Race Rules : Navigating the Color Line

by DYSON, MICHAEL

• ISBN13: 9780679781561
• ISBN10: 0679781560
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 1997-09-02
• Publisher: Vintage

Summary

"You couldn't ask for a fairer-minded, better-informed, or more enjoyable guide." --Elle As a former welfare father who is also an ordained Baptist minister and a Princeton Ph.D., Michael Eric Dyson is one of those rare intellectuals who act not only as interpreters between black and white America but as bridges between the academy and the street. In this brave, bracing, and vastly readable book, he identifies the hidden rules that govern interactions between the races and within black communities, poisoning our language, our politics, and our thinking. From the O. J. Simpson trial to the generational politics of gangsta rap, and from Colin Powell to Louis Farrakhan, Dyson takes on the most contentious issues of the 1990s. Again and again he shows us that, in a society that prides itself on being color-blind, race is more important--and more pernicious--than ever. Filled with eloquence and erudition, wit and moral common sense, Race Rules is an invaluable guide to the America we really live in as well as a redemptive vision of the one we want for our children. "Dyson's insightful analysis comes to life on topics ranging from hip-hop culture to black leadership. " --Atlanta Journal & Constitution

Table of Contents

Introduction: Race Plus Rage Equals Ruin: Race Rules	p. 1
When You're a Credit to Your Race, the Bill Will Come Due: O. J. Simpson and Our Trial by Fire	p. 10
It's Not What You Know, It's How You Show It: Black Public Intellectuals	p. 47
When You Divide Body and Soul, Problems Multiply: The Black Church and Sex	p. 77
We Never Were What We Used to Be: Black Youth, Pop Culture, and the Politics of Nostalgia	p. 109
Black Folk Lifted by Their Bootstraps Should Beware of Heels: The State of Black Leadership	p. 150
Behind Every Great Black Woman, There Are a Hundred More: Why Black Men Should Lighten Up	p. 196
Conclusion: In a Color-blind Society, We Can Only See Black and White: Why Race Will Continue to Rule	p. 213
Afterword to the Vintage Edition	p. 225
Acknowledgments	p. 233
Index	p. 235
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.