Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America--and What We Can Do A

by Juan Williams

Book Overview

Half a century after brave Americans took to the streets to raise the bar of opportunity for all races, Juan Williams writes that too many black Americans are in crisis--caught in a twisted hip-hop culture, dropping out of school, ending up in jail, having babies when they are not ready to be parents, and falling to the bottom in twenty-first-century global economic competition.

In Enough, Juan Williams issues a lucid, impassioned clarion...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 030733824X
• ISBN13: 9780307338242
• Release Date: July 2007
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

The Tipping Point

To understand the potential power of "Enough" readers should understand the history of the author, Juan Williams. Snippets from his NPR profile tell his story so readers can respect the story that he tells. During his 21-year career at The Washington Post, Williams served as an editorial writer, op-ed columnist, and White House reporter. He won an Emmy award for TV documentary writing and widespread critical acclaim for a series of documentaries including "Politics: The New Black Power." Articles by Williams have appeared in magazines ranging from Newsweek, Fortune, and The Atlantic Monthly to Ebony, Gentlemen's Quarterly, and The New Republic. Williams is the author of the critically acclaimed biography "Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary," which was released in paperback in February 2000. He is also the author of the nonfiction bestseller "Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965," the companion volume to the critically acclaimed television series. "This Far by Faith: Stories from the African American Religious Experience" appeared in February 2003. This book was the basis for a six-part public broadcasting TV documentary that aired in June 2003. In 2004, Williams became involved with AARP's Voices of Civil Rights project, leading a veteran team of reporters and editors in the production of "My Soul Looks Back in Wonder: Voices of the Civil Rights Experience." The book presents the harrowing and haunting eyewitness accounts of some 50 activists who served as foot soldiers and field generals in the Civil Rights Movement. With credentials like these, his subtitle's power can be appreciated: "The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America--and What We Can Do About It." Written by most any other Black man, and he would be discredited. The writer aside, the writing is powerful because it presents facts wrapped in context rolled out in concrete ideas. For those with ears to hear, this message can save a generation. However, it is not only the young followers who must hear and heed, even more so it is the mature leaders who must put aside power plays and empire building and embrace a more positive, hope-giving model. The only fear here is that his sometimes harsh rhetoric will create divides where Williams hopes for bridges and that his sometimes stark criticism will cause discouragement rather than the desired motivation. One also wonders if a little credence could be given to long-standing generational patterns and still-existing pockets of racism. Not as excuses, but as honest statements of reality--a reality that can indeed make "pulling oneself up by his or her bootstraps" much harder than if these realities did not exist and co-exist. In this way, an entire generation of African Americans can move "beyond the suffering." Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction,

Speechless

I am utterly speechless! Juan Williams has taken the words right out of my mouth and somebody has finally answered the question that continues to plague my consciousness: "Where are the leaders?" and "Why isn't the black commumity banding together?" Too many have criticized Bill-- Cosby of ALL people. The man not only speaks the truth, he puts his money where his mouth is!! Finally, "Enough" champions the cause and makes us face the tough questions. This is one book that should be required reading in schools and I, for one, feel that the discussion started by Cosby and others is long overdue! BRAVO!

Saw him on Book TV, and...

...my neck hurts from shaking my head in agreement so much! The more we hear about these things, the more we learn about each other and ourselves--both black and white. This book is being ordered as we speak. I'm waiting for someone to emerge from the crowd and do a "Bill Cosby" speech on the white equivalent to these same issues, because all is definitely not bread and roses in WhiteWorld, either. WhiteWorld also has it's share of false prophets when it comes to the social, the political, and the moral/ethical dilemmas we face daily. If you read this book, you might also check out the works of John McWhorter too--he's another eye-opener into black life and social issues.

A Powerful Polemic For All Who Care about Black Uplift

Juan Williams paints an important if painful portrait of the realities facing the black American underclass. Using Bill Cosby's now-famous "Pound Cake" oration as a literary springboard, Mr. Williams leaps over the tired mantras of those who promulgate, support, and benefit from a perpetual welfare state and instead offers readers a clear, common sense formula for achieving personal and economic success. As its title suggests, "Enough" is an urgent call for personal responsibility. The author has little patience for the well-intended but disastrous "Great Society" programs that supplanted personal responsibility with federal largesse. Anyone who cares about America (black or otherwise) should marinate their thoughts on Mr. Williams's smart and serious book.

This book should facilitate more dialogue

Whether you find Juan Williams' arguments insulting or accurate, they are painful. The poorest of African-Americans are in a state of turmoil and he points out that the current strategy has ceased to yield results. He is not always eloquent in his delivery; in fact, you can hear the pain & /or disgust for what has transpired since Brown v. Board of Education. His interests are aligned with everyone in the black community, that the self serving interests of our so-called black leaders, the lack of education, the rate at which we go to prison, the break down of the family, the negative culture of hip-hop and other factors wreak horrible long-term consequences. He nevertheless points out that racism is still amongst us and that the remnants of slavery have had lasting affects on our collective psyche. I would have liked to see bolder solutions, such as sending our top high school basketball players to HBCUs to generate money for our community, in addition to his conservative message to get married and stay in school. It's about time somebody came to the defense of Bill Cosby, who has committed more time and money to help his people than many of the pundits and false prophets who now point fingers. I have already recommended this book to all of my friends.