Why Does Everything Have to Be About Race?

September 1, 2023

The Civil War was about states' rights, not enslavement; affirmative action is reverse discrimination; and Critical Race Theory is indoctrinating children to hate one another: these are some of the 25 arguments, speciously rooted in misinformation and the need to deny Black history and oppression, that New York Times best-selling author Boykin sets out to demolish in his latest book. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2023
Informed rebuttals of false claims about Black Americans. Boykin, the founder of the National Black Justice Coalition and author of Race Against Time, delivers a series of arguments that target misconceptions about the realities of Black life in America and the persistence of white supremacy. The brief chapters, written in an accessible style and often including personal anecdotes, are divided into five broad themes: the erasure of Black history, the insistence on white victimhood, the denial of Black oppression, the promotion of myths of Black inferiority, and the masking of racist rhetoric. The author debunks familiar but flawed reasoning across a range of contentious topics, including the rationale behind affirmative action, the fate of Confederate monuments, the racial content of school curricula, and the significance of Barack Obama's presidency. As Boykin credibly suggests, the persistence and popularity of bogus logic in debates about race can often be attributed to a reluctance among white Americans to acknowledge responsibility for longstanding injustices. The most insightful and memorable chapter engages the controversy surrounding critical race theory and the vagueness of the attacks directed against it. Also helpful is the author's demolition of the argument that the Civil War was not fought over slavery, or that slavery itself is merely a historical artifact, without profound and continually unfolding consequences. Boykin could have done more to connect discussions of anti-Black racism with other forms of white supremacist ideology; for instance, he only mentions in passing deeply held prejudices against Native Americans and Asian Americans. Nevertheless, the author furnishes a useful guide to confronting misconceptions about Black America and makes a convincing case that race matters in so many conversations because it has always been a defining--if often poorly understood--feature of national life. A clarifying set of arguments about Black lives past and present.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2024
CNN commentator and author Boykin (Race against Time, 2021), cofounder of the National Black Justice Coalition, shares his personal experiences and reflections on topics of race and the Black experiences that continue to shape America. Breaking down the title's ""25 arguments"" into five themes--Erasing Black History, Centering White Victimhood, Denying Black Oppression, Myths of Black Inferiority, and Rebranding Racism--the book covers events from the author's own life as well as his extensive research on important moments and reactions in American history, from the Civil War to the election of President Obama and the recent prohibition of the AP African American Studies exam in Florida. Altogether, Boykin's approach underscores the pervasive role race plays in America and how and why anti-Blackness and systemic racism persist. The book also serves as a reference guide on past and contemporary issues of race in America. Readers seeking books in Black Studies, civil rights, and issues of discrimination will find this one thought-provoking and crucial to understanding and dismantling the anti-Black consciousness that endures in American society.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.