Others, apparently, were not. Thulani Davis' reviewat the Village Voice gathers the opinion of several reviewers as well as partsof a telephone interview with Ms. Dickerson. I know this because I tracked downa fair number of reviews. I assigned races to each of the reviewers and damnedif Ms. Davis' article didn't confirm my breakdown.

The Argument

The title of the book itself starts the discussion. It wasas popular among Black folks as this, from RaceTraitor, proved to be among white folks:

The key to solving the social problems of our age is toabolish the white race

…which is to say it fell on its face.

The opening section, I believe, is intended to say, "Okay, Iacknowledge all the racism stuff," in the hope that it will get Black folks toread the prescriptive part. What has happened instead is white folks said, "Idon't have to sit here and be insulted," while Black folks said, "You know allthat and still…" The divide between Black and white opinions on thisbook is as stark as that on any other issue. For instance, Michael W.Robbins at Mother Jones says:

The End of Blackness is a solidly researched account of theevolution of black identity in America (her "prologue" is about asconcise and direct an account of slavery and its long-standing effects as youare likely to find).

…while GeraldEarly at the New York Times says:

The problem is that the author does not know enough, hasnot researched enough, to write an incisive book on African-American life orAmerican racism. If one listens to a lot of black talk radio or has some bullsessions with other blacks, nearly every gripe and observation in ''The End ofBlackness'' will be familiar. One does not write a book like this. One getsover it.

One thing on which all parties agree is the message the booksends: get over it. MOST reviews make note of the message and I see it myself,though because I approached the book with certain preconceived notions I canchoose not to see it. That the message is near universally perceived is a goodargument that it's in there, but it's an equally good argument that she hiteither side of a universal nerve. Still, it doesn't seem very many people foundher convincing. If the "coming attractions" article on her site accuratelydescribes her intent then I have to say she puts it across much better in thevarious interviews I've seen laying around the net.

Making The Point

The End of Blackness isn't the first book to suggest Blackpeople's strategies should assume the mainstream has gone as far as they willin attacking racism. Derek Bell's "Faces at the Bottom of the Well" issubtitled "The Permanence of Racism," and is filled with allegories thatexplore the repercussions of the idea (ask me about The Racial Preferences LicensingAct some day). I myself agree strongly about with several point in the previewquoted above. I just question how it's been said here. In the Village Voicearticle, she says:

Whites account for half of her e-mail, she said. "Ihadn't thought about whether whites were trying to move beyond where they are.I thought they think the race issue is for black people. At first, I was sortof dismayed by all the e-mails, and said, 'Maybe it is just what white peoplewant to hear.' "