race issues: books, articles, speeches

[4anybody...]

for any and all topics that address race: politics, public policy, laws, urban planning, law enforcement, labor, psychiatry, etc.

think we should pass along anything good we've read. hopefully u can leave a review or something too

ebinfinite helped me out a few months ago with it, this forum made me think of it again.

here are some books that i've read recently:
--The Failures Of Integration: How Race and Class Are Undermining the American Dream
by Sheryll Cashin (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/105-8259726-0760464?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Sheryll%20Cashin)

good book about actual discriminatory housing practices, focuses mostly on african american issues. Very easy read, good introduction

--The Power Broker by Robert A Caro

great book (hailed as a "masterpiece") about the most prolific producer of public works in US history, Robert Moses. Built a ton of stuff in NY (made Jones Beach, Triborough, BQE, most of the parks and tons more). City planners from accross the US and the world imitated his stuff. But he built all this stuff with racism and classism in mind. He made all bridges too low for buses (so poor ppl couldn't escape the city, only wealthy ppl with cars could go to his parks), he refused to put hardly any parks in harlem and other minority areas (and when he did put his first park in harlem, he had the builders put wrought iron monkeys on the fences). And the dude did all this stuff illegally, and had all the city councils, mayors, governors and even the president FDR under his thumb. Huge book but worth it.


--Mexicanos: A history of mexicans in the united states
by Manuel G. Gonzales

great overview, very easy to read and provides good info about how the different cultures evolved in the US (New Mexico compared to San Antonio compared to LA)

--The Contemporary History of Latin America (Latin America in Translation/En Traducción/Em Tradução)
by Tulio Halperín Donghi (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/105-8259726-0760464?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Tulio%20Halper%C3%ADn%20Donghi)

very detailed history, focuses on the political economies, the revolutions, the neo-imperialism/colonialsm--a ton of info

--Barrio Urbanism: Chicanos, Planning and American Cities
by David R. Diaz (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/105-8259726-0760464?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=David%20R.%20Diaz)

Just read the intro today--says it focuses on the racist planning, banking, and real estate issues in the southwest, especially LA, and how the demographics are changing and class tensions arise as more chicanos move to suburbs

[Spectre]

From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans - details the African experience that led to the transatlantic slave trade and details slavery and racism in the US until post 1960...

The Prince - required reading for anyone who wants to dominate their field...

The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia - compares and contrasts the two regimes and details the different racism that existed in the two regimes...

The Nuclear Borderlands - details the marginalization of the Pueblo Indians through the exercise of nuclear testing in the Los Alamos facility...

Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution - primer for understanding the occurrences in Mexico that led to the Mexican Revolution...

[4anybody...]

--Barrio Urbanism: Chicanos, Planning and American Cities
by David R. Diaz (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/105-8259726-0760464?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=David%20R.%20Diaz)

Just read the intro today--says it focuses on the racist planning, banking, and real estate issues in the southwest, especially LA, and how the demographics are changing and class tensions arise as more chicanos move to suburbs


finished the book: editing could have reduced this book by 1/3. The first 100 or so pages are very tedious, he repeats a lot of stuff over and over w/out new info. But, the middle of this book is filled w/ facts and a easy to follow narrative that neatly covers a wide range of related issues (urbanism, racism, politics, demographic changes, culture, etc.). still, i recommend reading the whole thing because, according to amazon.com, this is a very respected author and book

The book talks about the major Southwest cities, especially LA, and going into intricate detail about their chicano populations' histories, detailing their struggles for equality, focusing on political struggles relating to the barrios.

Anyways, great comprehensive resource for the history of chicano activism for urban problems




and hope more ppl list books here.

[4anybody...]

Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans, and Vagabonds: Mexican Immigration and the Future of Race in America


by Gregory Rodriguez
http://www.amazon.com/Mongrels-Bastards-Orphans-Vagabonds-Immigration/dp/0375421580/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213476459&sr=8-1

This book offers a very comprehensive, easy-to-read narrative of the history of intermixing in Mexican and Mexican American history. Thoroughly researched with many details, stats and anecdotes from a wide variety of historians and common people, this book also offers a new way to look at ideas like "race," "mexican," "latino," "hispanic," "chicano," "mestizo," and "mixed"--and ultimately the impact of these terms on immigration issues.

here are a few highlights from the book:

1) intermixing between spanairds and mexican indians began practically as soon as spaniards arrived when in 1511 a conquistador ship crashed and while most of the survivors were captured by mayans, one essentially integrated with a tribe, married and had three children before Cortes even arrived at Cozumel in 1519.

2) it is widely known that Cortes and his soldiers, because they had no women spanish women there, took indian wives. Often, these wives were given to the Spaniards as acts of welcome by vanquished tribes or those seeking an alliance to fight the Aztecs (eg the Totonacs and Tlaxcalans). sometimes indian women went with the soldiers by choice because they saw it as a better life. Of course, spanish soldiers, because they were not regulated by a government they respected, also resorted to rape

3) most sexual relations btwn spaniards and indians were done outside the real of marriage--concubinage. Combined with the fact that concubines sometimes had relations with multiple men meant that the paternity of children was often questioned. even when it wasn't, because there were no laws forcing the men to care for their offspring, these mestizos sometimes would be treated as spaniard and sometimes treated as indian

4) 200,000 african slaves arrived in New Spain during colonial times with a male to female rate of 4 to 1, so they also heavily intermixed with indians and mixed

5) the indian population of mexico was decimated by diseases brought from spain and africa. 25 million in 1500 to 1 million in 1620 (the nadir), so mixed people were more and more common, becoming the majority as mixed people bred with indians, other mixed people, and spanish.

6) soon, the country was so mixed that elaborate caste systems (which were never uniform) were developed to distinguish between the level of rights btwn all the mixed ppl. However, as more mixed ppl were accepted as "spanish," even the highest caste, then, became mixed and mixing it was extremely hard to determine differences btwn ppls ancestries.

7) also, because of the diseases, sometimes tribes had only a very few survivors (not enough to survive by themselves) who moved into the urbanized, capitalist mexico city to find work. Often detribalized indians adapted spanish cultural traits so they could adapt more to the employment they could get. This meant that Culture differences btwn indians, mixed and spaniards also became harder to distinguish, further blurring "racial" and "ethnic" lines

8) when spaniards went north into modern-day US states, they brought mixed ppl, christianized indians, and slaves. Because life was very difficult on these frontiers, this created equality for survival purposes, and intermixing was rampant.

9) as anglo-saxon whites, however, because they were used to dealing with the binary racial grouping of white vs. black, had difficulties (and multiple inconsistencies) when it came to accepting mexicans as equals--and most flat out refused, tho they often said that mexicans were superior to blacks.

10) the issue was further complicated as mexicans would downplay their indian heritage to claim that they were "really" white to move up socially

11) these "mexicans" were becoming integrated with anglo society and even began intermarrying (tho rarely in texas).

12) but when mexican born mexicans started immigrating, inviting perenial criticsims of immigrants such as stealing jobs and being criminals and lazy, racism was inflared.

13) foreign born mexican, tho, often stayed, sometimes intermarrying with native born latinos--thereby mixing culturally (americanized w. traditional mexican ways)

14) this issue has persisted to the present. But the rise in a latino middle class has shown the growth and diversity of hispanics and the rising percentage of latino US citizens indicates that they are changing popular ideas about race. In the southwest, eg, interracial marriage is much more common than the rest of the US. one survey said in LA in 1990, interracial marriage was 5X national average. Also, 2/3 of ppl born to a mixed marriage with one latino parent, identify as latino.

15) book also touches on the la raza movement and other political activists

[Wil Munny]

cool

[3x10^8 m/s]

i'm fond of cornell west's "race matters" book...

also fond of "is bill cosby right? or has the black middle class lost it's mind" (i believe the latter is true!)


ONE.

[4anybody...]

http://www.wmich.edu/dialogues/images/orientalism.jpg

Orientalism
by Edward Said
http://www.amazon.com/Orientalism-Edward-W-Said/dp/039474067X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214286107&sr=8-1

This book is considered by many to be the seminal work in post-colonial theory. Said, who uses his incredible, vast reservoir of knowledge, shows the history of the Western study of the "Orient." In so doing, he demonstrates how Western scholarship developed since the beginning of the modern era, how it has been intimately tied to Western political/military/economic imperialsim, how racial theories permeated it in the 19th ce, and how the stereotypes of "foreigners" have been taken up in today's world.

This is a very important book if u want to know about Middle East/Islamic Studies, imperialism, racial stereotyping (and its "scientific support"), Western intellectual history (and how the different disciplines of today tie together), or how stereotypes of middle easterners/muslims came to be in the west.

[4anybody...]

http://server40136.uk2net.com/%7Ewpower/images/product_images/9781844070602.jpg

The Colonizer and the Colonized
1957
by Albert Memmi
http://www.amazon.com/Colonizer-Colonized-Albert-Memmi/dp/0807003018/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220715635&sr=8-1

Albert Memmi is the son of poor tunisian jews (father italian and mother berber). After excelling in school and being so promoted in the French School system, he felt all the contradictions of being both the colonizer and the colonized. He saw that no one had yet written an accurate description of the 2, so he decided to. That's what this book is, 2 portraits.

and believe me, the are very good. He explains all the self contradictions, the psychological torture, the brainwashing, teh police brutality, the erasing of history, the exploitation, the justification for violence, the utter inability of Eurpean supporters for liberation.

very short book, but its clarity and its applicability to today makes it very moving

and the american edition is dedicated to the "american negro who is also colonized"

[4anybody...]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/419ENYXGVBL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg



Racism and Psychiatry

by Thomas and Sillen original 1972

http://www.amazon.com/Racism-Psychiatry-Audrey-Thomas/dp/0806504099


This is a largely ignored but groundbreaking book by 2 people in psychiatry (one has an MD, the other has a PhD). The book meticulously documents dozens, possibly hundreds of examples of racist views in the history of modern psychiatry/psychology. It focuses particularly on the American practice, and especially the treatment of Blacks.

IMO, if you are interested in understanding how racism has become so deeply embedded in peoples' minds, YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK

It is relatively short. The original is only 157 pages and the revised 2000 version is only 170-some, but these pages are packed with information and an excoriating critique of the modern system of psychiatry.

some important issues:

the US census of 1840 was the first to "document" mental disorders, "proved" blacks had more mental diseases--but was shown by several psychologists to be based on FABRICATED numbers, yet the government refused to retract the analysis

most studies of mental disease that look at blacks are replete with problematic methods

the pattern of identifying the same symptoms in blacks and whites has been to label blacks as having different (usually worse) mental diseases

critiques the idea of race

shows the history of the word "miscegenation" and its completely unscientific roots

shows how racist ideas have been maintained in psychology by its leaders through the present day (heads of psychology practitioner associations and heads of school psychology departments)

shows how these ideas have reinforced racism in everyday world



what is so striking about this book is that it makes you realize that because psychology holds basic assumptions about human nature, and the fact that the average person acquires assumptions from psychology (whether the formal kind or the informal "common sense" kind), it shows how racism strikes at the heart of every aspect of modern society



The only downside to this book is that though it thoroughly critiques racism in psychiatry/psychology/psychoanalytic practice AND shows ideas of "psychology" to be culturally based--the authors believe we can, if certain measures are made, eventually be able to truly identify "true" psychological problems, but they offer no solution as to how this might be accomplished. In fact, the evidence in the book suggests that it might very well be impossible to do. (there is also the issue, too, that the "humanist values" the authors espouse have embedded in them culturally biased ideas as well--see Asad's "Formations of the Secular")

in my own opinion, changes in views on race only take place as more and more people are willing to discuss these issues. Psychiatrists definitely need to discuss them, but i believe "psychology" to be somewhat of a fraudulent term, similar to the term "religion" (see eg JZ Smith, Eric Sharpe, or Asad's "Geneaologies of Religion")

[4anybody...]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ECAB2HXEL._SL500_AA240_.jpg


The Aryan Myth

by Leon Poliakov (1971)

http://www.amazon.com/Aryan-Myth-Plume-Books/dp/0452004780

This book is a great reference to learn how ALL MODERN RACISM (not just anti-semitism) started. The Aryan myth is the main focus, but the ability of the Aryan myth to thrive was dependent on so many other factors that also helped other forms of modern racism to thrive:

1) the legacies of pre-christian myths of origin and gods in European countries

2) the influence of the Christian/jewish myth (especially the dominant idea that all people are from adam and Noah's sons' decendants populated the earth--Japheth for europeans, Shem for asians, Ham for Africans)

3) competitions between medieval tribes over who they were, their myths (which were hybridized), and their superiority to other tribes

4) the growth of german identity (which was spread all over europe)

5) the "discoveries" of the new worlds

6) the new "sciences", especially anthropology, craniology, linguistics

7) the political and economic reasons

8) philosphy/ the study of religion and myth/ and psychology


Poliakov has incredible knowledge, and so the book is packed with details of the most famous people to the lesser knowns. But because of the amount of detail, this book would propbably be incredibly difficult for someone with no knowledge about the enlightenment/renaissance/romanticism. also, he uses (though seldomly) freudian depth-psychology which i am not a supporter of, but since it's use is so frequent and essentially superfluous, you could take it out and the book would unquestionably stand on its own.

[4anybody...]

http://www.hfertigbooks.com/covers/c2.jpg

toward the final solution
by george l. mosse


i first heard about this book in Cornell West's first book (prophesy deliverance!) in which west openly admits hes following mosse's analysis of rise of modern racism. I think west slightly misread's mosse, but it's more of mosse's fault (i'll explain in a second)

really tho, this is a very informative book about 2 things, the intellectual/scientific thought that arose beginning in the 18th c concerning "science"- and anthropology-based racism, and the rise of anti-semitism in germany which culminated in the slaughter of 6 million jews.

in the book, mosse says he's out to show the 18th c roots of modern racism because, tho there were precursors (eg spanish reconquista, white enslavement of blacks), in the 18th c racism these issues were consolidated with a new interest in empirical sciences, the new christian peitism, and the Greek-cultural-aesthetic revival and this drastically changed racism. mosse spends the first 1/2 of the book explaining these issues, but then admits 2/3 of the way thru the book that most of the new scientific (and imo the greek-based) theories of race were really only adhered to by small circles in the upper classes. undoubtedly modern theories of race (ie non-biblical based ones) were omnipresent in the US and Europe by the late 19th c, but Mosse doesn't really explain how they got that way. so this is not a cultural history, and so West's reliance of Mosse's analysis that what dominated racial thot in the 19th c was the greek "proportional" ideal-type is imo slightly flawed because the reverence for the greeks was really only in some circles of the upper classes--and barely existed with the common people. now im not saying that there wasnt a feeling that whites were aesthetically superior, but it wasn't based mostly on greek thought. in fact, mosse actually mentions precursors to this in european literature, but only talks on it for like a page and quickly moves on


really, altho half the book focuses on Germany, the book can be a very useful resource for those who want to learn how racism was "scientifically" justified in white elite culture in the 18th and 19th centuries. mosse shows a respectable command of (probably) most of the important literature on the subject, and shows a strong ability to be fair to those thinkers who weren't really racist, but their ideas were annexed largely by racists (eg darwin). it's important to know about this history because 1) it helped legitimize racism, and its residuals are still seen in "scientific" (whether biological- or social-science) conclusions about the differences of races today, 2) and it's important to see that the different kinds of racism have distinct roots--eg some of the scientific racism considered itself purely empirical while other types, especially "histories" of "races", took a lot of assumptions for granted, and 3) u can see that not ALL educated whites thought in terms of race and there were some (a few) important books that harshly rejected the idea