The White Peril: A Family Memoir

by Omo Moses

From the son of legendary civil rights organizer Robert P. a brilliant, unflinching memoir about becoming Black in America that interweaves voices from 3 generations of the Moses familyIn The White Peril, Omo Moses deftly interweaves his own life story with excerpts from both his great-grandfather's sermons and the writings of his father, the civil rights activist Bob Moses. The result is a powerful chorus of voices that spans 3 generations of an African American family, all shining a light on the Black experience, all calling fiercely for racial justice.Omo was born in 1972 in Tanzania, where his parents had fled to escape targeted harassment by the US government. He did not encounter white supremacy until the family moved back to America when he was 4. Here, he learned what it meant to be Black. He came of age in a Black enclave of Cambridge, Massachusetts, became a passionate basketball player, lived in the shadow of his father’s Civil Rights work but did not feel like a part of it until his college basketball career came to an unceremonious end. Unsure what to do next, he took up his father’s offer to go with him to Mississippi and teach math to Algebra Project students. Omo didn’t know it yet, but it was among those young people that he would find his purpose.This book is at once a coming-of-age story, a multigenerational family memoir, an epic father-son road trip, a searing account of the Black male experience, and a work that powerfully revives Rev. Moses’s demand for liberation.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

280 pages, Hardcover

First published January 21, 2025

Reviews

[James Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by Omowale Moses, the son of Freedom Summer/SNCC leader Bob Moses, this memoir joins the still-growing list of must-read books about the Civil Rights movement, Black life and living in the US, and the persistent (and always current) question: "What can be done?"

Omo Moses took the mantle of his father's Algebra Project (itself an outgrowth of SNCC and Freedom Summer work in the 1960s), and for 20 years ran the Young People's Project. Both of these initiatives seek to teach young people the math skills necessary to break status-quo economic pressures that funnel Black children into menial and powerless jobs as Black adults. They also seek to make those children into 'math literacy workers,' passing along their skills generationally, for obvious reasons.

But this book is more than a recitation of 'civil rights goals through math.' Omowale Moses says in an author's note that he wanted to write something along the lines of The Harafish, by Naguib Mahfouz, with writing that "...was lyrical...about family, about love, common people, the ordinary and enduring alley, about democracy, about generational change, about the cosmos."

Bob Moses had given The Harafish to Omo as a way for the son to understand better the father. Omo has written a glorious and important Harafish, set in Boston and Tanzania and Mississippi rather than Cairo, so that we might understand better the long parabolic arc of Black life in this country, and in turn, understand better our own hesitant and often self-destructive experiements in participatory democracy.

It might go without saying that all of this is acutely and painfully relevant to this particular moment of our national and cultural histories.

Junot Diaz says, "The White Peril is the book I wish I had my whole life; it is astonishing, beautiful, courageous, luminous, heartrending, inspiring, fierce, sympathetic, provocative, necessary, unflinching, and above all else, true. Braiding together a family history, a civil rights chronicle, and a moving account of his own coming of age under the ever-present threat of whiteness, Omo Moses has written an epic reaffirmation of Black diasporic life and a clarion call for justice. The White Peril is destined to be read and cherished."

[Books Amongst Friends · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall: 3/5
Narration: 3/5

Proof that something can be a “must read” in terms of content, and simultaneously just “okay” in format and structure.

[Vinny Badolato · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book. Omo’s writing is warm, raw, vulnerable, and honest. I loved how he wove in snippets of sermons from his great grandfather and interviews given by his father into the narrative. I took my time with this one as I wanted to savor the storytelling. This book is exactly what I needed during this moment. Highly recommend.

[JoanSoWhat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omo Moses’ The White Peril is an important, beautiful book. At once a personal coming-of-age story and an exploration of how to keep up the fight for justice for all in the context of changing times, places, and challenges, it speaks truth in multiple voices, combining poetic narrative; passionate oratory; and insights, arguments and explanations shared in interviews. Omo Moses honors the ancestors, learns from their experiences, but also conveys that while the past can and must inform the work of the present and future, those living in the present and future must ultimately shape that work and carry it out. I better understand the trajectory of the struggle for racial justice over the last 100+ years as a result of reading this book. It continues to inspire me as I think about how present-day people of all ages can come together and organize to pursue justice and opportunity for all in this very difficult American moment. America’s children deserve nothing less.

[Michael McEwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despair can overwhelm. Shut you down, shut you up, and shut you out.

This book weaves many narratives together including interviews with Bob Moses organizing the vote in Mississippi during the 60s. The murder of Herbert Lee and the coverup is a story of despair: an upright pillar of the community shot dead and the law does nothing (worse than nothing).

The surprise is how optimistic this book is. That individuals can make a difference even if the impact seems small. The Algebra Project and the Young People’s Project are so inspiring.

“And what we’re left with is frustration. It’s a frustration that Dr. King’s sister expressed in the press room in connection with young people that don’t know how to relate to Dr. King because they see him as a God. So they have no concept of how they, too, can be like him. And that’s what happens when the focus is wrong, is misplaced.”

This is empowering. I am very grateful to have read this book.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a teacher, I found it very interesting to see how the creation of initiatives like the Algebra Project got their start and how these projects were so intertwined within the lives and family members' lives of those involved. It was interesting to me to see how these projects changed overtime and how the perspective of being black in America changed between generations. I loved how the narrative was mixed in with other media such as interviews and sermons.

I think I would have enjoyed this more as a paperback because listening to the audiobook made the interviews bulky but that is my only complaint.

[Danny Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving, inspirational, relevant, and beautifully written! Omo Moses, a talented former D1 basketball player, who dreamt of a career in the NBA, shares his personal narrative as the son of legendary civil rights leader Bob Moses, whose dreams took unexpected turns, yet ultimately embraced the mission of carrying forward the torch his father and great-grandfather ignited. “The White Peril” is not just a memoir; it is a testament to resilience, legacy, and the unwavering fight for justice.

[Roger Smitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's difficulty to go through this book. And some piece are OK.

The author puts this in the book: "I wrote this book because I had to." In his words, he tells us "I have bevoeved ion God, even sence I have beleved in my own existeance." (xii)

To get more from "The Whilte PERVIL." Get your friends to read the book on a Sunday afternoon.

[Joseph G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The homage to past, present and extended family, friends and community is selfless and very inspiring. Each relationship he introduces is a story in itself. This is a tapestry of voices with many take-aways.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is basically a collection of letters. I was confused by that format. It did not flow as a book with chapters does.

[Sara Hernandez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you for picking me as a giveaway winner. I am sorry to say I found this difficult to read. The chapters didn't seem to be in order and seemed like random bits were thrown together.

[Brittnay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from a giveaway hosted here on Goodreads! So, shout out to Beacon Press for hosting that giveaway and picking me!

This book goes over three generations of the Moses family discussing important topics such as the Civil Rights movement, social justice, and racism. This book is an important read especially now given our current political climate. I found this book to be incredibly interesting and I enjoyed reading it!