Ghosts of Jim Crow: Ending Racism in Post-Racial America

Higginbotham, F. Michael

ISBN 10: 0814737471 / ISBN 13: 9780814737477

Editore: NYU Press, 2013

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Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Ghosts of Jim Crow: Ending Racism in Post-Racial America
• Editore: NYU Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2013
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0814737471
• ISBN 13: 9780814737477
• Rilegatura: Rilegato
• Condizione: New

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

A provocative, and timely, solution for ridding America of the traces of Jim Crow policies to create a truly post-racial landscape

When America inaugurated its first African American president, in 2009, many wondered if the country had finally become a "post-racial" society. Was this the dawning of a new era, in which America, a nation nearly severed in half by slavery, and whose racial fault lines are arguably among its most enduring traits, would at last move beyond race with the election of Barack Hussein Obama?

In Ghosts of Jim Crow, F. Michael Higginbotham convincingly argues that America remains far away from that imagined utopia. Indeed, the shadows of Jim Crow era laws and attitudes continue to perpetuate insidious, systemic prejudice and racism in the 21st century. Higginbotham’s extensive research demonstrates how laws and actions have been used to maintain a racial paradigm of hierarchy and separation—both historically, in the era of lynch mobs and segregation, and today—legally, economically, educationally and socially.

Using history as a roadmap, Higginbotham arrives at a provocative solution for ridding the nation of Jim Crow’s ghost, suggesting that legal and political reform can successfully create a post-racial America, but only if it inspires whites and blacks to significantly alter behaviors and attitudes of race-based superiority and victimization. He argues that America will never achieve its full potential unless it truly enters a post-racial era, and believes that time is of the essence as competition increases globally.

Recensione

"Challenging the notion that history has finally produced a post-racial America, University of Baltimore law professor Higginbotham contributes an indispensable perspective on an enduring 'racial paradigm' in contemporary American society, while insisting, with concrete proposals, that true racial equality remains within reach." - --Publishers Weekly

"Ghosts of Jim Crow is an important work at a crucial time for our nation. Higginbotham offers scholarly insight into how America's race problem was created with a compelling prescription for its elimination." --Benjamin Todd Jealous, President & CEO of the NAACP

"Rarely do Americans have the chance to speak freely about race to people beyond their own group. Higginbotham's analysis provides a clear understanding of what it will mean to have a truly post-racial society in America, and what Americans of all races will need to do to bring about such a society. Ghosts of Jim Crow also provides an excellent foundation for robust dialogue among Americans about issues involving race and racism, from notions about racial superiority and inferiority to the unfortunate, continuing separation of the races, and victimization of African Americans. Higginbotham's work reflects a level of honesty one rarely encounters because it challenges Americans, regardless of point of view, to look in the mirror and think about preconceived notions." Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County "In Ghosts of Jim Crow, Higginbotham provides a thoughtful and perceptive discussion on the role of race in America today. His keen legal analysis and compelling narrative has resulted in a fascinating examination of how far we have come as a nation, but more importantly, of how far we have to go." --Barbara A. Mikulski, U.S. Senator for Maryland