Review of Anti-Black Prejudice In America

[Fola Moni]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Anti-Black Prejudice In America" by Anders Eklof.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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Persecution and prejudice against minority ethnic groups have been happening since time immemorial. From the Israelites in the Bible to the Aborigines of Australia, history has shown us time and time again how some tribes believe in their superiority over others in terms of colour, race, education, religion, wealth, etc. Anti-Black Prejudice in America by Anders Eklof examines the origin of racial discrimination and segregation in the country ironically called the land of the free.

The United States of America is arguably the most powerful nation on the planet and has maintained its status for decades. It has the world’s largest economy, and its powerful military force is unrivalled. Its social and cultural imprints have influenced other countries around the globe. When it gained independence from Great Britain in 1776, one of the basic ideas of its Declaration of Independence stated that all men are created equal and have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

However, history has shown that this basic idea doesn’t include minority people of colour and class. This book shines a powerful light on the history of America and how it built the country on the backbone of black immigrants sent to the country as slaves from Africa. It also discusses the discrimination faced by other minorities that previously occupied America.

I like how the book is explosive and raw. The facts, figures and pictures speak for themselves. It exposes slavery, persecution and prejudice in disturbing ways never shown before. Most people have read about slavery, but many gory details have been consigned to the dustbin of history. This book brings it back to life in ways horror movies couldn’t have fathomed. For example, the graphic descriptions of the public lynchings nearly broke me. I could not understand man’s inhumanity to man. I could not wrap my mind around these depraved barbaric acts and sadistic cruelty. If the author’s goal was to remind the reader of the depth of man’s cruelty to each other, it certainly hit the mark.

I also applaud the author’s rich and comprehensive narrative. It is obvious a lot of research has gone into the book. It certainly invited further research as I found myself looking up all the names, events and places online. I marvelled at everyone who stood up for what was right and fought for their rights, even at the cost of their lives. Indeed, according to the writer and poet Kahlil Gibran, life without liberty is like a body without a spirit.

However, I had a couple of issues with the book. I encountered more than ten errors. Simple words were hyphenated, e.g., crude-ness and prud-ery. These wrong hyphenations made up most of the errors I listed. The book could also be more cohesive with better-structured sentences and paragraphs. Pages were numbered haphazardly, with the numbers appearing in the middle of sentences. I don’t know if all these were because of the Epub version I downloaded or if the book was not professionally well-edited. What I do know is that it did affect my reading experience significantly.

I would rate it 3 out of 5 stars because of the errors and format. It could do with another round of professional editing. Otherwise, I found it very informative and enlightening. I must say that some of the events narrated in this book are incredibly triggering. They include graphic descriptions and pictures of murder, torture, public lynchings and other horrible acts. There were also racial slurs that were very offensive. I would not recommend this book to anyone young or sensitive. This book would be highly recommendable to American schools in history courses. I would also recommend it to mature readers who love history and politics.

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Anti-Black Prejudice In America
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[MsH2k]

This book would be highly recommendable to American schools in history courses.

This is an excellent recommendation. We can only learn from history if we look at it honestly, even if it is painful. Sadly, the current trend in some parts of the United States is to ignore--or worse, distort--the reality of the uncomfortable parts of our past.

Thank you for your thorough review and recommendation.