Hi everyone. This isn’t related to Heather’s post today (directly), but I just finished reading Caste: Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson, and I want to encourage this bright and caring group to read it. It made a deep impression on me; my mind and heart are full of the stories, concepts, and history I read. Has anyone else read it, and what did you think…? Thanks 😊
Hi everyone. This isn’t related to Heather’s post today (directly), but I just finished reading Caste: Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson, and I want to encourage this bright and caring group to read it. It made a deep impression on me; my mind and heart are full of the stories, concepts, and history I read. Has anyone else read it, and what did you think…? Thanks 😊
I am about 2/3 of the way through. I had already read her book "The Warmth of Other Suns" which was a great eye opener for me. I lived through the last half of the great migration, knew people who were part of that social shift, supported CORE and lots of other stuff yet was blind to the larger picture. Shall I say that I now hear the song "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" with expanded understanding.
As for "Caste", it is helping me to understand how effectively embedded social structures have separated the life experiences of Black people, other citizens of color and White people from our many, varied life experiences so that even when we are working and living together, so much is invisible, especially to the privileged. It is rather like being in an aquarium. If I press myself against the glass I can pretend to see and understand what it is like to live on the other side of the glass, and really believe I've seen all there is to see and know. I am grateful for the many Black and Brown writers who are able, like Ms. Wilkerson, to share their truths.
Thank you for sharing! I’m eager to read Warmth of Other Suns. I found Caste by chance at the library and feel both liberated and saddened by what I’ve learned.
I read Warmth of Other Suns about a month ago. Wilkerson made the Great Migration come alive by focusing on the personal stories of 3 individuals who migrated North at the beginning, in the middle and near the end of the Great Migration.
I read Caste in 2020 and have bought copies and shared it with many people. It has been mentioned and discussed by a few in this forum. It has influenced my views and actions and beliefs about racism in a radical way. There were a few times that I simply had to stop reading the book and try to process and assimilate the information…much like I do with HCR’s letters when I encounter her tellings of history that I am not familiar with. Early in the book, on pages 52-53, there is a story she relates about a conversation she has with a Nigerian-born playwright after a talk she gave in London. That, and her story about her encounter with the plumber that happened in December 2016, one month after the election are two literary moments that remain very emotional for me. I can think of Caste in no other way.
I had a similar experience reading Caste. I had to put it down so I could process what I was reading. I thought of myself as well educated and compassionate, but this book opened my eyes to what had been invisible to me.
A book I am currently reading that is also incredibly stark, but also very funny is Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar, You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism. Rather than looking at the historical origins of the US racist legal system, Amber (very well known comedy writer) and her sister Lacey describe Lacey's daily experiences of racism in Omaha, Nebraska. Amber lives in NYC now; Lacey still lives--like much of their family--in their hometown of Omaha. If you want to read about systemic racism on the hoof, as it were, read this. It will absolutely upend your view of even well-meaning white people: we are all utterly ignorant of the realities Black people live all the time. And one of the things I think we should all do is speak up and step up: when you see racism happening, say something. Also when you see sexism, ableism, etc. etc.
Just finished it yesterday. It was eye-opening. I have much soul-searching to do now. So much of the caste-based privilege I have had gone unrecognized until Ms. Wilkerson pointed it out to me. It was also so very upsetting to learn how Nazi Germany patterned so many of its laws against non-Aryans after America’s Jim Crow laws. A very disturbing book that we all should read and take to heart.
Isabel Wilkerson is an amazing writer. Both books take important topics and bring them to life. I also recommend The Sum of Us, by Heather McGhee, which demonstrates how racists policies hurt the whole of society.
I read it and found it heartrending, and at times very difficult because of it's unveiling to me of the systemic racism that pervades our country. I highly recommend it.
It’s interesting how so many here in the USA bristle at the idea of a caste system - irrespective that it’s been the norm long before tour Declaration of Independence and Constitution were written.
Monet, thank you for mentioning Caste. As others have said, it's been discussed here before but I needed your reminder to get back to it. I've had it sitting on my headboard for a year. I read several chapters, having to pause at the end of nearly each one to digest and process what I'd just read, and at a certain point, I just never got back to it. I find I really struggle with reading or hearing about horrible things humans do to each other. I never read mysteries or suspense novels that are also gorey, or books about kidnappings, or where sexual assaults or abuse is detailed. My imagination is just too active and I can't detach myself enough from these stories, fiction or fact. But I will persevere with Caste, thank you again for the prod.
Thank you for sharing your experience and thoughts, Beth. And thank you to ALL of you for the same. I truly appreciate the “community” and the insights. This is a pretty special group!
Beth,I encourage you to persevere with Caste. Every chapter offers learning you’ll be glad you have, I think, plus the very end of the book offers hope for how we might move forward.
To everyone, I’ll share the hope expressed by a Black consultant working with my organization’s team on equity, echoed by my Black team members: our children, teens and young adults. They are not (at least in my community of Tacoma WA) buying into indoctrination via mis-taught history or other societal messaging. This reminder from those who live discrimination and historical trauma every day gives me hope for our future, although we have rough times ahead to get there.
One of the most important books I've read in recent past. Have her The warmth of other sun's on your to-read pile. Affected me like reading James Baldwin in the 60s did. Wish the two could have written or lectured together. I had the same kind of reactions you talked about. Comparisons of democracies reached somewhat I thought at times, but caste is a perfect concept to explain so much.
Hi everyone. This isn’t related to Heather’s post today (directly), but I just finished reading Caste: Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson, and I want to encourage this bright and caring group to read it. It made a deep impression on me; my mind and heart are full of the stories, concepts, and history I read. Has anyone else read it, and what did you think…? Thanks 😊
I am about 2/3 of the way through. I had already read her book "The Warmth of Other Suns" which was a great eye opener for me. I lived through the last half of the great migration, knew people who were part of that social shift, supported CORE and lots of other stuff yet was blind to the larger picture. Shall I say that I now hear the song "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" with expanded understanding.
As for "Caste", it is helping me to understand how effectively embedded social structures have separated the life experiences of Black people, other citizens of color and White people from our many, varied life experiences so that even when we are working and living together, so much is invisible, especially to the privileged. It is rather like being in an aquarium. If I press myself against the glass I can pretend to see and understand what it is like to live on the other side of the glass, and really believe I've seen all there is to see and know. I am grateful for the many Black and Brown writers who are able, like Ms. Wilkerson, to share their truths.
Thank you for sharing! I’m eager to read Warmth of Other Suns. I found Caste by chance at the library and feel both liberated and saddened by what I’ve learned.
I read Warmth of Other Suns about a month ago. Wilkerson made the Great Migration come alive by focusing on the personal stories of 3 individuals who migrated North at the beginning, in the middle and near the end of the Great Migration.
I read Caste in 2020 and have bought copies and shared it with many people. It has been mentioned and discussed by a few in this forum. It has influenced my views and actions and beliefs about racism in a radical way. There were a few times that I simply had to stop reading the book and try to process and assimilate the information…much like I do with HCR’s letters when I encounter her tellings of history that I am not familiar with. Early in the book, on pages 52-53, there is a story she relates about a conversation she has with a Nigerian-born playwright after a talk she gave in London. That, and her story about her encounter with the plumber that happened in December 2016, one month after the election are two literary moments that remain very emotional for me. I can think of Caste in no other way.
I had a similar experience reading Caste. I had to put it down so I could process what I was reading. I thought of myself as well educated and compassionate, but this book opened my eyes to what had been invisible to me.
A book I am currently reading that is also incredibly stark, but also very funny is Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar, You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism. Rather than looking at the historical origins of the US racist legal system, Amber (very well known comedy writer) and her sister Lacey describe Lacey's daily experiences of racism in Omaha, Nebraska. Amber lives in NYC now; Lacey still lives--like much of their family--in their hometown of Omaha. If you want to read about systemic racism on the hoof, as it were, read this. It will absolutely upend your view of even well-meaning white people: we are all utterly ignorant of the realities Black people live all the time. And one of the things I think we should all do is speak up and step up: when you see racism happening, say something. Also when you see sexism, ableism, etc. etc.
Just finished it yesterday. It was eye-opening. I have much soul-searching to do now. So much of the caste-based privilege I have had gone unrecognized until Ms. Wilkerson pointed it out to me. It was also so very upsetting to learn how Nazi Germany patterned so many of its laws against non-Aryans after America’s Jim Crow laws. A very disturbing book that we all should read and take to heart.
Isabel Wilkerson is an amazing writer. Both books take important topics and bring them to life. I also recommend The Sum of Us, by Heather McGhee, which demonstrates how racists policies hurt the whole of society.
I agree. I've read all three. Very important books, and Isabel Wilkerson is an amazing writer. Hope she has another book in the works.
I read it and found it heartrending, and at times very difficult because of it's unveiling to me of the systemic racism that pervades our country. I highly recommend it.
I read it last week. I’d like to read a more in depth version as I felt I was reading Cliff’s Notes. Definitely nutshells the topic.
It could only be like that, right? She covered 400 yrs of caste’s existence in this country.
But the point of the book is a bulls eye.
With each dart she outlined, I kept shaking my head like I had water in both ears from swimming in the pool.
I’ve downloaded the book. Time to read it!
I hope you get as much out of it as me, Jean!
I’m certain I will!
It’s interesting how so many here in the USA bristle at the idea of a caste system - irrespective that it’s been the norm long before tour Declaration of Independence and Constitution were written.
Monet, thank you for mentioning Caste. As others have said, it's been discussed here before but I needed your reminder to get back to it. I've had it sitting on my headboard for a year. I read several chapters, having to pause at the end of nearly each one to digest and process what I'd just read, and at a certain point, I just never got back to it. I find I really struggle with reading or hearing about horrible things humans do to each other. I never read mysteries or suspense novels that are also gorey, or books about kidnappings, or where sexual assaults or abuse is detailed. My imagination is just too active and I can't detach myself enough from these stories, fiction or fact. But I will persevere with Caste, thank you again for the prod.
Thank you for sharing your experience and thoughts, Beth. And thank you to ALL of you for the same. I truly appreciate the “community” and the insights. This is a pretty special group!
Beth,I encourage you to persevere with Caste. Every chapter offers learning you’ll be glad you have, I think, plus the very end of the book offers hope for how we might move forward.
To everyone, I’ll share the hope expressed by a Black consultant working with my organization’s team on equity, echoed by my Black team members: our children, teens and young adults. They are not (at least in my community of Tacoma WA) buying into indoctrination via mis-taught history or other societal messaging. This reminder from those who live discrimination and historical trauma every day gives me hope for our future, although we have rough times ahead to get there.
"Nevertheless, she persisted!" I will, I will, I promise.
One of the most important books I've read in recent past. Have her The warmth of other sun's on your to-read pile. Affected me like reading James Baldwin in the 60s did. Wish the two could have written or lectured together. I had the same kind of reactions you talked about. Comparisons of democracies reached somewhat I thought at times, but caste is a perfect concept to explain so much.
Loved/grieved that book. Passing it on to a whole list of folks...