J’s Reviews > Rock My Soul: Black People and Self-Esteem > Status Update

Agh the last chapter about spirituality was more about organized religion (and I'm very torn on conflating the two). I've grown to see organized religion like Christianity as a detriment to the well-being of Black people (as a hub of upholding a lot of the phobias in our communities) but hooks highlighted that reform can change that. I have yet to see evidence of that, though; homophobia is still core to scriptures.

hooks gave in simple terms the logic behind the upper Black working class' obsession with distancing themselves from the lower-class: both a hatred of self (because in lower class Black people, they're reminded of Blackness) and the fear of not being accepted by white people themselves. Insightful!

The constant reminder that hooks teaches us that patriarchal capitalism plagues Black communities (and heavily the minds of Black men) is def something to keep in mind. The way colorism is an artifact of internalized white supremacy that we keep in media today too!