226: Race Matters by Cornel West

Race Matters

From the book description:

"First published in 1993 on the one-year anniversary of the L.A. riots, Race Matters has since become an American classic. Beacon Press is proud to present this hardcover edition with a new introduction by Cornel West. The issues that it addresses are as controversial and urgent as before, and West's insights remain fresh, exciting, and timely. Now more than ever, Race Matters is a book for all Americans—one that will help us build a genuine multiracial democracy."

Why this is progressive/liberal: This brilliant book by Cornel West reveals how how race matters continue to haunt the United States.



For a companion work check out: Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism

245: The Autobiography of Malcolm X

The Autobiography of Malcolm X (Penguin Modern Classics)

Summary via Wikipedia:

"The Autobiography of Malcolm X is an account of the life of human rights activist Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little (1925–1965). It begins during his mother's pregnancy and describes his childhood in Michigan, the death of his father under questionable circumstances, and his mother's deteriorating mental health that resulted in her commitment to a psychiatric hospital. Little's young adulthood in Boston and New York City is covered, as is his involvement in organized crime that led to his arrest and subsequent eight- to ten-year prison sentence, of which he served six-and-a-half years (1946–1952). The book addresses his ministry with Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam (1952–1963) and his emergence as the organization's national spokesman. It then documents his subsequent disillusionment with and departure from the Nation of Islam in March 1964, his conversion to orthodox Sunni Islam, his pilgrimage to Mecca, and his travels in Africa. After Malcolm X was assassinated in New York's Audubon Ballroom in February 1965, the book's coauthor, journalist Alex Haley, summarizes the last days of Malcolm X's life, and describes in detail their working agreement, including Haley's personal views on his subject, in the Autobiography's epilogue."

Why this is progressive/liberal: Malcolm X was one of the most important voices of the Civil Rights movement. He was also a complicated and contradictory man. This book has elicited scores of critical responses, condemning and praising the collaboration between X and Alex Haley. It has been labeled one of the most important autobiographies in American letters, and been dismissed as a complete fabrication. Regardless of the critical interpretation it remains significantly influential.

307: The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois

The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois

This collection of essays attempts to explain what it's like to be black at the end of the nineteenth century in the United States. Most famously, this collection includes the essay in which Du Bois writes about double consciousness. Du Bois argues that black people in the US, when in the company of whites, have a "sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others." The whiteness of white people doesn't have the salience of blackness to black people, Du Bois argues.

Why this is liberal/progressive: A watershed work in American literature. Should be mandatory reading for every progressive. Du Bois was a brilliant writer and a groundbreaking sociologist. Du Bois lived to be 95 and spent his entire life working on progressive causes, most especially racial equality.



Read it for free here.

323: Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1990s by Michael Omi and Howard Winant

Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1990s by Michael Omi and Howard Winant

If you want to know why there's no such thing as reverse racism, read this book. Racism is about power. Race is a social construct created and maintained by those in power to keep their power.

That doesn't mean there can't be ethnic biases among disenfranchised ethnicities. However, simply have a bias against someone with a different skin color is not what progressives are talking about when they're talking about race problems in the US.

Omi and Winant present one of the best arguments made about the development of racial attitudes in the United States. It is a must-read for understanding this complicated issue.

Why this is progressive/liberal: For many conservatives the concept of racism is simple: it's not liking someone with a different skin color. For progressives, the story is much more complicated than that.



Add the following for a good overview of race in the US.