Blackballed: Black American Voting Rights and U.S. Electoral Politics

by Darryl Pinckney

Blackball is Darryl Pinckney’s meditation on a century and a half of black participation in US electoral politics. In this combination of memoir, historical narrative, and contemporary political and social analysis, he investigates the struggle for black voting rights from Reconstruction through the civil rights movement, leading up to the election of Barack Obama as president.

Interspersed throughout the historical narrative are Pinckney’s own memories of growing up during the civil rights era, his unsure grasp of the events he saw on television or heard discussed, and the reactions of his parents to the social changes that were taking place at the time and later to Obama’s election. He concludes with an examination of the current state of electoral politics, the place of blacks in the Democratic coalition, and the ongoing efforts by Republicans to suppress the black vote, with particular attention to the Supreme Court’s recent decision to strike down part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and what it may mean for the political influence of black voters in future elections.

Genres: Nonfiction, Anti Racist, Race, History, Politics, Social Justice, African American

112 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Darryl Pinckney is an American novelist, playwright, and essayist.

Pinckney grew up in a middle-class African-American family in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he attended local public schools. He was educated at Columbia University in New York.

Reviews

[Lauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit rambling and referential. I struggled to find a cohesive thread throughout this book. I did find many enlightening snippets that made it worth the read. Pinckney states that conservatism was the "white-lash" response to the civil rights movement and further links conservatives to the undoing of black America. Equally interesting were the author's comments that Obama turned race-neutral once becoming president and missed an opportunity to level out the black and white disparities in America. It makes me wonder if a true progressive (social & economic) leader is even possible in a country still so deeply rooted in prejudice, in many areas. Republicans just seem hellbent on thwarting any and all attempts at economic parity.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was no organization to this book. It reads like a long diary entry, and half of it feels like the author is paraphrasing other authors.

There are some good book suggestions, and some good information, but you could get that information in any number of more organized books.

[Wherefore Art Thou · Rating 3 out of 5]

The essays were good. A good summary of the history, a good perspective from himself, his parents, members of the community, and especially worthwhile was the perspectives on Obama’s victory. I just didn’t think any of them were *great* nor did I feel a special connection to him, his family, or the content like I was hoping for. I was also familiar with a lot of the recapping of history already so I don’t think I gained much there. Still a solid selection of articles.

[Byron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weighing in at maybe 100 pages long, this is a pretty good overview of the history of black voting rights in America, or lack thereof, written by the black guy from the New York Review of Books. You might remember from that HBO documentary that may or may not have been directed by Martin Scorsese. It doesn't go into much depth on anything in particular, but unless you're trying to write a paper on the topic, I don't know that you need anything more thorough than this. This reads really well, and the number of literary and historical references were both impressive and fascinating. I found myself tempted to write them all down and add them to my queue, as if I don't have enough shit to read already.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like other reviewers, I found the three essays in the slim volume, Blackballed, to be rambling and without any structure or organization. Darryl Pinckney published this book initially in 2014, and then added a third essay in the 2020 publication (which references the COVID epidemic). The title essay, Blackballed, is based on a lecture he gave in 2012, and reads like a bit of a rambling talk. But he does cover a lot of ground in terms of the history of voting rights for black US citizens and the continuing battle against the conservative US Supreme Court, which he feels has become activist instead of truly adhering to the constitutional principles that they allegedly swear to.

Pinckney also weaves in some of his personal life, especially the views and experiences of his parents as they watched the country change, and saw a black man, Barack Obama, become the U.S. president. Pinckney discusses Obama in several places, not criticizing him as much as explaining how Obama attempted to push forward policies that would benefit blacks without pushing for race-specific programs. For blacks in the U.S., he says, just having a black man in the White House was important enough.

The second essay reads a lot like an overview of the literature about black identity and black culture in this country. One interesting point he repeats is that whites in this country love black culture (music, food, entertainment, sports) but don't like black people. That struck me as quite poignant and sad.

The final essay on Juneteenth was a jumble and I skipped through a lot of it. Sometimes I am not sure what he was trying to say, though one key point was that that lynching continues in various ways (police shootings of George Floyd, the murder of Trayvon Martin) and that black people have now realized that while they may feel one way about themselves, the white world sees them as "other," so that a perfectly respectable black teenage boy walking innocently through a gated community to where he is staying with his father after running an errand is seen as a criminal up to no good by a white person in that community. Sad. Tragic. We have not come very far, and possibly have gone backwards in the area of race relations.

[NCHS Library]

From Follett: Blackballed is Darryl Pinckney's meditation on a century and a half of participation by blacks in US electoral politics. In this combination of memoir, historical narrative, and contemporary political and social analysis, he investigates the struggle for black voting rights from Reconstruction through the civil rights movement to Barack Obama's two presidential campaigns. Drawing on the work of scholars, the memoirs of civil rights workers, and the speeches and writings of black leaders like Martin Luther King and Stokely Carmichael, Andrew Young and John Lewis, Pinckney traces the disagreements among blacks about the best strategies for achieving equality in American society as well as the ways in which they gradually came to create the Democratic voting bloc that contributed to the election of the first black president.
Interspersed through the narrative are Pinckney's own memories of growing up during the civil rights era and the reactions of his parents to the changes taking place in American society. He concludes with an examination of ongoing efforts by Republicans to suppress the black vote, with particular attention to the Supreme Court's recent decision striking down part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Also included here is Pinckney's essay "What Black Means Now," on the history
of the black middle class, stereotypes about blacks and crime, and contemporary debates about "post-blackness."

[Lannie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think there is a specific audience for which this book would be very well received. The book is highly referential and academic despite the author weaving in his own life experiences for relatability. As someone still learning about the Black experience, I found myself having to look up a lot of court cases that Pinckney mentions in passing, and glossing over topics that have whole books dedicated to them.

I would recommend this book to someone with already a vast knowledge of Black history and is interested in an academic essay/opinion piece. For the casual reader it may be difficult to follow cohesively; I would instead recommend One Person, No Vote for the average reader interested in reading about voter suppression.

[anarresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an essay and, I think, a speech. It mixes memories of Pinckney's upbringing with the history of voting and the politics (and politicians) surrounding it over the years. There is just enough information to make the point, but the "book" is too short for detail. It wouldn't be useful for someone completely unfamiliar with voting politics, but is another perspective for someone who has knowledge.

I actually most enjoyed the political portions where Pinckney got excitable. This was written in 2014 and while that is objectively recent it was completely different political world. It's crazy to think back.

[Tyler Gutierrez · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be more accurate more of a 3.5 stars. This book touches on important points of history related to the suppression of Black voters. It glosses over them and doesn’t add too much detail. It’s good for someone who is just learning about this topic and wants to learn the basics in a short 70 page book. At times though, it was hard to keep track of the authors thoughts. It felt like the author was jumping around a bit with their ideas. Other than this it was a decent read.

[Sean S · Rating 3 out of 5]

An almost stream of consciousness that ebbs and weaves through personal history, the VRA, segregation and protest, and comparing various black elect leaders to Obama's newly developing legacy. Could stand to use a round or two of polish but for a short-form style of writing, I enjoyed the meandering on which the author took me. Makes me more interested to understand the views of the Supreme Court justices and how much they can influence policy in America.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this via a hardback copy from my local library. I am rating it a 3.0. It is a compelling review of the history of voting for the African American voter. The sad part is that it is only a few years old but now sadly out of date. The gutting of some of the protections and gerrymandering and changes in key laws that this book took to be sancrosanct is just heartbreaking.

Content FYIs: Deals with racism historical and current. No sex, a little bit of language and violence.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent nonfiction. I'm counting this as a Current Events Nonfiction book, because while it does talk about the history of African American voting rights, it also talks about modern race relations and the systematic oppression African Americans suffer, as well as the efforts of some to suppress voting rights.

[Erin Nordhof · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd say it's more of a 3.5 star read than a 3 star read, as it had good recommendations of other books and such to check out, and there were some good ideas and topics explored. My main reason why I didn't like it as much was the writing style just didn't click with me, and it made it hard to get through at some points.

[London Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel somewhat validated that other users are equally critical of its rambling nature and overuse of quotes, but I wanted to add that these things don't take away too much from the writing itself, which is best seen as a snapshot in time, feelings broadcast to the future from the post-racial America that still seemed possible at the time.

[Mary Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot but it was a struggle for me to finish. I didn't have a lot of background information on many of the people or events that were discussed so it was difficult to follow or understand the full importance of his argument.

[Corvida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of the topic with nice references for additional reading.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 essays rather than a book.

[Katy Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just wish it was longer. It’s a wonderful read, but I could read 200 more pages of it.

[Joan Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good easy read about Voting Rights and black disenfranchisement. Right for the times.

[Ery Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

lots of strong information and history to be taken in from this one but almost... a confused and unfinished feeling book? yeah.

[David James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good observations, but there's a stream-of-consciousness aspect that makes this hard to follow. There is history here that all Americans - but especially white Americans - need to know about. This is a call for better education, but the lessons need to be presented in a more focused book.