Yo' Mama's Disfunktional! fighting the culture wars in urban america

by Robin D.G. Kelley

Examines how scholars, activists, policy makers, and displaced working people have made sense of the contemporary ghetto

Genres: Race, Nonfiction, Sociology, Cultural Studies, Social Justice, Pop Culture, Urban Studies

225 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Robin Davis Gibran Kelley is an American historian and academic, who is the Gary B. Nash Professor of American History at UCLA.

Reviews

[Ruthie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an awesome read this is. It moves fluidly from the beginnings of grafitti and break dancing to prostitution in the context of capitalism. I absolutely love it. A funny, brilliant scholar who is not out to jargon the crap out you.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robin D. G. Kelley has instilled in me a renewed hope for radial social progress & equality in this country. This book is thorough, comprehensive, and constructively critical of the very product of its creation: the academy.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was overall interesting and gives a nice take on the issue of class and Blackness by bridging the everyday lives of black people to the direction of academic work studying black people (including that which attempts to "post-racialize" academia). Nonetheless, it got a bit dry toward the last third of the book because it felt excessively academic, as if the reader knew nothing about labor history in the USA or the reader couldn't possibly have a sophisticated understanding of labor and race from their own experiences. The last chapter also kind of comes out of nowhere and didn't address topics I expected it to cover in light of the chapter title and the reviews on the book cover.

If I had to identify the strongest and weakest aspects of this book, I'd say the critique of neoliberalism in the academy being masked as postmodernism is the book's best feature, specifically with Kelley's first and final two chapters. The weakest point ironically is probably the book's failure to address, in a practical sense, how any of this matters to Black working and poor people seeing as Kelley concedes that culture is relevant to resistance in this racialized class structure. Specifically, I expected Kelley to address the issue of how Black youth matter beyond filling some union roster, but he seemed to trust that cross cultural organizing works without taking seriously the conditions under which it can benefit all marginalized people, rather than leaving Black people high and dry (as has often, dare I say traditionally, been the case).

Overall, good read, probably best fit for grad students or undergrads since it seems to speak mostly to academic culture. I don't think reading the ENTIRE book is nearly as useful for organizing on the ground.

[Paris · Rating 4 out of 5]

honestly never finished, wish there was more of the Black woman perspective considering the title

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two chapters provide some thoughtful insights and perspectives of black culture that I had not heard before. Unfortunately, chapters 4 and 5 devolve into a literature review of books I have not read and some jargon that I did not understand. The epilogue seemed far-fetched and stuck in academia.

The author makes too many assertions that are not supported. Several times, he cites the futility or limitations of self-help ideology without reasonable support. Even the chapter devoted to the presentation of this assertion (chapter 3) is, at best, a brief history of minority labor in the US with some anecdotal (unconvincing) evidence.

But, there are plenty of good thoughts presented in the first three chapters.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

there were a few paragraphs that were simply amazing. but the book didn't really flow very well (the first and last chapters seemed to be from different projects). the chapter where he talked about intersectional organizing felt dated (it was all 1996) and it felt like it would have made a better article than a book chapter. a lot of it felt like stuff i already knew-- i'd recommend it to someone younger.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kelley takes a seemingly conventional radical stance on Urban Politics and Race Politics. My main criticism of his book is also noted in the forward of updated editions -- Kelley is full of vitriol without praise or acknowledgment for the accomplishments of black culture.

I found the economic chapters particularly boring but the cultural/anthropological chapters particularly fascinating.

[alice · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't get past the 1st chapter. Partly because too laden with academic jargon, partly because I have already read too many books in this genre and think (correctly or not) that I can predict the arguments.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An articulate expression of anger at the portrayal of urban black America as culturally dysfunctional in American academia, politics, and media. Looks at urban issues through the lens of resistance and cultural expression. Rejects the use of white middle-class values in evaluating black culture.

[rhea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed many pieces of it, it was interesting. Some arguments, though, were very predictable for me. All in all though it was one of the more interesting books I've had to read in this genre for school.

[Jeanne T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dense but very good observations thus far on culture and "urban anthropology?"

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read some of this a number of years ago and then lost my copy.
I re-bought it but have never gotten around to rereading it.

[Maile · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is really smart, in a lot of parts. Except it's also really stupid about gender and women and that makes it really disappointing.

[april fulstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sociological and historical analysis of the state of the African-American urban community--very anti-conservative

[sonny singh suchdev · Rating 4 out of 5]

highly entertaining and super thought provoking.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

best fuckin book even tho i never read

[Orlando · Rating 4 out of 5]

He was my academic advisor in Grad school and one of the most impressive minds I have ever met. Brother Kelley breaks it down I highly recommend it.