Reviews for Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama

The average rating for Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-01-22 00:00:00 Richard Glover "Wise's short book reads like an old-school polemic: Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense' for the 21st century. . . . A post-racial United States is an imagined country." ' Adam Bradley, The Washington Post "Wise, a white anti-racism activist and scholar (and author of White Like Me), pushes plenty of buttons in this methodical breakdown of racism's place in the wake of Barack Obama's victory. In the first of two essays, the author obliterates the canard of the US as a post-racial society; bigotry and insititutionalized discrimination, he contends, have simply morphed into 'Racism 2.0,' in which successful minorities are celebrated 'as having 'transcended' their blackness in some way.' While racial disparities in employment and income, housing, education and other areas persist, Obama has become an amiable sitcom dad like Bill Cosby, putting whites at ease by speaking, looking and acting 'a certain way''not to mention avoiding discussion of race. In his second, more incendiary essay, Wise concludes that whites must take responsibility for racism. What the majority of whites fail to grasp, he says, is that they continue to benefit from a system of 'entrenched privileges' centuries in the making, and that racism remains a serious obstacle for millions of African Americans. There's no sugar coating here for whites, nor are there any news flashes for Americans of color, but Wise bravely enumerates the unpalatable truths of a nation still struggling to understand its legacy of racist oppression." 'Publishers Weekly "From income and jobs, housing, education, criminal justice, and healthcare, Wise masterfully demonstrates the continuing disparities between black and white America. He notes the absence of these issues in the Obama-Biden campaign or the attempt to read structural inequalities through a race-free lens called CLASS. At every step, Wise absolves the Obama campaign of responsibility for their less than candid approach to racial issues, saying that campaign strategists confronted the reality of white racism by side-stepping the issue. . . Wise's book provides welcome relief to the obnoxious self-congratulation that followed Obama's election to the presidency." 'Jillian McLaughlin, Kosmopolitan "The punning title of his book, 'Between Barack and a Hard Place,' belies the sobering material within. Wise paints a stark picture of racial inequality in the United States today. . . .Wise's short book reads like an old-school polemic: Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense' for the 21st century. . . . A post-racial United States is an imagined country." 'Adam Bradley, The Washington Post "Tim Wise, a long-time anti-racist activist, has just finished a very timely book that warns against becoming comfortable with racism while we are distracted by Obama's election. Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama continues the excellent work around the issue of [w:]hite [p:]rivilege that Wise has pounded home in his books, articles, and public talks across the country." 'Jeff Smith, Media Mouse

Review # 2 was written on 2010-05-10 00:00:00 Michael Hudson This brief book (two essays) is something I would recommend to any reader who wishes to understand issues of racism in today's world. One need only look at the badly spelled signs at "Tea Party" rallies and Arizona's SB 1070 to know that racism is, unfortunately, alive and well in the USA even as some pundits argue that President Obama's election proved its demise. Tim Wise examines racism (an institutionalized matter) and bigotry (an individualized matter) not only from historical attitudes but also from the perspective of exceptionalism. He has facts and figures to back up his opinions, and addresses what needs to happen in order for our culture to truly get past the idea that skin color is some kind of valuation. In my opinion, this is a must-read for everyone. I am vehemently anti-racist and still found some matters in this book via which my assumptions were challenged. Not to be missed.