Synopses & Reviews
A powerful polemic on the state of black America that savages the idea of a post-racial society
America’s
great promise of equality has always rung hollow in the ears of African
Americans. But today the situation has grown even more dire. From the
murders of black youth by the police, to the dismantling of the Voting
Rights Act, to the disaster visited upon poor and middle-class black
families by the Great Recession, it is clear that black America faces an
emergency — at the very moment the election of the first black president
has prompted many to believe we’ve solved America’s race problem.
Democracy in Black
is Eddie S. Glaude Jr.’s impassioned response. Part manifesto, part
history, part memoir, it argues that we live in a country founded on a
“value gap” — with white lives valued more than others — that still distorts
our politics today. Whether discussing why all Americans have racial
habits that reinforce inequality, why black politics based on the
civil-rights era have reached a dead end, or why only remaking democracy
from the ground up can bring real change, Glaude crystallizes the
untenable position of black America — and offers thoughts on a better way
forward. Forceful in ideas and unsettling in its candor, Democracy In Black is
a landmark book on race in America, one that promises to spark wide
discussion as we move toward the end of our first black presidency.
Review
“He proves his point cogently… with more than enough
documentation to move the argument along this new and painful
track…This is every bit as important a book as Coates’ more personal
account: essential reading.” Booklist
Review
“Democracy in Black tells necessary truths about the state of
race and justice in America and challenges us to embrace genuinely — not
merely rhetorically — the revolution of values preached by Dr. King.” Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow
Review
“This powerful and timely book should shape the framework for a
post-Obama America — a bold rejection of black liberal politics and a
prophetic call for a revolution of value that reinvigorates our
democratic life with imagination and courage.” Cornel West
Review
“Eddie Glaude speaks some hard truths in this important new book. Glaude is the fiercest of thinkers, and this book is a brilliant and crucial prescription for necessary change.” Henry Louis Gates Jr.
About the Author
EDDIE S. GLAUDE JR. is a professor at Princeton University, teaching in
the religion department and the Department of African American Studies.