Betty D. (bettyatlanta) reviewed on 9/24/2009 + 9 more book reviews

"Only Nixon could go to China," and only a black man could say what Bill Cosby did. This book begins with the controversial speech Bill Cosby gave to a room full of African Americans gathered together to celebrate those who worked hard and sacrificed much to give blacks equal opportunities in America. Juan Williams (happily, a commentator on NPR and less happily and more recently, a token black face on Fox News) writes about Cosby's speech, the fallout from this speech, and the difficult questions that it raised. As no white commentator could do, Williams challenges the failure of those who would continue to call blacks victims (thus rendering them powerless and unable to pull themselves out of poverty), takes old-guard black leaders like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to task, claiming both are more interested in perpetuating their fiefdoms than in advancing the cause of African Americans, and states that middle class black Americans (think of the Huxtables on "The Cosby Show") have more in common with white middle class families than they do with lower class blacks. I recommend reading this book to anyone, but I would especially recommend reading it as a part of a group so that the book can be the genesis for some complex questions about race and racism in America. In the 1960's, my Atlanta parents participated in an inter-racial dialogue group designed to have blacks and whites socialize together in an effort to dispel racism; wouldn't it be great if we had those today? Sadly, 40 years later, we still need them!

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