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What's Going On
With the same personal authority and exhilarating directness he brought to his account of his passage from a prison cell to the newsroom of The Washington Post , Nathan McCall delivers a series of front-line reports on the state of the races in today's America. The resulting volume is guaranteed to shake the assumptions of readers of every pigmentation and political allegiance.
In What's Going On , McCall adds up the hidden costs of the stereotype of black athletic prowess, which tells African American teenagers that they can only succeed on the white man's terms. He introduces a fresh perspective to the debates on gangsta rap and sexual violence. He indicts the bigotry of white churches and the complacency of the black suburban middle class, celebrates the heroism of Muhammad Ali, and defends the truth-telling of Alice Walker. Engaging, provocative, and utterly fearless, here is a commentator to reckon with, addressing our most persistent divisions in a voice of stinging immediacy.
In What's Going On , McCall adds up the hidden costs of the stereotype of black athletic prowess, which tells African American teenagers that they can only succeed on the white man's terms. He introduces a fresh perspective to the debates on gangsta rap and sexual violence. He indicts the bigotry of white churches and the complacency of the black suburban middle class, celebrates the heroism of Muhammad Ali, and defends the truth-telling of Alice Walker. Engaging, provocative, and utterly fearless, here is a commentator to reckon with, addressing our most persistent divisions in a voice of stinging immediacy.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 28, 2015
I read McCall's memoir, "Makes Me Wanna Holler" when I was about 15 years old. It was an instant favorite to me. Fast-forward 10 years later, and I spot "What's Going On" in a bookstore. I immediately pick it up, looking to, in a way, "reconnect" with one of my first favorite authors. His memoir that I read as a teen is now a vague memory in my mind, sans for a few quotes from it that have stuck with me over the years. Yet, as I was reading "What's Going On" I begin to remember why I loved his style of writing so much. McCall is deep and critical and explains the complex aspects of being black in American in layman's terms. One can also appreciate the very personal aspect in which he reveals his own thoughts and emotions and personal growth.
McCall opens with an essay titled, "The Revolution Is About Basketball." I appreciated this critique of basketball and how it influences young black men in America, affecting their hopes and dreams of what they want to be in life. It is all the more appreciated because it's coming from the point-of-view of a black man. Even though it is about basketball, it is really critiquing all major sports whose athletes are predominately black men. As a young woman, I've always viewed American sports as a distraction tool. Black athletes are rewarded because of the entertainment they provide for the mainstream audience, all the while, spending the majority of their most pivotal years as a young adult...playing a game. One has to ask why are black men suddenly praised in this one genre of life and demonized in all others. Not to mention, athletes serve as marketing tools for corporations, by way of endorsements. A lot of this is my own critique and not necessarily a critique of McCall's essay, but this essay serves as a lead into these types of conversations–conversations that you don't hear black men really talk about.
I was impressed with the second essay, "Airing Dirty Laundry." He talks about seminal works (i.e. books) by black people that have exposed the flaws within our own community. I was firstly impressed that he both read and respected works regarding black feminist thought, such as Ntozake Shange and Alice Walker among others. We hardly hear black men speak in such a positive and respectful light about these women and this topic.
In "Men: We Just Don't Get It" McCall admits to "strong-arming" women into having sex with him as a teen. My initial thought was, "why would this guy admit to, basically, raping women in a book." Then I remembered when I read his memoir as a teen where he graphically described his participation in "running trains" on girls as well as other details that are just as graphic. I do recall that he spent some time in jail as well. Either way, it reminded me of why I liked his writing in the first place. Not because of the explicit nature and topics such as rape, but because he had the nerve, for lack of a better term, to admit what he did. Most men probably wouldn't be so candid. His writing is raw honesty. I also like his male-perspective. I notice that McCall touches on subjects in ways that I haven't heard other male writers do. This stands out most to me when he talks about women. In Airing Dirty Laundry for example he basically comes to the defense of feminist writer Alice Walker, and Terry McMillan, two writers that have been vilified by black men in particular.
He tackles the myth of the "Great White Man" through an exploration of the true heritage of George Washington, The Father of Our Country. Housing and gentrification in "Old Town: The Negro Problem Revisitied." In "Faking the Funk," He discusses the confusion that often makes up the Black Middle Class.
This is a collection of Essays that tackles a broad range of important issues among blacks who live in the U.S. McCall critiques and explains these issues through his own personal experiences and references to other relevant examples from others. What he's talking about is, in fact, what's going on.
McCall opens with an essay titled, "The Revolution Is About Basketball." I appreciated this critique of basketball and how it influences young black men in America, affecting their hopes and dreams of what they want to be in life. It is all the more appreciated because it's coming from the point-of-view of a black man. Even though it is about basketball, it is really critiquing all major sports whose athletes are predominately black men. As a young woman, I've always viewed American sports as a distraction tool. Black athletes are rewarded because of the entertainment they provide for the mainstream audience, all the while, spending the majority of their most pivotal years as a young adult...playing a game. One has to ask why are black men suddenly praised in this one genre of life and demonized in all others. Not to mention, athletes serve as marketing tools for corporations, by way of endorsements. A lot of this is my own critique and not necessarily a critique of McCall's essay, but this essay serves as a lead into these types of conversations–conversations that you don't hear black men really talk about.
I was impressed with the second essay, "Airing Dirty Laundry." He talks about seminal works (i.e. books) by black people that have exposed the flaws within our own community. I was firstly impressed that he both read and respected works regarding black feminist thought, such as Ntozake Shange and Alice Walker among others. We hardly hear black men speak in such a positive and respectful light about these women and this topic.
In "Men: We Just Don't Get It" McCall admits to "strong-arming" women into having sex with him as a teen. My initial thought was, "why would this guy admit to, basically, raping women in a book." Then I remembered when I read his memoir as a teen where he graphically described his participation in "running trains" on girls as well as other details that are just as graphic. I do recall that he spent some time in jail as well. Either way, it reminded me of why I liked his writing in the first place. Not because of the explicit nature and topics such as rape, but because he had the nerve, for lack of a better term, to admit what he did. Most men probably wouldn't be so candid. His writing is raw honesty. I also like his male-perspective. I notice that McCall touches on subjects in ways that I haven't heard other male writers do. This stands out most to me when he talks about women. In Airing Dirty Laundry for example he basically comes to the defense of feminist writer Alice Walker, and Terry McMillan, two writers that have been vilified by black men in particular.
He tackles the myth of the "Great White Man" through an exploration of the true heritage of George Washington, The Father of Our Country. Housing and gentrification in "Old Town: The Negro Problem Revisitied." In "Faking the Funk," He discusses the confusion that often makes up the Black Middle Class.
This is a collection of Essays that tackles a broad range of important issues among blacks who live in the U.S. McCall critiques and explains these issues through his own personal experiences and references to other relevant examples from others. What he's talking about is, in fact, what's going on.
June 25, 2024
PERCEPTIVE ESSAYS BY THE “MAKES ME WANNA HOLLER” AUTHOR
Journalist and author Nathan McCall (born 1955) is lecturer in the Department of African-American Studies at Emory University.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1997 book, “The 1994 publication of ‘Makes Me Wanna Holler’ changed my life in ways, both good and bad, that I couldn’t have imagined. Mainly, the book tour and the lecture circuit that came after it took me all over the country to places I probably never would have visited otherwise… Often in my travels I encountered more people than I could handle. And I received more letters… than I could possibly answer. At the same time, I saw and read about things going on around me every day that seemed to demand some kind of response… What’s been even more frustrating to watch over the past several years is the incompetence of white leadership… many white leaders have fanned the flames of facial antagonism. All for the same of winning elections, they’ve gone all out to appease a childishly selfish white America, often at the expense of everybody else…
“But demagoguery is not confined to whites. During the recent outbreak of black church burnings across the nation, it was interesting to see how quickly some black leaders insisted that race was the sole motivation for the burnings, even as authorities turned up evidence that some of the fires were started by other blacks. And those church burnings revealed another contradiction that sometimes hampers black progress. We almost always have a swift and powerful reaction to white injustice but we seem to respond much more slowly when we’re victimized by each other. No one can dispute the statistics of black men murdered by other black men, yet black communities have failed to respond accordingly…
“Eventually, it became obvious that I needed to do another book… I wanted to do a book that reflected my PERCEPTIONS about some of the issues that divide people and keep us racially polarized… most of these chapters have one thing in common: They’re related, either directly or indirectly, to race. That underscores my feeling that, as much as some people still like to downplay the role of race in this country, as much as they would prefer to emphasize how much ‘progress’ we’ve made, race remains America’s foremost preoccupation.”
In the first essay (starting out strong, like the famous opening chapter of his first book), he recalls watching a pickup basketball game in a mostly white neighborhood park, and was about to leave, when “a big luxury car cruised up… Inside were five black men … Their smug expressions seemed to say, WE’RE here now. The REAL ballin’ is ‘bout to start… The moment the blacks bopped onto the court to replace the losing team, the innocent game of b-ball ceased to be recreation alone… It took on the weight of a symbolic racial war… the lack newcomers shunned their practice warm-ups and started the game… They ignored defense… and repeatedly tossed up bad shots…Meanwhile, the white boys ran on adrenaline, pumped by fear… the whites took an early lead… the brothers… picked up the pace, playing tougher defense… but it was too late. The whites … rallied desperately to maintain their early lead… Finally, the whites reached twenty-one… But the whites … were afraid to celebrate for fear of being bum-rushed by frustrated black men who’d let their race down. The bloods… were embarrassed that so many people---white people---had seen [them] … slammed, BIG-TIME, at hoops---by WHITE boys, at that. The brothers… drove away… After the brothers were gone---all the white folks out there---broke into a wild celebration… As far as they were concerned, they HAD won a championship… I was glad… that those conceited brothers had lost the match. At the same time, I was annoyed that the white boys had won… For me, the players … acted out a drama that revealed just how much hoops reflects this country’s fixation on color… in America, basketball is a metaphor for race.” (Pg. 4-9)
He observes, “We know that most black men are strong, noble brothers who struggle as hard as anybody else to make the most of a messed-up situation in America… we should be able to accept isolated stories about disturbed or oppressive black men as just that… Instead of being so defensive about negative portrayals of black men, maybe we ought to … ask ourselves, ‘Is this story true in part or in whole?’ If much of what’s written is even partly reflective of our reality, then critics should back off, cool out, and chill.” (Pg. 25)
He suggests, “When I think about the insanity of gangsta rap and consider its powerful influence on our young, I’m haunted by the feeling that for African-Americans, time is running out. When this party is over years from now, when we look back on these times, we’re going to have to answer for why we didn’t rescue our children from themselves.” (Pg. 72-73)
He points out, “it’s black men---not white men----who contend with the notion that they have an almost uncontrollable lust for women of another race… [But] the physical evidence in America---black people in all their various shades---suggests that white men have had a strong appetite for black women. But you don’t get that part of the story … in our history books… I think that’s why most efforts to improve race relations in this country are doomed to fail… because no one requires whites to do their history homework and because America’s leaders rarely challenge whites to confront the truth.” (Pg. 89-90)
He notes, “Where babies are concerned, there’s an unspoken truce between blacks and whites… we presume that children’s naiveté is what makes them color-blind. We assume they’ll learn better in due time. And so when babies have center stage, blacks and whites regard each other more civilly. For the sake of the children, we suspend our animosities and ignore their racial indiscretions as best as we can.” (Pg. 141)
He states, “White fear. Blacks have much more reason to be afraid of whites than they have to be afraid of us. Black fear gets dismissed, but white fear gets attention.” (Pg. 152)
In the concluding essay, he wrote, “More than any other people I’ve seen, black folks believe in redemption. That kind of belief enabled blacks in Alabama to forgive---and then vote for---George Wallace, once an avowed racist who had devoted much of his political career to promoting their misery… that same belief enabled blacks in D.C. to forgive Marion Barry, a crack-smoking politician, for publicly lying about his drug addiction… while vengeful whites clamored for Barry’s head. It’s ironic that in America, whites---who have committed so many unspeakable wrongs against so many others---can be the most unforgiving people of all. There is, I believe, a dangerous arrogance in people who chose not to forgive.” (Pg. 203)
While not as significant as his “Holler” book, this book will still be of great interest to anyone seeking a perceptive African-American view of contemporary American society.
Journalist and author Nathan McCall (born 1955) is lecturer in the Department of African-American Studies at Emory University.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1997 book, “The 1994 publication of ‘Makes Me Wanna Holler’ changed my life in ways, both good and bad, that I couldn’t have imagined. Mainly, the book tour and the lecture circuit that came after it took me all over the country to places I probably never would have visited otherwise… Often in my travels I encountered more people than I could handle. And I received more letters… than I could possibly answer. At the same time, I saw and read about things going on around me every day that seemed to demand some kind of response… What’s been even more frustrating to watch over the past several years is the incompetence of white leadership… many white leaders have fanned the flames of facial antagonism. All for the same of winning elections, they’ve gone all out to appease a childishly selfish white America, often at the expense of everybody else…
“But demagoguery is not confined to whites. During the recent outbreak of black church burnings across the nation, it was interesting to see how quickly some black leaders insisted that race was the sole motivation for the burnings, even as authorities turned up evidence that some of the fires were started by other blacks. And those church burnings revealed another contradiction that sometimes hampers black progress. We almost always have a swift and powerful reaction to white injustice but we seem to respond much more slowly when we’re victimized by each other. No one can dispute the statistics of black men murdered by other black men, yet black communities have failed to respond accordingly…
“Eventually, it became obvious that I needed to do another book… I wanted to do a book that reflected my PERCEPTIONS about some of the issues that divide people and keep us racially polarized… most of these chapters have one thing in common: They’re related, either directly or indirectly, to race. That underscores my feeling that, as much as some people still like to downplay the role of race in this country, as much as they would prefer to emphasize how much ‘progress’ we’ve made, race remains America’s foremost preoccupation.”
In the first essay (starting out strong, like the famous opening chapter of his first book), he recalls watching a pickup basketball game in a mostly white neighborhood park, and was about to leave, when “a big luxury car cruised up… Inside were five black men … Their smug expressions seemed to say, WE’RE here now. The REAL ballin’ is ‘bout to start… The moment the blacks bopped onto the court to replace the losing team, the innocent game of b-ball ceased to be recreation alone… It took on the weight of a symbolic racial war… the lack newcomers shunned their practice warm-ups and started the game… They ignored defense… and repeatedly tossed up bad shots…Meanwhile, the white boys ran on adrenaline, pumped by fear… the whites took an early lead… the brothers… picked up the pace, playing tougher defense… but it was too late. The whites … rallied desperately to maintain their early lead… Finally, the whites reached twenty-one… But the whites … were afraid to celebrate for fear of being bum-rushed by frustrated black men who’d let their race down. The bloods… were embarrassed that so many people---white people---had seen [them] … slammed, BIG-TIME, at hoops---by WHITE boys, at that. The brothers… drove away… After the brothers were gone---all the white folks out there---broke into a wild celebration… As far as they were concerned, they HAD won a championship… I was glad… that those conceited brothers had lost the match. At the same time, I was annoyed that the white boys had won… For me, the players … acted out a drama that revealed just how much hoops reflects this country’s fixation on color… in America, basketball is a metaphor for race.” (Pg. 4-9)
He observes, “We know that most black men are strong, noble brothers who struggle as hard as anybody else to make the most of a messed-up situation in America… we should be able to accept isolated stories about disturbed or oppressive black men as just that… Instead of being so defensive about negative portrayals of black men, maybe we ought to … ask ourselves, ‘Is this story true in part or in whole?’ If much of what’s written is even partly reflective of our reality, then critics should back off, cool out, and chill.” (Pg. 25)
He suggests, “When I think about the insanity of gangsta rap and consider its powerful influence on our young, I’m haunted by the feeling that for African-Americans, time is running out. When this party is over years from now, when we look back on these times, we’re going to have to answer for why we didn’t rescue our children from themselves.” (Pg. 72-73)
He points out, “it’s black men---not white men----who contend with the notion that they have an almost uncontrollable lust for women of another race… [But] the physical evidence in America---black people in all their various shades---suggests that white men have had a strong appetite for black women. But you don’t get that part of the story … in our history books… I think that’s why most efforts to improve race relations in this country are doomed to fail… because no one requires whites to do their history homework and because America’s leaders rarely challenge whites to confront the truth.” (Pg. 89-90)
He notes, “Where babies are concerned, there’s an unspoken truce between blacks and whites… we presume that children’s naiveté is what makes them color-blind. We assume they’ll learn better in due time. And so when babies have center stage, blacks and whites regard each other more civilly. For the sake of the children, we suspend our animosities and ignore their racial indiscretions as best as we can.” (Pg. 141)
He states, “White fear. Blacks have much more reason to be afraid of whites than they have to be afraid of us. Black fear gets dismissed, but white fear gets attention.” (Pg. 152)
In the concluding essay, he wrote, “More than any other people I’ve seen, black folks believe in redemption. That kind of belief enabled blacks in Alabama to forgive---and then vote for---George Wallace, once an avowed racist who had devoted much of his political career to promoting their misery… that same belief enabled blacks in D.C. to forgive Marion Barry, a crack-smoking politician, for publicly lying about his drug addiction… while vengeful whites clamored for Barry’s head. It’s ironic that in America, whites---who have committed so many unspeakable wrongs against so many others---can be the most unforgiving people of all. There is, I believe, a dangerous arrogance in people who chose not to forgive.” (Pg. 203)
While not as significant as his “Holler” book, this book will still be of great interest to anyone seeking a perceptive African-American view of contemporary American society.
June 10, 2017
Done it again!
This book was excellent! Very real and thought-provoking! Mr. McCall is one of the best storytellers of our time in my opinion! I would recommend this to any and everyone because we can all learn something from this!
This book was excellent! Very real and thought-provoking! Mr. McCall is one of the best storytellers of our time in my opinion! I would recommend this to any and everyone because we can all learn something from this!
May 19, 2023
A relatively simple read in which the author expounds the myriad of issues plaguing the black community from his perspective based on personal experience and observation. Was a bit redundant for my liking, primarily bc I was more than familiar with much of what was discussed in text. Everything from black relations within community on a micro-scale to gentrification. However, if someone is looking for practical explanation of said issues and is new to how America has systematically placed blacks at a disadvantage in this nation, this is the book for them.
January 15, 2016
People my age can barely remember that once upon a time, there were black neighborhoods in cities and towns that functioned just like white neighborhoods. Only sometimes better. Whole groups of people knew each other, supported each other, watched over one another's children. They owned homes or rented, had jobs, stayed in school. That didn't evaporate by chance. It evaporated with public policy, relentless propaganda, a political agenda perverted.
McCall details that past and writes about how that past shaped generations but has not been able to hold its own. I am thinking that his work is worth visiting again
McCall details that past and writes about how that past shaped generations but has not been able to hold its own. I am thinking that his work is worth visiting again
Want to Read
January 1, 2009Nathan McCall, gives us his take on current issues that plague society today. He is blunt in his opinion, but yet insightful and provokes individuals to think about matters of concern in a logical and simplistic manner.
August 17, 2009
Although I enjoyed the other two books I've read by Nathan McCall more, there were some select essays in this book that were provocative and thought-provoking. I so appreciate his perspective and life experience.
August 18, 2016
Tell it like it is!
Real and to the point, McCall talks candidly about race class humanity our society and the world we live in from someone who has an opinion. Like a conversation at the barbershop, he was honest and spoke with conviction! A solid read.
Real and to the point, McCall talks candidly about race class humanity our society and the world we live in from someone who has an opinion. Like a conversation at the barbershop, he was honest and spoke with conviction! A solid read.
January 8, 2017
Very well thought out
I Gave What's On 3 star rating.This book is very well written from the heart( as you can feel it as your read). Again took me back to my joys and pain of the 70's.
I Gave What's On 3 star rating.This book is very well written from the heart( as you can feel it as your read). Again took me back to my joys and pain of the 70's.
January 18, 2008
See my blog post on it:
http://gypsylibrarian.blogspot.com/20...
http://gypsylibrarian.blogspot.com/20...
September 6, 2008
i would love to read more by NM
July 11, 2009
entertaining and a little silly.
June 17, 2011
A must-read for African-Americans.
February 1, 2012
very thought provoking book. A must read for every black person, not African-Americans only.
September 20, 2016
Inspirational to men who hope! I need to reread...it's been a while!
July 30, 2008
I was disappointed with the follow up.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews