White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era

by Shelby Steele

Book Overview

Not unlike some of Ralph Ellison's or Richard Wright's best work. White Guilt, a serious meditation on vital issues, deserves a wide readership." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer

In 1955 the killers of Emmett Till, a black Mississippi youth, were acquitted because they were white. Forty years later, despite the strong DNA evidence against him, accused murderer O. J. Simpson went free after his attorney portrayed him as a victim...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060578637
• ISBN13: 9780060578633
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Excellent book!

Really enjoyed this book. Best explanation on race issues in this country I've read.

White Guilt: Today, Tomorrow, and Forever.

Shelby Steele, in his new book, White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era, expounds upon the mindset of both groups while exploring our nation's obsession with race. He outlines the interplay between white guilt and black power along with the pernicious effects this dynamic has upon both populations. The author grew up in a time when discrimination was not a shadowy thing. He witnessed it firsthand at baseball practice, and in his father's having to deal with the customs of the southern towns they'd visit. Throughout the text, Steele combines remembrance with observation as a means to elucidate interracial relations. He defines white guilt as being a complete vacuum of moral authority wherein a stigma is cast upon an entire group of people regardless of what they do or say. In the 1960s, it flourished in whites due to the very real historical wrongs of segregation and slavery. By the end of that decade, due to the growing passivity of whites, the black leadership no longer echoed Dr. King. They became radicalized, and there was no shortage of white politicians, intellectuals, and glitterati (recall Leonard Bernstein) ready to sprawl before their collective feet and regain their moral goodness. For many Caucasians, irrational hate for your own race and your ancestors has now become a mechanism for self-esteem and purity. When aggression meets submission the result is slaughter, and that's exactly what has happened to the pride of white America over the course of the last four decades. Rage has become the preferred weapon for obtaining concessions from white politicians, and shame prevents rational minds from protesting these tactics. Steele compares the state of many whites to that of Kafka's main character in The Trial, who is guilty of a crime solely because he has been accused. Black activists insisted that acquiring skills and education alone are not acceptable solutions; our government must actively raise them up. This demand is a reason why so many ashen faced elites embrace "diversity" and affirmative action. It allows them to acquire power while amassing feelings of personal superiority. The government internalized the stigma and dishonor of the majority population, and flooded black neighborhoods with lakes of redemptive spending. That the programs and grants issued were ineffective, or even made things worse, was largely irrelevant as the actions were designed to restore feelings of righteousness in politicians and their appointees. In the opinion of this reviewer, what keeps racial tensions high in America are intra-race conflicts as opposed to the interracial ones. Most likely, if one group of Caucasians discontinued the practice of systematically defaming all other Caucasians then the strains among us would diminish. The alchemizing of racism from discussions concerning taxation and personal choice does little more than poison our air. When blacks are free from the conspiracy theor

WARNING: this book will make you think

Of course, the phenomenon of "white guilt" is nothing new but Steele's short and poignant essay on the subject has clarified a new perspective for me. I expect that this book will be attacked from all corners---Left, Right, Black, White---which, to me, only emphasizes the necessity that it be read. It makes one painfully aware of the intellectual poverty that characterizes the public discourse on our issue(s) of "race." This is the most thought-provoking book that I have read in a very long time.

Not for the faint of heart

Shelby Steele's book is not an easy read. Don't let the apparent brevity fool you; this book could have just as easily been a decidedly heavy handed article in a scholarly journal on sociology or political science. There are many sections that are intellectually challenging. Yet at the same time, Steele makes the subject matter accessible to all. And frankly, there will likely be many people (typically the white liberals and blacks criticized within) who will be aghast at his thesis. Just as disconcerting though are the white conservatives who will grab onto this book as a "see, I told you so" moment. Neither side of this debate should jump to any conclusions regarding the content. It simply is a starting point; certainly not a definitive analysis. Steele does attempt to soften the tone by overlaying the material onto his metaphorical journey along California Highway 101. As Mark Twain did with Huck Finn, Steele's journey is a symbolic epiphany as he recognizes that America of his 1950s childhood is as foreign to the 21st century as 1776 is to modern Constitutional scholarship. He intersperses anecdotes from his childhood with his "coming of age" in the 1960s. During these passages, we get a glimpse as to how Steele, in a rejection of "groupthink" and "victimhood" , ascends to a different point of view. This book is not for those who allow Limbaugh and O'Reilly, or Franken and Moore, tell them what to think. This book is for those who are significantly discriminating and open minded to accept it for what it is.

Racism old and new.

This book attracted my interest because I've experienced first hand some of the "white guilt" motivated attempts to fix racial inequality. I attended a middle school during the 1970's right at the start of forced bussing to acheive racial desegregation. Some brilliant social engineers thought that if they bussed black children many miles from home whether they wanted to be bussed or not, dumped them at schools in white neighborhoods, and then eliminated grades and went lax on discipline, then that would solve some problem of inequality between black and white students. Well, what it accomplished for me was a shock when I arrived at high-school and discovered that not only were letter grades the norm (I hadn't seen them for three years) but they accumulated into this dreadful number called a "GPA" which had a profound impact on this concept known as your "future"! In other words, baby sitting was over and now I actually had to work or face the consequences! But enough about me. I enjoyed this book and gave my rating for the following reasons: 1. It's short and to the point. The author tells us what we need to know and skillfully encapsulates pivotal events that occured during a short period of time and which lead us into the reality we face today. I love books like that. 2. The author establishes his credibility by weaving a narrative of his life with the development of his thesis. This isn't a book that was written by a person who just read a lot of books in order to write a book. 3. Accessable writing style. It's like the author is sitting across the table having coffee with you and telling you a story. Shelby Steele comes across as a man of unusual wisdom. It would be great to see him in person some day. 4. This book tells a truth that is in line with my personal life experience. Racism has never gone away. Somewhere back in the 1960's it morphed from one form to another. From "old school" racism that consisted of segregating blacks and making them responsible for themselves while denying them access to jobs, loans, etc. to "white guilt" motivated racism which consists of rigging outcomes to be equal by lowering standards for blacks. This is all just fine with guilty white liberals as long as they can claim moral authority in return for providing the equal result for the blacks they've lowered standards for. Anyway, this is a short and well written book that'll perhaps make you think of things in a way you never have before. Five stars!

Go out and buy it right Away.

I read this book after reading his article in the Wall Street Journal. I enjoyed his idea of America fighting a minimilistic war so that we were not perceived as tyrannical or racist. This definately explains why we have not just "wiped out" the terrorist. I felt that I had to read the book since I am from the Civil Rights Capitol of the country. Many of these issues are pertinent throughout the country and need to be studied. His issues are hard-hitting and uncomforting at times. Dr. Steele explains that Americans do not take African Americans at face value, but as a means to an end. He says this because Liberals have used programs like affirmative action and welfare as a way to help blacks and look noble while doing it. Dr. Steele feels that these programs were started so the Whites did not look racist and tolerant of White Supremacy; however, under the surface he feels that the Black man is never able to advance after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He explains that many Great Society programs were created because Whites felt guilty for the wrongdoing of Blacks. He states the programs were a way to help Whites deal with their moral guilt. Dr. Steele does an excellent job stating the reasons that have caused racial segregation even in today's time. The book does not really offer ways to improve what is happening in America, yet it does bring the issues to the surface. He also throws in the term "New Man" that does an excellent job of explaining the ways of Liberal Democrats. I got chills several times because someone other than Bill Cosby stated the obvious. This is not a book to better one race over the other, but a way to make America the great country that it is supposed to be. There need to be more Americans like Dr. Steele. If you do not want to read the whole book, then just read the last chapter because it is amazing and the best chapter of the book. This book has to be read because the content is so powerful.