to justify every problem in America's ghetto caused by the liberals government policies...avoid the book, watch some of her clips on YouTube to see her " your racist cause I can't be" philosophy.

This is absolute drivel written by a member of the black apologentsia as an attempt to deflect the problems of black Americans back on to white people. Professional victims like the author have made a living stoking the self-pity of black Americans for several generations now, and it's high time for rational voices to speak up and call this kind of nonsense what it is. Black people blaming another race for the overwhelming rate of out-of-wedlock births, crime, and academic failure in the black community is like an overweight man blaming Pizza Hut for his weight problem. It's irresponsible and childish in the extreme.

More liberal democrat non-sense. Mike Brown of Ferguson was a black thug. Having a PhD doesn't mean you are intelligent; some of the dumbest people i've ever met were professors in academia and this book is more proof of it.

The title tells us more than enough to understand the book is garbage. But one need go no further than the first page to see the pathetic attempt at an argument being made. The author is surprised that 84% of the drug searches in NYC are conducted on non-whites while they make up only 50% of the population.

When is the last time anyone saw a group of white people standing on a NYC street corner selling drugs? Yet anyone could drive through the various burroughs and witness nonwhites selling drugs on street corners. That same person could make 10 different trips on ten different streets and see the same thing. But the author pays that no mind. She has a stat and she's going to run with it.

Terrible scholarship awaits anyone foolish enough to read the book.

I tried giving this book an honest chance but it's not worth your time. The book makes countless absurd assertions without providing sources or decent examples. Sometimes people need to face the hard facts that all races are not completely equal. Some races commit much more crimes than others. Face it

Complete waste of money. Just more complaining and blaming of white people for black problems. Heard it all before over and over and over....oh poor pitiful me..whine, whine and more whine. This author has nothing at all to say.

This has to be the most racist book I've had the misfortune to read. To think, this garbage came from a college professor. Emory University should be ashamed to employ this hateful and racist professor.