Afrolantica Legacies

Very good book

Derrick Bell is the well known former Harvard law professor who left his tenured position at Harvard because of the school's refusal to deal equitably with women of color. He has written a number of books, and those featuring Geneva Crenshaw are among his best. This latest book focuses on racism, and takes a deeper look at Jewish-black relationships, and the property rights in white skin color. While most thinking black Americans wouldn't find much to challenge here, many whites will find this a disturbing book on a number of levels. The statement made by the fictional president of the USA that "we can no longer afford whiteness as an assumed right of citizenship" is one which should engender serious thinking among whites who want to really understand 21st century America. Even though this book was published in 1998, the issues it raises have not disappeared with the change in the century, increased numbers of "mixed" race children, and increased intermarriage between American blacks and others. Would I buy this book? Yes. Would I keep it? Yes. This is a worthy read with plenty to think about.

This book reads like it was written by someone whose entire existence was lived inside a bubble of racism, self-hatred, hopelessness and fantasy. To fully appreciate Bell's book you must take the man, himself, and his personal views into account as you read his writing. Desegregation was the very antithesis of his theory about racism. Bell refused to acknowledge the extraordinary, quantifiable gains made by blacks in America since desegregation. The progress in racial equality and race blindness that had resulted in America by the time Bell wrote this book profoundly undermined the credibility of his theory about racism. It is blatantly obvious that this story book was a desperate effort by Bell to restore life in a philosophical theory already proven wrong by the real world application of desegregation. Bell's entire life and renown were all about his theory. To admit he was wrong was not an option for him. Even his attempts at levity in this book fall short because they read false. Had Bell lived in the real world, rather than inside his insulated bubble of unrealistic theories of race and hatred, he would have written an entirely different book - an uplifting one, filled with encouragement and hope for the future of blacks in all countries around the globe. His was a sad, tormented life of self-delusion. You come away from this book feeling pity for the author. The book has a Don Quixote feel about it, sans the literary quality.