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Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America
Instead of one black America, today there are four.
“There was a time when there were agreed-upon 'black leaders,' when there was a clear 'black agenda,' when we could talk confidently about 'the state of black America'—but not anymore.” —from Disintegration
The African American population in the United States has always been seen as a single entity: a “Black America” with unified interests and needs. In his groundbreaking book, Disintegration, Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist Eugene Robinson argues that over decades of desegregation, affirmative action, and immigration, the concept of Black America has shattered. Instead of one black America, now there are four:
• a Mainstream middle-class majority with a full ownership stake in American society;
• a large, Abandoned minority with less hope of escaping poverty and dysfunction than at any time since Reconstruction’s crushing end;
• a small Transcendent elite with such enormous wealth, power, and influence that even white folks have to genuflect;
• and two newly Emergent groups—individuals of mixed-race heritage and communities of recent black immigrants—that make us wonder what “black” is even supposed to mean.
Robinson shows that the four black Americas are increasingly distinct, separated by demography, geography, and psychology. They have different profiles, different mindsets, different hopes, fears, and dreams. What’s more, these groups have become so distinct that they view each other with mistrust and apprehension. And yet all are reluctant to acknowledge division.
Disintegration offers a new paradigm for understanding race in America, with implications both hopeful and dispiriting. It shines necessary light on debates about affirmative action, racial identity, and the ultimate question of whether the black community will endure.
“There was a time when there were agreed-upon 'black leaders,' when there was a clear 'black agenda,' when we could talk confidently about 'the state of black America'—but not anymore.” —from Disintegration
The African American population in the United States has always been seen as a single entity: a “Black America” with unified interests and needs. In his groundbreaking book, Disintegration, Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist Eugene Robinson argues that over decades of desegregation, affirmative action, and immigration, the concept of Black America has shattered. Instead of one black America, now there are four:
• a Mainstream middle-class majority with a full ownership stake in American society;
• a large, Abandoned minority with less hope of escaping poverty and dysfunction than at any time since Reconstruction’s crushing end;
• a small Transcendent elite with such enormous wealth, power, and influence that even white folks have to genuflect;
• and two newly Emergent groups—individuals of mixed-race heritage and communities of recent black immigrants—that make us wonder what “black” is even supposed to mean.
Robinson shows that the four black Americas are increasingly distinct, separated by demography, geography, and psychology. They have different profiles, different mindsets, different hopes, fears, and dreams. What’s more, these groups have become so distinct that they view each other with mistrust and apprehension. And yet all are reluctant to acknowledge division.
Disintegration offers a new paradigm for understanding race in America, with implications both hopeful and dispiriting. It shines necessary light on debates about affirmative action, racial identity, and the ultimate question of whether the black community will endure.
254 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
February 17, 2011
First I'd like to say IMO, the book was written well. A quick read w/o much fluff. Each detail provided insight into African American culture and self identity.
Disintegration summed up in one sentence is a comparison between those that have and those that have not in the African American community.
In this book African Americans are placed into four categories: Transcendent, Mainstream, Emergent, and Abandoned. Example of these would be:
Transcendent: Oprah Winfrey, Obamas, Robert Johnson etc.
Mainstream: Middle Class Blacks
Emergent: Foreign Born Blacks
Abandoned: Blacks living, near or below the poverty level
There is no secret that African Americans have suffered for their own actions from time to time. But, hasn't every culture at one point in time or another?
Robinson suggest several reason for such stifling poverty among the abandoned; but, ultimately settles on poor choice as the reason that so many Blacks have been left behind. I disagree somewhat with this statement but won't go into it here.
What this book does do is offer rich informative insight into a people that is mostly played out as gangsta, thugs and their hoes throughout the media world.
I think this book is our coming out party. It say hello world we are here and tho we have poverty among the ranks we also have 916 billion dollars a year worth of spending power.
I would highly recommend this book to grade school kids for social studies. It's an easy read and short in length. It offers enough information to keep it interesting without boring you to death.
Disintegration summed up in one sentence is a comparison between those that have and those that have not in the African American community.
In this book African Americans are placed into four categories: Transcendent, Mainstream, Emergent, and Abandoned. Example of these would be:
Transcendent: Oprah Winfrey, Obamas, Robert Johnson etc.
Mainstream: Middle Class Blacks
Emergent: Foreign Born Blacks
Abandoned: Blacks living, near or below the poverty level
There is no secret that African Americans have suffered for their own actions from time to time. But, hasn't every culture at one point in time or another?
Robinson suggest several reason for such stifling poverty among the abandoned; but, ultimately settles on poor choice as the reason that so many Blacks have been left behind. I disagree somewhat with this statement but won't go into it here.
What this book does do is offer rich informative insight into a people that is mostly played out as gangsta, thugs and their hoes throughout the media world.
I think this book is our coming out party. It say hello world we are here and tho we have poverty among the ranks we also have 916 billion dollars a year worth of spending power.
I would highly recommend this book to grade school kids for social studies. It's an easy read and short in length. It offers enough information to keep it interesting without boring you to death.
January 17, 2011
When I first started reading this book – I thought to myself – who was this book written for – thinking that most black (if not all) know we are not monolithic, and the information at the beginning of the book was something that is known, so was thinking this book was probably written for a non-black audience. But, as I read on – I changed my mind as in this book Eugene Robinson convinced me this is a book for all people and depending on which group was reading/discussing the book – they would probably focus on different aspects of the book to discuss – but there is much food for thought.
I thought the value of the book is – Recording what is known and give a baseline to either fine tune/validate/refine the current view of Black American and how can this knowledge be used to help understand how we proceed in this changing American society.
I liked how Robinson wove his personal history and the history/events of pre-Civil Rights Black American to help inform how Black America has changed from “one” into the “four”.
This was a quick read due mainly to Robinson’s writing style that flowed easily from one concept to the next and was able to concisely state his points.
I thought the value of the book is – Recording what is known and give a baseline to either fine tune/validate/refine the current view of Black American and how can this knowledge be used to help understand how we proceed in this changing American society.
I liked how Robinson wove his personal history and the history/events of pre-Civil Rights Black American to help inform how Black America has changed from “one” into the “four”.
This was a quick read due mainly to Robinson’s writing style that flowed easily from one concept to the next and was able to concisely state his points.
March 10, 2023
Incredibly insightful with an intriguing conclusion. His section of “black normalcy” halfway through the book was paradigm shifting. One of those paragraphs that will forever change the way I see the world. Excellent book. I only wish the conclusion (which was thought provoking) was as nuanced as the rest of the book.
May 14, 2012
This book should be read and digested by all, as it is important to everyone of every political influence and economic state. Although at times this book transcends time, crossing 50+ years betwixt two paragraphs, I still found the basis of the information to be thought provoking. I must agree, “no one belongs to the black community” because there isn’t really one. Black America, according the book is divided into four groups:
1. The Mainstream majority: everyday strivers committed to making it within the system, the majority of us.
2. The Transcendent elite: the super minority- think Jack & Jill, the Linx...Oprah;
3. The Abandoned minority: group sadly caught in the vortex of urban pathology; deeply trapped in poverty- think the MS Delta, Barryfarms in DC; and
4. The Emergent groups: mixed-race Americans, recent black immigrants- succeeding like ever before because of their ambition.
Although I originally purchased this book solely out of curiosity, after finishing it, I have to say that it is probably one of the best books that I’ve read this year.
1. The Mainstream majority: everyday strivers committed to making it within the system, the majority of us.
2. The Transcendent elite: the super minority- think Jack & Jill, the Linx...Oprah;
3. The Abandoned minority: group sadly caught in the vortex of urban pathology; deeply trapped in poverty- think the MS Delta, Barryfarms in DC; and
4. The Emergent groups: mixed-race Americans, recent black immigrants- succeeding like ever before because of their ambition.
Although I originally purchased this book solely out of curiosity, after finishing it, I have to say that it is probably one of the best books that I’ve read this year.
December 21, 2020
Robinson details how "Black America" is now composed of four different groups. The Abandoned (which are the generational poor), The Mainstream (your typical Black middle class), the Transcendent (the wealthy black people, from Obama to Oprah to Lebron James) and the Emergent (African immigrants and biracial).
I hope discussion of these different groups, which I believe is 100% accurate, gains more traction. It aligns with the ADOS movement. Each group now experiences America differently.
I hope discussion of these different groups, which I believe is 100% accurate, gains more traction. It aligns with the ADOS movement. Each group now experiences America differently.
October 6, 2020
EXCELLENT - thought provoking read....
September 24, 2022
I found Robinson's work exceptionally helpful as a sweeping overview of cultural/societal developments among black people in America in the past 150+ years. It is clear, accessible, and compelling as one would expect from a book written by a gifted journalist. My only real quibble with it is that it feels somewhat dated already (published in 2010) given the significant racial events and tensions that have happened in America since it was published. But that does not subtract from what Robinson set to accomplish and accomplished well.
January 26, 2011
There is no "black America" any more says Eugene Robinson, Pulitzer-prize-winning Washington Post writer and MSNBC commentator. In the days of Jim Crow and widespread discrimination it didn't matter whether a black person had a PhD and taught at Stanford University or dropped out of high school and worked as a domestic, all black people were in danger of insult and even violence.
In the last 40 years this has changed, and for some African Americans it has changed dramatically. The black community is a community no longer in the way that it was when Oprah was a hosting a local Tennessee radio show, Barack Obama was a toddler, and Tiger Woods was a newborn. Black Americans, according to Robinson, can now be divided into four categories.
The Transcendent are those like Condaleeza Rice, Colin Powell, and Obama who are richer or more powerful than any of us, black or white. The Mainstream are more than a third of black Americans who are now in the middle class, well educated, and earning above the median.
Robinson's Emergent category includes native blacks who are pulling away from their background of poverty and succeeding in school and in the employment world, heading for Mainstream status. The second category of Emergent comprises immigrant blacks from Africa and the Caribbean. Black immigrants to the US are the best educated, hold the most degrees, and most likely to be professionals in their native land. Ethiopians and Eritreans in the DC area are an example of such a group whose children are attending Ivy League schools, winning Rhodes Scholarships, and becoming the stars of their generation.
The last category is the 25 percent of blacks whom he calls the Abandoned, those who remained behind in what were once flourishing black areas like U Street in DC, Sweet Auburn in Atlanta, and prosperous all-black neighborhoods in Detroit, Chicago, and most other American cities.
When discrimination eased those African Americans who could afford it moved to integrated suburbs, leaving behind those who could not afford to move. The once lively neighborhoods became wastelands of vacant lots, boarded up buildings, and pervasive crime and the residents left tended to be single mothers and their children and old people. Drugs, failing schools, teenage pregnancies, gangs, and every other sort of disfunction made it increasingly difficult for the Abandoned to better their lot.
Robinson backs up his categorization with statistics and some personal experience and I think he is perceptive about the lives of African Americans today. He explains clearly the irony that increasing opportunities for black Americans have had the effect of leaving some blacks behind with little hope or ambition. His solution to the problems of the Abandoned tend to large government assistance programs and continued affirmative action, most of which I disagree with, but most of Robinson's book is analysis and perceptive analysis at that.
2011 No 15
Coming soon: The Empty Mirror by J Sydney Jones
In the last 40 years this has changed, and for some African Americans it has changed dramatically. The black community is a community no longer in the way that it was when Oprah was a hosting a local Tennessee radio show, Barack Obama was a toddler, and Tiger Woods was a newborn. Black Americans, according to Robinson, can now be divided into four categories.
The Transcendent are those like Condaleeza Rice, Colin Powell, and Obama who are richer or more powerful than any of us, black or white. The Mainstream are more than a third of black Americans who are now in the middle class, well educated, and earning above the median.
Robinson's Emergent category includes native blacks who are pulling away from their background of poverty and succeeding in school and in the employment world, heading for Mainstream status. The second category of Emergent comprises immigrant blacks from Africa and the Caribbean. Black immigrants to the US are the best educated, hold the most degrees, and most likely to be professionals in their native land. Ethiopians and Eritreans in the DC area are an example of such a group whose children are attending Ivy League schools, winning Rhodes Scholarships, and becoming the stars of their generation.
The last category is the 25 percent of blacks whom he calls the Abandoned, those who remained behind in what were once flourishing black areas like U Street in DC, Sweet Auburn in Atlanta, and prosperous all-black neighborhoods in Detroit, Chicago, and most other American cities.
When discrimination eased those African Americans who could afford it moved to integrated suburbs, leaving behind those who could not afford to move. The once lively neighborhoods became wastelands of vacant lots, boarded up buildings, and pervasive crime and the residents left tended to be single mothers and their children and old people. Drugs, failing schools, teenage pregnancies, gangs, and every other sort of disfunction made it increasingly difficult for the Abandoned to better their lot.
Robinson backs up his categorization with statistics and some personal experience and I think he is perceptive about the lives of African Americans today. He explains clearly the irony that increasing opportunities for black Americans have had the effect of leaving some blacks behind with little hope or ambition. His solution to the problems of the Abandoned tend to large government assistance programs and continued affirmative action, most of which I disagree with, but most of Robinson's book is analysis and perceptive analysis at that.
2011 No 15
Coming soon: The Empty Mirror by J Sydney Jones
November 4, 2024
Still timely
October 8, 2016
Disintegrated is an in depth analysis of the state of Black America, told from the viewpoint of someone who lived through Jim Crow & also benefitted from the gains of the Civil Rights Movement. I think that's important because he has the unique experience of living through legalized & accepted segregation and the assimilation of middle & upper middle class black families into "mainstream" society.
Disintegration explains how black society has splintered from one collective group with shared objectives into four separate groups; the Abandoned (poor), the Mainstream (middle classes), biracial Emergent, and immigrant Emergent. This breakdown comes at a time where the nation has elected the first black (biracial) president, so I think it offers a lot of explanation for readers both familiar and unfamiliar with the black community.
There were a couple of points that I thought were particularly interesting, considering it's six years later. The first being code switching and "acting white" vs acting "street" or importance of commanding respect by any means necessary. I think this is a survival technique used to rise above meager circumstances or it can be viewed as a way to gain acceptance. What exactly does it mean years later to still have to monitor your speech and mannerisms when in certain company? Is it meeting a certain standard expected of all professionals or is there more to the story?
A second point is Mr. Robinson's view on gentrification being necessary to encourage revitalization of blighted neighborhoods. This opinion is probably not popular & never will be simply because the "Abandoned" are simply moved to a similar location, an out of sight, out of mind act. His solution, to create or preserve low income housing in newly gentrified areas sounds great on paper, but how many wealthy people, black &/or white would be in agreement ( think about unconscious bias a point also discussed).
A third point is the race is a social construct theory. Considering events of the last few years from Rachel Dolezal identifying as a black woman to the too numerous police killings of black men & women, it's too early to judge each event separately, having nothing to do with race.
In 2016, I'd say Disintegrated definitely is a book that should be read by the masses. I admire the book's structure, the writing is clear & concise. However, I'm not sure of the intended audience & at this point it doesn't matter. What's important is fostering a sense of togetherness regardless of financial or racial background. I see Disintegration as a foundational piece for continuing the ongoing dialogue of race relations in the U.S.
Disintegration explains how black society has splintered from one collective group with shared objectives into four separate groups; the Abandoned (poor), the Mainstream (middle classes), biracial Emergent, and immigrant Emergent. This breakdown comes at a time where the nation has elected the first black (biracial) president, so I think it offers a lot of explanation for readers both familiar and unfamiliar with the black community.
There were a couple of points that I thought were particularly interesting, considering it's six years later. The first being code switching and "acting white" vs acting "street" or importance of commanding respect by any means necessary. I think this is a survival technique used to rise above meager circumstances or it can be viewed as a way to gain acceptance. What exactly does it mean years later to still have to monitor your speech and mannerisms when in certain company? Is it meeting a certain standard expected of all professionals or is there more to the story?
A second point is Mr. Robinson's view on gentrification being necessary to encourage revitalization of blighted neighborhoods. This opinion is probably not popular & never will be simply because the "Abandoned" are simply moved to a similar location, an out of sight, out of mind act. His solution, to create or preserve low income housing in newly gentrified areas sounds great on paper, but how many wealthy people, black &/or white would be in agreement ( think about unconscious bias a point also discussed).
A third point is the race is a social construct theory. Considering events of the last few years from Rachel Dolezal identifying as a black woman to the too numerous police killings of black men & women, it's too early to judge each event separately, having nothing to do with race.
In 2016, I'd say Disintegrated definitely is a book that should be read by the masses. I admire the book's structure, the writing is clear & concise. However, I'm not sure of the intended audience & at this point it doesn't matter. What's important is fostering a sense of togetherness regardless of financial or racial background. I see Disintegration as a foundational piece for continuing the ongoing dialogue of race relations in the U.S.
April 18, 2018
All told, the four black Americans control an estimated $800 billion in purchasing power….
…DNA testing has shown that nearly one-third of all African Americans trace their heritage to a white male ancestor―likely a slave owner.
There was a lot of American history in Disintegration
…DNA testing has shown that nearly one-third of all African Americans trace their heritage to a white male ancestor―likely a slave owner.
There was a lot of American history in Disintegration
December 28, 2021
** 3.5 stars **
Robinson presents an easy-to-read and easy-to-understand argument about how in the post-Civil Rights Era U.S., a once-monolithic Black America has now splintered into four distinct subgroups: a transcendent elite, a mainstream majority, an abandoned minority, and two newly emergent groups (African and Black immigrants to the U.S. and biracial or multiracial people). This main argument is quite persuasive overall, as Robinson points to examples of people in each group and discusses views and habits of the transcendent, abandoned, etc.
I do wish Robinson had used more sources to support his claims throughout the volume. Sometimes his arguments and conclusions were based on actual evidence and other times just his feelings or opinions (which occasionally came across as out of touch - for instance, his support of Bill Cosby's bootstrap mentality with respect to young, impoverished black men), so I would have liked more consistency in this regard.
Still, I would recommend the book if you are interested in issues facing contemporary Black Americans, with the caveat that since it was published in 2010, it is sometimes a bit naive about the prospects of a post-racial America (especially considering everything that has happened since - Trump's presidency, hundreds of police lynchings of unarmed Black people, and the pandemic, which has disproportionately affected BIPOC communities).
Robinson presents an easy-to-read and easy-to-understand argument about how in the post-Civil Rights Era U.S., a once-monolithic Black America has now splintered into four distinct subgroups: a transcendent elite, a mainstream majority, an abandoned minority, and two newly emergent groups (African and Black immigrants to the U.S. and biracial or multiracial people). This main argument is quite persuasive overall, as Robinson points to examples of people in each group and discusses views and habits of the transcendent, abandoned, etc.
I do wish Robinson had used more sources to support his claims throughout the volume. Sometimes his arguments and conclusions were based on actual evidence and other times just his feelings or opinions (which occasionally came across as out of touch - for instance, his support of Bill Cosby's bootstrap mentality with respect to young, impoverished black men), so I would have liked more consistency in this regard.
Still, I would recommend the book if you are interested in issues facing contemporary Black Americans, with the caveat that since it was published in 2010, it is sometimes a bit naive about the prospects of a post-racial America (especially considering everything that has happened since - Trump's presidency, hundreds of police lynchings of unarmed Black people, and the pandemic, which has disproportionately affected BIPOC communities).
May 26, 2019
A thought provoking read.
November 13, 2010
Another book I saw on the Colbert Report. The premise is that there is no longer one Black America, but rather four separate groups of Black Americans that have developed since the civil rights movement in the 60s: Transcendent (i.e. Oprah), Mainstream (middle class), Abandoned (poor), Emergent (immigrants that do not have American slave ancestry, and mixed race Black Americans). While it used to be the case that being victims of social injustice created unity among all Black Americans, this is much less the case in modern America. Opportunity has allowed many Black Americans to escape poverty, which means that we have abandoned the rest, and Black Americans who have ancestry that does not include experiences of discrimination in this country are re-defining what it means to be a Black American.
I found the author's analysis of Black America to be well written, interesting and informative. However, being of a completely different generation and racial background, I felt like I couldn't fully appreciate and understand his opinions in several areas. I didn't completely understand why the author lamented the loss of cohesion among all Black Americans when this cohesion was based on being victims of racism. I get that it is sad to lose unity among a people, but considering the basis of this unity, shouldn't we be happy that more and more Americans are growing up in a place and time where racism is not a life-forming reality? Robinson really seemed to want to cling to the memory of being persecuted. (He vaguely touches on other cultural commonalities: respecting one's parents, playing basketball instead of baseball, but nothing really tangible. It seems like Robinson pretty much takes for granted that the reader knows what he's talking about -- so perhaps I was not the intended audience.) I agree that it is important not to forget the horrific injustice that is a shameful part of this country's history, but I think we should celebrate where we are and where we are going in regards to race relations rather than continue to harbor an us vs. them attitude. I know that there is still racism in this country, but I also think that if you are looking to find discrimination, you could imagine it where it doesn't exist. I was surprised by the obvious instance of this by Robinson himself when he tells a story of a newborn black baby boy, a son of a janitor, who was given an incorrect name on his birth certificate by the white nurse because the nurse thought his mother must have not spelled the name correctly as an "ignorant black woman." While sadly, this could be the case, it very well might not have been. Perhaps the nurse simply misread the name... perhaps, the nurse was prejudice about the working-class status of the family and would have made the same bad judgment call for a white family. Obviously the nurse was in the wrong, but how can Robinson know that race played a role in her mistake? Robinson's tone in his writing sometimes tends to be slightly abrasive in this regard.
I also thought it a little disjointed that in most regards the book was very well backed-up with hard facts and historical events, but many times Robinson made important generalizations based on simply his own life-experience and circle of friends. For instance he said he did not know of many Mainstream Black Americans who were not involved in some type of effort to help the Abandoned Black Americans. Well, that doesn't really tell us a whole lot does it? I would have appreciated some type of statistic or other factual evidence backing this up in the general populace outside of Robinson's most likely very well-educated and politically involved friends.
However, while I obviously have some issues with the book, I do agree that how Black America has changed and will continue to change is an interesting and important concept to be addressed.
I found the author's analysis of Black America to be well written, interesting and informative. However, being of a completely different generation and racial background, I felt like I couldn't fully appreciate and understand his opinions in several areas. I didn't completely understand why the author lamented the loss of cohesion among all Black Americans when this cohesion was based on being victims of racism. I get that it is sad to lose unity among a people, but considering the basis of this unity, shouldn't we be happy that more and more Americans are growing up in a place and time where racism is not a life-forming reality? Robinson really seemed to want to cling to the memory of being persecuted. (He vaguely touches on other cultural commonalities: respecting one's parents, playing basketball instead of baseball, but nothing really tangible. It seems like Robinson pretty much takes for granted that the reader knows what he's talking about -- so perhaps I was not the intended audience.) I agree that it is important not to forget the horrific injustice that is a shameful part of this country's history, but I think we should celebrate where we are and where we are going in regards to race relations rather than continue to harbor an us vs. them attitude. I know that there is still racism in this country, but I also think that if you are looking to find discrimination, you could imagine it where it doesn't exist. I was surprised by the obvious instance of this by Robinson himself when he tells a story of a newborn black baby boy, a son of a janitor, who was given an incorrect name on his birth certificate by the white nurse because the nurse thought his mother must have not spelled the name correctly as an "ignorant black woman." While sadly, this could be the case, it very well might not have been. Perhaps the nurse simply misread the name... perhaps, the nurse was prejudice about the working-class status of the family and would have made the same bad judgment call for a white family. Obviously the nurse was in the wrong, but how can Robinson know that race played a role in her mistake? Robinson's tone in his writing sometimes tends to be slightly abrasive in this regard.
I also thought it a little disjointed that in most regards the book was very well backed-up with hard facts and historical events, but many times Robinson made important generalizations based on simply his own life-experience and circle of friends. For instance he said he did not know of many Mainstream Black Americans who were not involved in some type of effort to help the Abandoned Black Americans. Well, that doesn't really tell us a whole lot does it? I would have appreciated some type of statistic or other factual evidence backing this up in the general populace outside of Robinson's most likely very well-educated and politically involved friends.
However, while I obviously have some issues with the book, I do agree that how Black America has changed and will continue to change is an interesting and important concept to be addressed.
March 25, 2019
The median black household earns about 62% of what the median household earns, roughly the same ratio that was measured 4 decades ago. Two-parent African American families now earn about 85% of what white families earn.
Purchasing power of blacks was on track to surpass 1 trillion in 2012 before the recession took hold; that milestone may been delayed, but surely not for long.
What is not immediately apparent is that DC cab companies with names like Action, Alert, Ambassador, and Atlantic-and that's just the A's-are owned by Ethiopian immigrant entrepreneurs. It is no exaggeration to say that Ethiopian immigrants are becoming Washington's taxicab kingpins.as proof, in 2009 to Ethiopian cab company owners were implicated in a scandal involving alleged kickbacks paid to a city official. Having the juice to be accused of pay-to-play municipal corruption is perhaps the sure sign that the immigrant community has arrived.
Ethiopian immigrants have also moved into the parking industry, although more as employees than employers. Whenever you use one of the city's overpriced parking lots, it is likely that the gentleman who Parks your car and the polite woman who deprives you of your money will have been born in Ethiopia.
Immigrant children, or were the children of immigrants-where stellar academic achievers not only when compared to native-born blacks but when compared to whites as well. They reported that 9.2% of immigrant black students went on to enroll in elite colleges, such as those in ivy league, versus 7.3% of whites and 2.4% of native blacks.
Immigrant black students also had the highest rate of overall college attendance, including non-elite as well as elite schools-75.1% of the immigrant blacks enrolled in college, compared to 72.5% of whites and 60.2% of native blacks.
Neighborhoods that you can become gentrified have, by definition, already disintegrated, which means that the toxic & seemingly inexorable Abandoned pathology has already set in. Research indicates not just that concentrated black poverty is self-sustaining but that the fact of racial segregation maybe the most important impediment to turning around and neighborhoods decline. So to the extent that gentrification breaks up top knots of Abandoned poverty & scatters people to do winds, including to other areas that might be just as poor but are more racially integrated, a process actually can be beneficial to the displaced-with one big caveat.
The caveat is that the displaced cannot simply be forced into another all-black getto-one that is more remote, with even fewer amenities & services. This is largely what has happened in Washington and some other cities, & the result is that the problem just gets moved, not solved.
We're willing to pay young men in Kabul to hand over their weapons, to build schools for them so they can learn marketable skills, to create jobs for them so they can stop selling drugs. We declined to do the same for young men and Kansas City. Someday, perhaps, some of us playing why this is supposed to make sense.
In Washington, mayor staked his political future on an all-out attempt to repair & reform the broken public school system. His abrasive School Chancellor, Michelle Rhee, steamrolled the powerful teachers union & won permission, basically, to reshape the schools however she want it. But the teaching profession is a Mainstream sacred cow; there was a time, not long ago, when education was one of the few career options available to African Americans who today would likely become investment bankers, lobbyists, or architects some of the political damage that Fenty suffered was self-inflicted, but the upshot is that he cheat a modest gain for the Abandoned why losing much of his Mainstream support.
Notions of there being precisely 3 major "races" of people whom we classify as white, black, & yellow-or perhaps 5 with the addition of red people & brown people-our 18th century rationalizations 4 brutal use of European technology and the colonial subjugation are populations that lack firearms, sailing ships, & horses. People who lived a thousand years ago would have thought this classification system absurd; people who live a thousand years from now will surely think it barbaric.
Of all the DNA mutations that have found their way into the human genome over the eons that our distant ancestors spent confined to the mother continent, only some were carried to other parts of the globe by small groups of wonderers who left Africa &eventually populated Asia, Europe, Australia, & the US. As a result, two individuals who are both considered black might easily be more dissimilar to each other, at a genetic level, then either is to a person who belongs to another "race." Imagine an African American couple on their first date. Either or both of them might have more in common with the Italian-American waiter who brings them their pasta, as measured by common DNA sequences, then they do with each other.
When asked is racial discrimination the main reason why black people can't get ahead or blacks who can't get ahead in this country are mostly responsible for their own condition in 1994, a majority 56% blame discrimination; only 34% how'd the black poor responsible for their failure to "get ahead." But in 2007, those attitudes were reversed:a full 53% of African-American response plan for black people for their plight, while 30% said that racial discrimination was making it impossible for poor African-Americans to better themselves. 2007 37% of black Americans said that black people in this country could no longer "be thought of as a single race."
African Americans are tremendously a represent in prison population Nationwide, much of the disparitywould be eliminated if the law did not treat crack cocaine, which is mostly bought & so in Abandoned black communities, so much more harshly then it chased the identical drug in powder form, which is the way whites tend to buy & sell it. When presented with obvious examples of unfair treatment is easy for for black Americans to agree: here is an injustice, here is how to fix it.
Polls show that traditional leadership groups like the NAACP & the national Urban league have lost much, if not most, of their standing among black Americans; these venerable institutions are still respected, but it is safe to say that no one hangs on every word uttered. When Oprah Winfrey says jump, legions ask how high-but there are no leaders who can claim to represent all four black America's.
There's already friction between the Emergent immigrant & the Abandoned, who complain of being exploited by immigrant black owned businesses just as they once complained about neighborhood stores whose computers were white, Jewish, or Korean. The mainstream have long whisper their disapproval of how Early immigrants were talking-or, to be honest, winning-college administration slots that son believe should go to native-born.
there's no longer one Black America, no longer a complete sense of racial solidarity based on clearly defined common interest. But there remains one black racial identity that the majority of African Americans-Mainstream, Abandoned, Transcendent, & Emergent-still share. As long as the Abandoned remain buried in both societies & their own dysfunction, with this missing hope of ever being able to escape, the rest of us cannot feel that we have truly escaped, either.
Purchasing power of blacks was on track to surpass 1 trillion in 2012 before the recession took hold; that milestone may been delayed, but surely not for long.
What is not immediately apparent is that DC cab companies with names like Action, Alert, Ambassador, and Atlantic-and that's just the A's-are owned by Ethiopian immigrant entrepreneurs. It is no exaggeration to say that Ethiopian immigrants are becoming Washington's taxicab kingpins.as proof, in 2009 to Ethiopian cab company owners were implicated in a scandal involving alleged kickbacks paid to a city official. Having the juice to be accused of pay-to-play municipal corruption is perhaps the sure sign that the immigrant community has arrived.
Ethiopian immigrants have also moved into the parking industry, although more as employees than employers. Whenever you use one of the city's overpriced parking lots, it is likely that the gentleman who Parks your car and the polite woman who deprives you of your money will have been born in Ethiopia.
Immigrant children, or were the children of immigrants-where stellar academic achievers not only when compared to native-born blacks but when compared to whites as well. They reported that 9.2% of immigrant black students went on to enroll in elite colleges, such as those in ivy league, versus 7.3% of whites and 2.4% of native blacks.
Immigrant black students also had the highest rate of overall college attendance, including non-elite as well as elite schools-75.1% of the immigrant blacks enrolled in college, compared to 72.5% of whites and 60.2% of native blacks.
Neighborhoods that you can become gentrified have, by definition, already disintegrated, which means that the toxic & seemingly inexorable Abandoned pathology has already set in. Research indicates not just that concentrated black poverty is self-sustaining but that the fact of racial segregation maybe the most important impediment to turning around and neighborhoods decline. So to the extent that gentrification breaks up top knots of Abandoned poverty & scatters people to do winds, including to other areas that might be just as poor but are more racially integrated, a process actually can be beneficial to the displaced-with one big caveat.
The caveat is that the displaced cannot simply be forced into another all-black getto-one that is more remote, with even fewer amenities & services. This is largely what has happened in Washington and some other cities, & the result is that the problem just gets moved, not solved.
We're willing to pay young men in Kabul to hand over their weapons, to build schools for them so they can learn marketable skills, to create jobs for them so they can stop selling drugs. We declined to do the same for young men and Kansas City. Someday, perhaps, some of us playing why this is supposed to make sense.
In Washington, mayor staked his political future on an all-out attempt to repair & reform the broken public school system. His abrasive School Chancellor, Michelle Rhee, steamrolled the powerful teachers union & won permission, basically, to reshape the schools however she want it. But the teaching profession is a Mainstream sacred cow; there was a time, not long ago, when education was one of the few career options available to African Americans who today would likely become investment bankers, lobbyists, or architects some of the political damage that Fenty suffered was self-inflicted, but the upshot is that he cheat a modest gain for the Abandoned why losing much of his Mainstream support.
Notions of there being precisely 3 major "races" of people whom we classify as white, black, & yellow-or perhaps 5 with the addition of red people & brown people-our 18th century rationalizations 4 brutal use of European technology and the colonial subjugation are populations that lack firearms, sailing ships, & horses. People who lived a thousand years ago would have thought this classification system absurd; people who live a thousand years from now will surely think it barbaric.
Of all the DNA mutations that have found their way into the human genome over the eons that our distant ancestors spent confined to the mother continent, only some were carried to other parts of the globe by small groups of wonderers who left Africa &eventually populated Asia, Europe, Australia, & the US. As a result, two individuals who are both considered black might easily be more dissimilar to each other, at a genetic level, then either is to a person who belongs to another "race." Imagine an African American couple on their first date. Either or both of them might have more in common with the Italian-American waiter who brings them their pasta, as measured by common DNA sequences, then they do with each other.
When asked is racial discrimination the main reason why black people can't get ahead or blacks who can't get ahead in this country are mostly responsible for their own condition in 1994, a majority 56% blame discrimination; only 34% how'd the black poor responsible for their failure to "get ahead." But in 2007, those attitudes were reversed:a full 53% of African-American response plan for black people for their plight, while 30% said that racial discrimination was making it impossible for poor African-Americans to better themselves. 2007 37% of black Americans said that black people in this country could no longer "be thought of as a single race."
African Americans are tremendously a represent in prison population Nationwide, much of the disparitywould be eliminated if the law did not treat crack cocaine, which is mostly bought & so in Abandoned black communities, so much more harshly then it chased the identical drug in powder form, which is the way whites tend to buy & sell it. When presented with obvious examples of unfair treatment is easy for for black Americans to agree: here is an injustice, here is how to fix it.
Polls show that traditional leadership groups like the NAACP & the national Urban league have lost much, if not most, of their standing among black Americans; these venerable institutions are still respected, but it is safe to say that no one hangs on every word uttered. When Oprah Winfrey says jump, legions ask how high-but there are no leaders who can claim to represent all four black America's.
There's already friction between the Emergent immigrant & the Abandoned, who complain of being exploited by immigrant black owned businesses just as they once complained about neighborhood stores whose computers were white, Jewish, or Korean. The mainstream have long whisper their disapproval of how Early immigrants were talking-or, to be honest, winning-college administration slots that son believe should go to native-born.
there's no longer one Black America, no longer a complete sense of racial solidarity based on clearly defined common interest. But there remains one black racial identity that the majority of African Americans-Mainstream, Abandoned, Transcendent, & Emergent-still share. As long as the Abandoned remain buried in both societies & their own dysfunction, with this missing hope of ever being able to escape, the rest of us cannot feel that we have truly escaped, either.
January 8, 2013
Excellent book with Mr. Robinson's personal experiences and insights during the Civil Rights Era interwoven within it. This is a book you have to read more than once I think. This is because of the times we live in and vitriol that is everywhere in American society today it could very well be considered a living document -- given the accomplishments and ongoing work of Mr. Robinson at the Washington Post. The book offers the thesis/premise that Black America is now divided into four groups: the Abandoned, the Transcendent, the Mainstream and the Emergent. I like the way he started the book after President Obama's election to the presidency. This way audiences of all generations have a point of reference and a way to think about how they may fit into the world Mr. Robinson is talking about and American society today. This is a well-researched book with a wealth of information and wisdom to be gleaned from it. I agree with many of the reviewers on this blog as far as how the book is a baseline that can shed a positive, intelligent light that will validate how Black America is seen today --and contribute to better insight (hopefully enlightened conversations) of what it means to be Black in America today and the way politics and policy impact us.
August 1, 2023
Disintegration: The Splintering of black America is an informational book, written by Pulitzer Prize winner, and Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson. It was published on October 5, 2010, by Anchor Books. It is a 254-page nonfiction book that deals with the concept of black America. It tells the story of how black America was once unified, but how it has grown apart, and became 4 separate groups. Reading this book was a very eye-opening experience, especially as a black man who just wants the best for the race as a whole. He does a very detailed dive into a lot of the problems that are and have been plaguing black people. He takes a look into the history of these problems and figures out the root of them. Often, he is able to make a connection from the past to modern day. He gathers information that helps lead to probable solutions. It is a great book and remains relevant over a decade later.
In this book, Robinson explores the dynamics and changes in black America over the years. In instances going back to times of slavery, but mainly using the starting point of the early to mid-20th century. He tells the story of how black Americans were once unified, even though it was not really by choice. In times like the early to mid-20th century, if you even had a drop of black in you, everybody was lumped in with each other. Everybody faced the same oppression and racism. During these times it really forced the Black people in America to band together.
Since then, desegregation has happened, and a lot of laws have changed to make things better and more equal. This made it so we did not all have a constant and shared oppressor. As said before, back in those times we didn’t really have an option but to band together. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth in today's society. Robinson believes that since then black America has disbanded or disintegrated into 4 separate groups. Those groups are the Transcendent (elite, wealthy class), the Mainstream (middle class), the emergent (Mixed people and Immigrants), and the Abandoned (people stuck in poverty and dysfunction struggling to escape).
Robinson gives a chapter to each group and also a chapter to both subcategories of the emergent so that he can be thorough in his assessment of them. In these chapters, he goes into depth about how these groups originated, their role in society, and how they interact with each other. He goes into depth about how this splintering may not be a bad thing. We just have to figure out how to maneuver it and how to use this splintering to help elevate us as black Americans.
Often times these groups rub up against each other. Different groups may have different problems with each other. For example, the Mainstream may believe the Immigrants are cocky or arrogant because of their pride in their country. The Immigrants may look down on the Abandoned because of how they live. All the groups may look down on the Mixed group because they don’t think they are black enough. The list of different subtle tensions between these groups goes on. But Robinson describes different ways that we can use our positions in different groups to help all of us get better.
A big problem that Robinson describes is the vicious cycle that is constantly plaguing the Abandoned. A cycle of broken homes, crime, teen pregnancies, poverty, and more. Not only the people stuck here, but also the people who have made it to Mainstream and who are trying not to fall back into the Abandoned. He talks about ways that we can get black people into positions of power. This way they can help and try to push for a new type of affirmative action to target those stuck in poverty. He talks about ways that the Transcendent can pour money into communities, similar to Cory Booker. A man who even took multiple pay cuts to continue to better his community. He offers many ways that we can use these different groups to help uplift us. It is up to decide whether we are going to let these groups further separate us, or allow us to grow.
In my opinion, this book was a very insightful book to help give me perspective as a young black man. A lot of times we just look at the surface-level issues and don’t dive into the roots of these problems. Robinson does a great job of doing this. He helps me view society in a whole different way. I never thought of these different groups in black America. Robinson is right in the fact that you can’t just put black America into one big group anymore. Because of various factors, these groups have formed. But it is about how we decide to use these groups that matter.
In this book, Robinson was always very clear and concise in what he was trying to convey. This made the book very easy to read and allowed him to effectively get his points across. I feel as though Robinson gave a lot of good and creative ideas that I had never opened my mind to before. This book was cool because I got to see Robinson’s perspective on things as a boomer, and how they differed from my perspective as part of Gen Z. Obviously I grew up in a world where discrimination and racism weren’t nearly as harsh as it was for Robinson growing up. Nonetheless, I still find myself agreeing with pretty much everything in this book.
This also leads me to my next point, which is that I think this book has a long-lasting relevancy, and still holds a lot of weight today. Even as black America will continue to change, I believe that this book will stand the test of time. It has been over 10 years since this book was published, yet nearly every point that Robinson made in this book is still valid today. Overall, I believe that this is a very well-written, perspective-changing, and thought-inducing book, that if more people read, could help create a real change to help Black people continue to elevate themselves in America.
In this book, Robinson explores the dynamics and changes in black America over the years. In instances going back to times of slavery, but mainly using the starting point of the early to mid-20th century. He tells the story of how black Americans were once unified, even though it was not really by choice. In times like the early to mid-20th century, if you even had a drop of black in you, everybody was lumped in with each other. Everybody faced the same oppression and racism. During these times it really forced the Black people in America to band together.
Since then, desegregation has happened, and a lot of laws have changed to make things better and more equal. This made it so we did not all have a constant and shared oppressor. As said before, back in those times we didn’t really have an option but to band together. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth in today's society. Robinson believes that since then black America has disbanded or disintegrated into 4 separate groups. Those groups are the Transcendent (elite, wealthy class), the Mainstream (middle class), the emergent (Mixed people and Immigrants), and the Abandoned (people stuck in poverty and dysfunction struggling to escape).
Robinson gives a chapter to each group and also a chapter to both subcategories of the emergent so that he can be thorough in his assessment of them. In these chapters, he goes into depth about how these groups originated, their role in society, and how they interact with each other. He goes into depth about how this splintering may not be a bad thing. We just have to figure out how to maneuver it and how to use this splintering to help elevate us as black Americans.
Often times these groups rub up against each other. Different groups may have different problems with each other. For example, the Mainstream may believe the Immigrants are cocky or arrogant because of their pride in their country. The Immigrants may look down on the Abandoned because of how they live. All the groups may look down on the Mixed group because they don’t think they are black enough. The list of different subtle tensions between these groups goes on. But Robinson describes different ways that we can use our positions in different groups to help all of us get better.
A big problem that Robinson describes is the vicious cycle that is constantly plaguing the Abandoned. A cycle of broken homes, crime, teen pregnancies, poverty, and more. Not only the people stuck here, but also the people who have made it to Mainstream and who are trying not to fall back into the Abandoned. He talks about ways that we can get black people into positions of power. This way they can help and try to push for a new type of affirmative action to target those stuck in poverty. He talks about ways that the Transcendent can pour money into communities, similar to Cory Booker. A man who even took multiple pay cuts to continue to better his community. He offers many ways that we can use these different groups to help uplift us. It is up to decide whether we are going to let these groups further separate us, or allow us to grow.
In my opinion, this book was a very insightful book to help give me perspective as a young black man. A lot of times we just look at the surface-level issues and don’t dive into the roots of these problems. Robinson does a great job of doing this. He helps me view society in a whole different way. I never thought of these different groups in black America. Robinson is right in the fact that you can’t just put black America into one big group anymore. Because of various factors, these groups have formed. But it is about how we decide to use these groups that matter.
In this book, Robinson was always very clear and concise in what he was trying to convey. This made the book very easy to read and allowed him to effectively get his points across. I feel as though Robinson gave a lot of good and creative ideas that I had never opened my mind to before. This book was cool because I got to see Robinson’s perspective on things as a boomer, and how they differed from my perspective as part of Gen Z. Obviously I grew up in a world where discrimination and racism weren’t nearly as harsh as it was for Robinson growing up. Nonetheless, I still find myself agreeing with pretty much everything in this book.
This also leads me to my next point, which is that I think this book has a long-lasting relevancy, and still holds a lot of weight today. Even as black America will continue to change, I believe that this book will stand the test of time. It has been over 10 years since this book was published, yet nearly every point that Robinson made in this book is still valid today. Overall, I believe that this is a very well-written, perspective-changing, and thought-inducing book, that if more people read, could help create a real change to help Black people continue to elevate themselves in America.
December 1, 2011
Eugene Robinson, columnist for the Washington Post, presents an interesting thesis on make up of Black America at the same time bring the reader up to date on the last 60 years regarding race relations. One thing becomes clear in this book; race in this country is no longer just a matter of black & white. The growth of other minority groups, the recent immigration of families from Asia, Central America, Mexico and the Middle East, have made the issue more complex. There is also the matter of class to deal with. Class in America is a real issue, sometimes it is straight forward and other times it is confused or mixed up with race. If you want to understand where we may be headed socially as a country in the next 25 years read this book.
August 12, 2016
The meat and potatoes of this book is about the author's argument that Black America is currently not a monolith, that is, Black America is made up of smaller groups such as the superinfluential, those of mixed race, African immigrants, etc.
Like any kind of categorization, I believe that it is not foolproof; there are always those who fall in the margins. Nevertheless, the author did a superb job in discussing the social, historical, and economic background of Black America. For me, what is lacking was the author's analysis of policy and legal implications, but then I am used to reading law journal articles and it could be expecting too much of a journalist to get into the details about laws and such.
Like any kind of categorization, I believe that it is not foolproof; there are always those who fall in the margins. Nevertheless, the author did a superb job in discussing the social, historical, and economic background of Black America. For me, what is lacking was the author's analysis of policy and legal implications, but then I am used to reading law journal articles and it could be expecting too much of a journalist to get into the details about laws and such.
November 11, 2010
Excellent book. Robinson argues that there is no longer one "Black America." Rather, the African American communities are four: The Mainstream (those who have made it solidly into the Middle Class), The Transcendent (those who are affluent and powerful in the world), The Emergent (composed of immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean), and The Abandoned (the poor, ghettoized African Americans). Robinson postulates that some African Americans now have more in common with similar whites than they do with, for example, The Abandoned. Readable and fascinating.
December 9, 2010
As one of the Caribbean Emergent and Mainstream, I found myself continually nodding in agreement while reading this book. Mr. Robinson articulated many of the trends I'd observed but had been unable to express.
The author could have gone further in his analysis though. He seemed to skim the surface of the four groups while dwelling quite a bit on Jim Crow and other historic injustices.
Still a worthwhile read as it lays a foundation for further reflection.
The author could have gone further in his analysis though. He seemed to skim the surface of the four groups while dwelling quite a bit on Jim Crow and other historic injustices.
Still a worthwhile read as it lays a foundation for further reflection.
November 6, 2010
Perceptive, precise, passionate. Fascinating read replete with history of the black community in Atlanta and Washington, DC. Glad this was written by a journalist and not some bombastic academic like Dyson. It's emotional and sincere but still crisp and professional. A great discussion on the african-american/black community's past, present, and future.
September 16, 2018
Should Be Required Reading
This book should be required reading for the so-called Black community and any interested Americans on the issues of race relations.
This book should be required reading for the so-called Black community and any interested Americans on the issues of race relations.
May 2, 2024
Finally finished! It only had an hour and a half left on it so that was nice.
I really liked this and was interesting to hear all his perspectives on the various Black groups in the US. He mentioned a book that I am interested now in reading about why poor Black people behave in ways that from the outside doesn't make any sense.
Eugene's plan to save/uplift Black people seems untenable While he focuses on how Black people can advocate for poor Blacks, in reality mainstream Black people refuse a class analysis and prefer to view America through a racial lens. This means that problems that uniquely target poor Blacks (ie more frequent encounters with police, higher incarceration rates) and make it seem like a problem ALL Black can (or will) experience.
Eugene also suggests that gentrification can help poor Black neighborhoods as long as we fight to prevent their displacement.
In the book, Eugene predicts a surge a mixed race couples that I dont think will ever really come to fruition. But he does mention that for a long time Black/white relations were often between Black women and white men - first as slave master and slave and then later as employee and servant. He doesnt mention whether the bulk of these relationships were consenual (or not) though, which I feel like is a convenient thing to overlook when it's brought up.
He does mention a hard core segregationist who ran for office (and failed) but had fathered a child with a Black servant in his parents' house; he was 22 and she was 16. The daughter of this union had attended the same school as the author (not at the same time) and the dad used to pick his daughter up from school/spend time with her. But no one ever asked how this jived with his segregationist ideals.
He also was an advocate for race based affirmative action. I wonder how he would feel about the Supreme Court rendering it illegal.
Anyway, I thought this book was really interesting and well worth a read.
I really liked this and was interesting to hear all his perspectives on the various Black groups in the US. He mentioned a book that I am interested now in reading about why poor Black people behave in ways that from the outside doesn't make any sense.
Eugene's plan to save/uplift Black people seems untenable While he focuses on how Black people can advocate for poor Blacks, in reality mainstream Black people refuse a class analysis and prefer to view America through a racial lens. This means that problems that uniquely target poor Blacks (ie more frequent encounters with police, higher incarceration rates) and make it seem like a problem ALL Black can (or will) experience.
Eugene also suggests that gentrification can help poor Black neighborhoods as long as we fight to prevent their displacement.
In the book, Eugene predicts a surge a mixed race couples that I dont think will ever really come to fruition. But he does mention that for a long time Black/white relations were often between Black women and white men - first as slave master and slave and then later as employee and servant. He doesnt mention whether the bulk of these relationships were consenual (or not) though, which I feel like is a convenient thing to overlook when it's brought up.
He does mention a hard core segregationist who ran for office (and failed) but had fathered a child with a Black servant in his parents' house; he was 22 and she was 16. The daughter of this union had attended the same school as the author (not at the same time) and the dad used to pick his daughter up from school/spend time with her. But no one ever asked how this jived with his segregationist ideals.
He also was an advocate for race based affirmative action. I wonder how he would feel about the Supreme Court rendering it illegal.
Anyway, I thought this book was really interesting and well worth a read.
July 31, 2017
A thought provoking framework for how and why the simplistic stereotype from the mid-20th Century of a "single, unified black America" no longer applies (if it ever did).
Broadly speaking, this book can be divided into three parts:
- First part of the book: Provides the outline of the disintegration framework, supporting by data. 4 stars
- Second part of the book: Deep dives into each group, with examples and human interest stories: 3 stars
- Third part of the book: The 'so what': 4 stars
Robinson spent less time making his case than I expected and more time exploring the stories of each group. This is fine, though I'll admit I found my interest flagged in the middle. However a solid ending really brought it all together.
Broadly speaking, this book can be divided into three parts:
- First part of the book: Provides the outline of the disintegration framework, supporting by data. 4 stars
- Second part of the book: Deep dives into each group, with examples and human interest stories: 3 stars
- Third part of the book: The 'so what': 4 stars
Robinson spent less time making his case than I expected and more time exploring the stories of each group. This is fine, though I'll admit I found my interest flagged in the middle. However a solid ending really brought it all together.
August 8, 2017
How can the Black community be characterized by Barack Obama on the one hand and Ferguson on the other? This book makes the case that the "Black community" has now actually splintered into many different communities - and although there are some African-Americans who have "made it," there are still many who continual to struggle intractably with the residual effects of slavery and systemic racism. It deftly paints a more nuanced picture of Black reality as it exists today and then calls us all to action. What's more, it's an interesting and lively read. This is certainly one of the most insightful and enjoyable books on race that I've read.
September 27, 2024
This was an easy ready to help you understand the splintering of black America. Mr. Robinson's words and stories help paint a picture of the deep and difficult dynamics of blacks in America and how they both operate and mingle with each other. The challenge that Mr. Robinson gives at the end for those who are abandoned, as he describes, is one that we all need to fight and focus on. The title of "the abandoned" is not one they have earned, but one was given because of the splintering of blacks in their American journey. The vision of wholeness is good, but it needs more than a political or sociological hope to cure or bring home those we abandoned and bring down those who have transcended.
January 9, 2018
3.5 stars but am rounding up. Really interesting framework/thesis, but it’s a bit more anecdotal than I would like (especially with stories about DC from author’s personal observation) and it definitely feels like it’s a journal article stretched into a book. Still, fascinating thesis. Wonder how much the author would think both Ferguson and the emergence of Black Lives Matter as well as Trump’s election may have affected the sense of disintegration among the 4-5 groups or community in black America.
January 1, 2021
In “Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America,” Eugene Robinson explains changes to Black America over his lifetime and describes the current state of Black America. He describes Black America as four distinct groups: Mainstream, Abandoned, Transcendent, and Emergent. Learning more about the real history and experiences of Black Americans during and after desegregation is eye-opening. Reading and learning doesn’t stop here; this is only the beginning.
October 24, 2021
Good read
This was a good read and is still relevant today. I'd be curious as to the author's thoughts on 2020, especially all the protests in regards to police brutality and social justice. The only thing I would like more of is how to help the Abandoned group. I don't think they are "abandoned" it's just nobody knows what truly makes a long-term difference in these communities.
This was a good read and is still relevant today. I'd be curious as to the author's thoughts on 2020, especially all the protests in regards to police brutality and social justice. The only thing I would like more of is how to help the Abandoned group. I don't think they are "abandoned" it's just nobody knows what truly makes a long-term difference in these communities.
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