American Poison: How Racial Hostility Destroyed Our Promise

by Eduardo Porter

A sweeping examination of how American racism has broken the country's social compact, eroded America's common goods, and damaged the lives of every American--and a heartfelt look at how these deep wounds might begin to heal.

Compared to other industrialized nations, the United States is losing ground across nearly every indicator of social health. Its race problem, argues Eduardo Porter, is largely to blame.

In American Poison, the New York Times veteran shows how racial animus has stunted the development of nearly every institution crucial for a healthy society, including organized labor, public education, and the social safety net. The consequences are profound and are only growing graver with time. Leading us through history and across America--from FDR's New Deal through Bill Clinton's welfare reform to Donald Trump's retrograde and divisive policies--Porter pieces together how racial hostility has blocked American social cohesion at every turn, producing a nation that fails not only its black and brown citizens but white Americans as well.

American Poison is at once a broad, rigorous argument, and a profound cri de coeur. Even as it uncovers our most tenacious national pathology, it points the way toward hope, illuminating the ways in which, as the nation becomes increasingly diverse, it may well be possible to construct a new understanding of racial identity--and a more cohesive society on top of it.

Genres: Nonfiction, Race, Politics, History, Social Justice, Sociology, American History

272 pages, Hardcover

First published March 17, 2020

About the author

Eduardo Porter writes about business, economics, and many other matters as a member of the New York Times editorial board. He has also worked as a journalist in Mexico City, Tokyo, London, São Paulo, and Los Angeles. He was the editor of the Brazilian edition of América Economía and covered the Hispanic population of the United States for The Wall Street Journal. He lives in New York.

Reviews

[Leo Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

AMERICAN POISON by Eduardo Porter is a chilling and stone-cold look at how racism is harming ALL Americans, especially the poor, working, and middle-class white people who refuse policies that will help them, taxing billionaires to create services that serve the common good. Why? Because politicians have been hitting the race-baiting lever for centuries.

There was a time this racism was the coin of the realm in Democratic Party politics, which was the party of southern slave holders in 1865 and the Dixiecrats through the 1960s. But after LBJ passed the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts in the mid-60s, the GOP has been appealing to white racial animous to get elected. And using that animous to retard the development of America's safety net and public services which lag every other developed nation in the world.

For Porter, this is not abstract, but personal. He is a mixed-race, half-Mexican/ half-Anglo professional, a Wall Street Journal reporter. He was born in America yet raised in Mexico. So by the measures of racist Americans, he is Mexican... a lingering remnant, he points out, of the south's "single drop" rule, which made offsprings of masters and their slaves also slaves. And since he's bilingual and has a strong identification with his Mexican childhood, by racist whites he's seen as a foreigner. And his children plead with him to not speak Spanish in public, afraid as they are of Proud Boys and other racists.

Strange, because Porter works as a college-educated professional... for a conservative news outlet. And represents everything that makes America great.

This is a very interesting read. I hovered between 4 and 5-stars but dialed it back when considering other books that cover the same material to better effect, like STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING. Compared to that, this is more an opinion-piece, albeit a detailed, fact-based and well-considered opinion-piece, than a great book, IMHO. So I went with 4-stars.

All told, a worthwhile read.

[Maryam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book. I don't feel I need to write a lengthy review, the title speaks for itself.

[John Spiller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written, well-reasoned, but ultimately a little disappointing. Porter posits that the US has perhaps the weakest social safety net of Western industrialized nations due to racism and xenophobia. In his zeal to support his arguments with facts, though, Porter's narrative becomes tangled in the studies and statistics he presents. The resolution of the issues he offers in his conclusion seemed more like a hopeful shrug.

[David Staples · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been spending a few years expanding my view on the state of racial relations in America. I am a mid-40s white man who grew up in a white, Protestant, middle class home. Church. Private school. I learned a filtered history. I saw political stances and events through the lens of Christian Republicanism. It has been startling and heartbreaking to learn the realities of how this country was formed and how it still operates. It has caused me to turn my life upside down to try to correct thing that I can. I’ve changed my career. I’m attending law school to give myself opportunities.

Books like this spur me onward, while further breaking my heart. The amount of research in this book, the examples and studies, is impressive. The issue of racism is truly a poison in America, and one that has been present for centuries. Own of the most startling comments in the book - one that is a main theme - is “white Americans decided that if everyone had to have this benefit, then no one should have it.” What a petty and evil mindset! But it decided policy on housing, education, government assistance, health insurance. And it answers the question of why whites who could benefit from some of these same policies do not use them.

As with many of these books, I wish there was some suggestions on what to do going forward. I know that many authors are still trying to convince people this is a real problem. I’ve read and observed enough to know it is. So I’m hoping the next wave of books will give more advice on what to do. But this books would rank right up there as far are eye-opening, but-wrenching books to wake people up.

[Jenny Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Porter writes a well-researched argument that the history of the politics of welfare (understood broadly) in the United States has been repeatedly directed and shaped by American racism. The pattern that emerges is one in which Americans with current political and economic power (i.e., whites, and specifically white males—and Porter does note how the definition of whiteness has shifted in America as various ethnic groups historically assimilate as they gain economic power) would rather vote for people and policies they think will preserve their power against the onslaught of an ethnic and racial other, specifically when that other is perceived as undermining the original group's economic power. Porter argues that in voting for policies that strip away at the social support networks for the economically and educationally disadvantaged, white Americans have unwittingly propagated policies that also damage the ability of poor white Americans to find economic/social/political/educational success.

It's a depressing read, in part because the problems are systemic and seem to resist change at every turn. But if you are interested in the history of race in America, and particularly in how that history has affected a specific set of social and political policies (i.e., if you're interested in the intersection of questions of poverty and questions of race), then this is an excellent resource.

[Katie Bruell · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've read The New Jim Crow, The Color of Law, and The Case for Reparations (the article), much of this book will be old news to you. However, it still contains some new ideas, or a new perspective on how America lost its empathy and how racial hostility on the part of whites has damned our future. A pretty grim read, though the last chapter tries to offer some rays of hope.

[Ernest Haiat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinaria reflexión de los efectos que ha generado el racismo en Estados Unidos y en el mundo. Sin duda, los sentimientos xenofóbicos han sido la razón de muchas guerras y probablemente lo que no destina como humanidad a avanzar más lento de lo que deberíamos.

[Annelie · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who wants to familiarize themselves with the reasons behind America's weak social safety net, Porter's American Poison is a great place to start. Porter also mentions relevant scholars such as Alesina, Glaeser , and Gilens, and incorporates their arguments.

[Juan Jacobo Bernal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found Porter’s books edifying yet not quite a page-turner. Could be a simple matter of his style not being entirely compatible with mine. Then again, this tome is densely packed with data and I feel that it could have benefited by a personal supporting narrative. For instance, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ The Case for Reparations hits that sweet spot.

Porter is not shy about letting the readers know about his socio-political background. I also consider myself a left-leaning individual – especially in social matters. But at times Porter’s opinions felt a bit flip. A case in point is his discussion about the 14th Amendment. Which, I know, is a contested matter even between experts in the left.

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this Kindle book in a Goodreads giveaway. This book contained information I already knew, as well as new (to me) information. The book was very well researched, but unfortunately the author's points were bogged down by what felt like a litany of statistics. My overall reaction is that this book is worthwhile, but dry.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eduardo Porter makes valid points on racism and classism but this book should've been titled

American Poison: How Racial Hostility Delays Our Promise because I don't think he's lost hope, with good reason. We are seeing a revolution in racial awareness and I hope there's more to come in November.

[Karin Mika · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not a very new premise acknowledging how racial hatred has decimated society for everyone; it is just getting so exhausting having to recognize that it keeps replaying itself in different ways. Porter raises all kinds of interesting points that everyone should know: when you try to prohibit those different from you from achieving prosperity, you are only wrecking your own community and/or or country. As Porter points out, we need everyone's prosperity to pay for things such as public schools and our social security and Medicare. Now that pure white people are becoming the minority, all prejudice has done has ensured that there won't be enough money to fund the social systems that the older white folks will need to rely on for their own welfare.

It's not an earth shattering realization that people most always take their prejudices into account when making their political choices (rather than looking at the big picture). As a species, we do tend to prefer stratification and caste systems. We have a hard time accepting those different from ourselves, and all of us like to feel that we are in some way better than others. It happens in our employment, and it happens in our communities. Porter points out that this mindset is a world problem, and not a United States problem. In fact, he points out that despite the nationalistic/racial hatred that is so prevalent now in the U.S., we still seem to be more tolerant than most other countries are. And that's really too bad. Improving racial harmony seems an unwinnable war. Just as soon as we solve one issue, we cause another and then seemingly move back to square one (like an Obama presidency causing many to think we had achieved racial justice and equality).

Porter also made some points about the U.S. system of government and values that were sad, but true. He said that (some) U.S. politicians almost take pride in depriving segments of our society of worth or a social safety net, and that too many Americans value that as an appropriate American value. He said that despite our being better than other countries where toleration was concerned, the United States was never about "anyone" being able to succeed, but only some. That's sort of difficult to hear, but it is true. The gifted and advantaged would have had the opportunity for success in the United States even if they didn't have the same advantage in their home countries. The immigrants post World War II fell within an unusual time period because their work was needed to retool the industries in the country.

However, the ordinary workers, especially minorities, were always fungible and never thought to have deserved a helping hand. The only difference between now and the "good ol' days" when we thought we were evolving as a country is that a Trump presidency has allowed many to say what they truly feel about others being able to get a piece of the pie.

[NCHS Library]

Publisher's Description: A sweeping examination of how American racism has broken the country's social compact, eroded America's common goods, and damaged the lives of every American--and a heartfelt look at how these deep wounds might begin to heal.

Compared to other industrialized nations, the United States is losing ground across nearly every indicator of social health. Its race problem, argues Eduardo Porter, is largely to blame.

In American Poison, the New York Times veteran shows how racial animus has stunted the development of nearly every institution crucial for a healthy society, including organized labor, public education, and the social safety net. The consequences are profound and are only growing graver with time. Leading us through history and across America--from FDR's New Deal through Bill Clinton's welfare reform to Donald Trump's retrograde and divisive policies--Porter pieces together how racial hostility has blocked American social cohesion at every turn, producing a nation that fails not only its black and brown citizens but white Americans as well.

American Poison is at once a broad, rigorous argument, and a profound cri de coeur. Even as it uncovers our most tenacious national pathology, it points the way toward hope, illuminating the ways in which, as the nation becomes increasingly diverse, it may well be possible to construct a new understanding of racial identity--and a more cohesive society on top of it.

En Español:
Un examen profundo de cómo el racismo ha roto el pacto social, erosionado el bien común y dañado las vidas de todos los estadounidenses; un análisis sincero de cómo estas profundas heridas pueden comenzar a sanar.

Si se compara con otras naciones industrializadas, Estados Unidos está perdiendo terreno en casi todos los indicadores de bienestar social. Eduardo Porter sostiene que esto se debe, en gran medida, al problema racial.

En El precio del racismo Porter, periodista veterano del New York Times, muestra cómo la animadversión racial ha paralizado gran parte de las instituciones clave de una sociedad sana, incluyendo los sindicatos, la educación pública y la red de seguridad social, y cómo las profundas consecuencias se hacen cada día más graves. A través de un repaso de la historia reciente –desde el New Deal de Frankin D. Roosvelt, y las reformas de Bill Clinton o Barack Obama, hasta la política divisiva de Donald Trump— Porter argumenta cómo la hostilidad racial ha bloqueado en cada paso la cohesión social, dando lugar a un país que no solo falla a sus ciudadanos de color, sino a todos, incluidos los blancos.

Análisis riguroso del pasado y llamada de atención para el futuro, en El precio del racismo Eduardo Porter señala también el camino para un futuro esperanzador en el que, en una sociedad cada día más diversa, sea posible construir un nuevo entendimiento de la identidad racial y una sociedad más unida.

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly more timely than its author could have envisioned, American Poison: How Racial Hostility Destroyed Our Promise is a thoughtful, well-researched book that answers the question, how did we get here? How, exactly, does a country as prosperous as the U.S. end up with such poor measures of social health and cohesion? (Note that I received an advance reading copy through Goodreads' Giveaways in exchange for a review.)

The core idea of American Poison is expressed midway through chapter one, when author Eduardo Porter states that "this book proposes that racial hostility is, indeed, what blocked the construction of an American social welfare state." He later writes: "Racial divisions haven't merely stood in the way of class consciousness; they have blocked solidarity writ large. The great paradox of the American experience is how its exceptional diversity--ethnic and racial, religious and linguistic--a well of inexhaustible vim and unparalleled creativity, has also stunted its development as a nation."

In sobering detail, Porter examines how racial tensions have been exploited by bad actors to stunt the nation's institutions and social safety net, ultimately harming Americans of all races and ethnicities. He makes his case for why large welfare programs' "broad economic and social benefits exceed their costs" and how the U.S., by refusing to fully support such programs, has effectively cut off its nose to spite its face. "A social safety net to protect the vulnerable offers many positive spillovers that benefit all citizens in a society," he argues, providing many examples of this effect for consideration.

Porter backs up his thesis with data from a wide variety of reputable sources. Although the sheer number of statistics is occasionally overwhelming, they are in the service of an important subject that deserves such academic rigor.

In the book's final chapter, Porter wrestles with how the U.S. can progress from its current, fractured state. He avoids giving any easy answers, but argues that "a century worth of experimentation has yielded a formidable arsenal of tools to build a more inclusive society." Yet he also clearly recognizes that the will to use these tools has been lacking.

Despite its difficult subject matter, American Poison is a brisk, informative and important read.

[Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spotted this at the library's new additions and thought it would be an interesting read, especially (and sadly) in light of recent events. Porter looks at the history of the US and various movements, policies, laws and demonstrates how racism and racial hostility has kept the country from ever truly becoming a "United" States as it were.

Overall, I didn't think there was really anything "new" that Porter could really tell us. He may have framed it differently in statistics and numbers but much of what he has been discussing has been part of ongoing discussions on what President Biden should be tackling first, what are some of the core issues, how we got to having someone like Donald Trump in the White House, etc.

I do agree with many that overall there are other works that handle this information better and are not so bogged down in statistics, nor is it, well, so boring. I realize the points he was trying to make and maybe it's because I'm not someone who needs convincing but the text was a pretty tough read.

Was it an important read? Yes. Is it the best book on the subject? I don't think so, but I can also see this book popping up in classes and may work better as part of a class setting or read in tandem with other books as supplements.

Library borrow and that was best for me.

[Susan Flieder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an important and well-researched book to help explain how our seemingly wonderful country has ended up where we have - leaving so many disadvantaged Americans without a safety net solely because having one would have required us to include those with black and brown skin. The rich get richer while the poor become destitute. I was hoping that the author would have recommendations for going forward, but it seemed as if he felt as hopeless as I do given the trajectory of things these days, now complicated with the economic and health consequences of our country's failure to act quickly and decisively at the start of, or even now during, the current health crisis.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 3.5. Short, occasionally a bit dry, and I probably would have liked it better if I hadn't read books that cover similar topics, like Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland. But there is some interesting information in here that I hadn't known before- like that California's subpar public schools are largely a result of Pete Wilson's racist policies in the 90s and persist to this day.

[Merceda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had a depressing ending. I was hoping for a more positive ending, but he states that things won't get better under his philosophy. It was an interesting book. Again, it points out that the uneducated whites are demeaning themselves by taking away all acts of kindness toward the blacks or minorities and yet the whites are the ones on food stamps and government handouts at a higher rate than the blacks and minorities. Stupid is as stupid does... Desegregated schools help the minorities, but the whites don't want that at all. Hence, the charter schools and "Christian" schools.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Racism has consistently made this country less than it otherwise could be. By not capitalizing on the human potential of all our citizens, we have lost the benefits of their contributions. Of course, racists believe that all people are not capable of contributing. This is bogus. Or, more accurately, since they are unable to engage fully in American endeavors, there is no way to know.
The author is not optimistic about changing American reality. There are plenty of racist young people. And a racist president. When white people are the minority, how will we function? Who knows?

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - a well written, compelling account of how racism is why the US can't have nice things. Porter weaves together different strands to paint a more cohesive picture of how racial division has led to and continues to be the reason why the US has such a weak social safety net which consequently screws over its citizens. The book has a fairly pessimistic view in that he doesn't believe that the country becoming more diverse (i.e., an increasing racial minority population) will necessarily lead to overcoming such divisions, nor does he offer any possible solutions.

[Wood Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Explains the deepest roots of why American has been divided by race and class so heavily with copious amounts of literature to support it. Most of these concepts I had a loose grasp on from growing up but seeing them explained in the way they are gives me a new understanding of this country. I especially enjoyed and learned from the segment explaining how the democrats lost the south and poor white union workers through racism. Enjoyed is not the right word but it is something I have never understood and simple racism combined with a misinterpretation of class does it pretty smoothly.

[Miguel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading through this I didn’t encounter any moments of disagreement with the author regarding race in the US – at the same time there weren’t too many new pieces of history uncovered or ideas introduced. Still, it’s a pretty solid work and would be great recommendation for a young person around grade 10 and up. For others familiar with the topics discussed there’s not a huge amount of new data here. 3 or 4 star.

[Patrick Macke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utterly fascinating and painfully relevant; impeccably researched with insightful statistics on virtually every page ... the conclusions are grim and it's hard not to walk away from this book saying, "we (Americans) are so totally screwed" ... it's nearly impossible to disagree with the theories/facts presented here, yet it's very easy to hear the denials ... we simply need to chip away, one human being at a time and hope the social programs and civility prevail

[Lauren Zonnefeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m constantly learning and being exposed to the ignorance that has clouded my view of the States. And enlightening book that actually has me fuming because of what my government has done to my fellow inhabitants of this land. I
Continuing to educate myself and open my eyes to racism has me feeling ashamed of the ignorance that I’ve lived with for so long.

[John Kissell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable, journalistic look at how race has factored, to the detriment of the U.S., in various policy realms (housing, education, health, etc.). I don't know that there is much new information, but Eduardo Porter neatly chronicles the gap between America's aspirations and American's actions, and convincingly lays the blame for the chasm on racism.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful look at the repercussions of racism on American society and culture. That we have forgotten about our self-interest and welfare to maintain a racist society. Sometimes grim (welfare reform, criminal system Reagan, Clinton, and Trump), although he also does look at ways we could do better.

[SJ L · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important book that confronts an uncomfortable issue.

I take issue with the word “destroyed” in the title. Both its use in the past tense and its use as a verb. “How Racial Hostility Challenges Our Promise” is a more accurate (but less catchy) title.

Quotes
All of a sudden the fear of immigrants that was lying dormant in America’s subconscious propelled Trump to the presidency. It may change the United States for good. 4
The 2,584 counties that Trump won in 2016 generated only 26% of the nation’s GDP…they include most of rural and small-town America - depopulated, aging, in seemingly terminal decline. The 472 counties that voted for Hilary Clinton, by contrast, accounted for 64% of America’s economic output. 4
The mix of contempt and resentment across frontiers of religion, race, ethnicity, and citizenship that anchored Trump’s seduction of sixty-three million voters has distorted American politics since the birth of the nation. It defines who we are. 5
The great paradox of the American experience is how its exceptional diversity - ethnic and racial, religious and linguistic - a well of inexhaustible vim and unparalleled creativity, has also stunted its development as a nation. It has shaped the most meager social safety net in the club of advanced nationals. And it has paralyzed its politics, bringing policy making to a standstill. 39
Half a century after the Civil Rights Act, income inequality between racial groups has not budged, it will be difficult to build a nation of shared purpose on such a lopsided distribution of opportunity. 46
Hispanics are somewhat of a fiction. You can’t find them outside the United States. Outside the United States there are Mexicans and Ecuadorians and Salvadorians. They share some traits: Spanish, a common experience of colonization by Spain, the long, overbearing presence of the Roman Catholic Church. But they do not amount to a coherent collective. Like “Latin America,” the terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” are labels designed by non-Latinos to manufacture a collective. 95
Hispanics in the United States have a different origin. We are the product of America's unremitting passion for ethnic categorization. Passion for ethnic categorization. American businesses, politicians, and government officials needed a name for a set of people who were different from both whites and blacks. They wanted a drawer in which to put us - to count us, to sell us stuff, maybe to understand us, whatever “us” means. 95
Blacks and Latinos across urban America still contemplate each other predominantly as competitors for scarce resources, economic, political, and social. In Southern California, any impetus for interethnic solidarity must view with the competition for jobs and affordable housing. 101
Whites believe the government helps minorities over them. Every group shares this belief. Blacks and Hispanics believe the American government mostly helps whites, not people like themselves, according to the poll. People in both minority groups see themselves on the “giving” side of the “givers vs. takers” question, and put whites on the “takers” end. Whites’ biases matter more, however. They hold political power. 130
92% of the students enrolled in Baltimore’s public schools are people of color. It has served them badly. Some 4,000 students of the 6,500-strong class of 2004 managed to graduate from high school. Six years later, 434 had obtained a four-year college degree. Another 86 had finished a two-year program at a community college. For the rest, education failed. 135
The academic achievement gap between the rich and the poor has grown bigger than that between blacks and whites…higher education is increasingly the preserve of the elite…the poor half mostly end up in community college. 60% of students in community college come from families earning less than $65,000 a year. In community college, their American dream mostly dies: One study by the Department of Education tracked students entering community college in 2004. After six years, one in three had obtained some degrees, 18% were still at it, and 46% had dropped out…Socioeconomic disadvantage translates more directly into poor educational performance in the United States than is the case in many other countries. 136
In 2012 more than 8 in 10 college educated women between the ages of 40-45 were married. Among white women in this group holding at most a high school certificate, the marriage rate was closer to ⅔. Among less educated black women it was less than half. 140
What broke the American family was the collapse of a labor market that had for decades enabled men with nothing more than a high school certificate to provide. 140
In the first decade of the twenty-first century, people in rural, suburban, and urban areas were all about equally likely to go to prison. Today, people in small, overwhelmingly white rural counties are some 50% more likely to go to prison than people in urban America. 145
Can Americans [note, all people have racial mistrust, not just Americans. The thing is our country is far more racially diverse than elsewhere.] overcome their racial mistrust to build a semblance of a cohesive society? To do so will require restoring empathy [social media kills empathy] to that place in the American heart that has been colonized by loathing and fear. 164

[Daniel Farabaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a disturbing indictment of the lack of a social safety net in America. But, it is a necessary read and eye opening. It gives a good starting point to a discussion of how we can overcome the racism that hurts both white and non-white Americans.

[Jan Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a GoodReads Giveaway. While it is a dry read, it conveys important information about how the racial divide (including LatinX) has harmed all Americans. Especially engaging were the author’s stories of how US policies affected him whether living at home or abroad.

[Aloysius · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dark and sobering look at how racism screws over just about every attempt to form a functioning safety net in the United States.