Synopses & Reviews
In the tradition of Randall Kennedys Nigger and Shelby Steeles The Content of Our Character, Acting White demonstrates how the charge that any African-American who is successful, well mannered, or well educated is “acting white,” is a slur that continues to haunt blacks. Ron Christie traces the complex history of the phrase, from Uncle Toms Cabin to the tensions between Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X to Bill Cosbys controversial NAACP speech in 2004. The author also writes candidly of being challenged by black students for his “acting white,” and also of being labeled a race traitor in Congress by daring to be Republican. This lucid chronicle reveals how this prevalent put-down sets back much of the hard-earned progress for all blacks in American society. Deftly argued and determinedly controversial, this book is certain to spur thoughtful discussion for years to come.
Synopsis
A noted political and legal analyst presents a history of the slur acting white and how it has been, and remains, a destructive tool used against African Americans by both blacks and whites.
About the Author
RON CHRISTIE, a veteran senior advisor of both the White House and Congress and formerly a special assistant to President George W. Bush, is a noted political and legal analyst. He is a professor of political science and strategy at George Washington University and Haverford College and the author of Black in the White House.