White Boy: A Memoir

by Mark D. Naison

How does a Jewish boy who spent the bulk of his youth on the basketball courts of Brooklyn wind up teaching in one of the city's pioneering black studies department? This memoir speaks to the ways in which political commitments emerge from and are infused with the personal choices we all make.

Genres: History

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2002

Reviews

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting account of a life in NYC focusing on the changes of the 1950, 60s and 70s. Naison is a professor of African American history at Fordham University who grew up in Brooklyn and went to university at Columbia and lived in many different worlds: middle-class striving families; radical, interracial communities; jock culture; academia. This isn't just an account of the events of his life and the world around him, but an account of attempts to change the world and an assessment of which methods worked (at least for a time) and which didn't.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really glad that I bought this book. Heard the author, Professor Mark Naison at Clare's very first weekend at Fordham University, in late August 2003. He delivered a lecture as part of an optional program for parents. His memoir is a fascinating account of his coming of age in a culturally diverse neighborhood where he finds himself caught between the growing racism of his Jewish parents and the connection he feels with his urban black friends. He is a pioneer in the development of Afro-American studies as an accepted college discipline and faces conflict and lack of acceptance from both his white colleagues outside the department and black colleagues & students within the department. He describes the challenges of an inter-racial relationship and the decisions he faced as a member of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and later as a member of their even more radical off-shoot, the Weathermen. Reading Professor Naison's memoir reminded and reinforced with me why Fordham University was such an incredible choice for my daughter, Clare and what a wonderful learning environment it offers its students. Highly recommend.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This man is my teacher. Being a student at Fordham University and taking a class by Mark Naison has been of the most amazing classroom experiences of my life. His story is unique, visceral, and never preachy--just honest. Apart from his clean, direct writing style and his amazing story, he is one of the most animated, fun-loving, passionate people I have ever encountered. Not to mention the fact that he teaches using music and has us chant f-u-c-k during lectures. Read this book and you'll absolutely understand his struggle and his amazing strength in transforming African-American studies at Fordham and in his own personal life. This book brings the Sixties alive like nothing else and will completely change your ideas the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements during the Sixties and Seventies. It's pure inspiration. I hope I get an A :)

[Damon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it very interesting although I was more keen to learn about his time as an educator at Fordham University and how he navigated the racial politics of being a white teacher in the building of the African American Studies Program there.