This new book points to our entire social structure as an unrecognized caste system. Most people see America as racist, and Wilkerson agrees that it is indeed racist. She points out that we tend to refer to slavery as a \u201csad, dark chapter\u201d in America when in fact it lasted for hundreds of years\u2014but in order to maintain a social order and an \u201ceconomy whose bottom gear was torture\u201d (as Wilkerson quotes the historian Edward Baptist), it was necessary to give blacks the lowest possible status. <\/p>\n
Whites in turn got top status. In between came the middle castes of \u201cAsians, Latinos, indigenous people, and immigrants of African descent\u201d to fill out the originally bipolar hierarchy. Such a caste system allowed generations of whites to live under the same assumptions of inequality\u2014these \u201cdistorted rules of engagement\u201d\u2014whether their ancestors were slave owners or abolitionists. And the unspoken caste system encouraged all to accept their roles. As Wilkerson develops her argument, she brings in historical figures like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Satchel Paige. She even looks at the Nazis, who turned to us when they were seeking ways to institutionalize racism in the Third Reich. As I read this book, I finally had to consciously stop myself from highlighting passages. Because I was highlighting most of the book.<\/p>\n
Product details<\/p>\n
Author: Isabel Wilkerson<\/p>\n
Publisher \u200f : \u200e Random House; Reprint edition (August 4, 2020)
\n Language \u200f : \u200e English
\n Hardcover \u200f : \u200e 496 pages
\n ISBN-10 \u200f : \u200e 0593230256
\n ISBN-13 \u200f : \u200e 978-0593230251
\n Item Weight \u200f : \u200e 1.75 pounds
\n Dimensions \u200f : \u200e 6.5 x 1.21 x 9.57 inches<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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