DeMott (The Imperial Middle, 1990, etc.), having explored America's
inability to face issues of class, now turns his considerable
intelligence to our other dirty little secret, race. There are,
DeMott says, new themes developing in America's vision of its
racial problems, themes that reflect the rightward drift of the
country in politics and culture. With the emergence of a
substantial black middle class as a catalyst, our media are now
purveying a vision of race relations in America that is based on
what DeMott designates "the friendship orthodoxy." At almost every
level of popular culture, from Ken Burns's The Civil War to Murphy
Brown to children's books and ad campaigns, we are presented with
images of blacks and whites interacting in an easy, friendly,
compassionate mode. While this is not, in and of itself, an
insidious vision, it is a highly inaccurate one. It is used, DeMott
says, to purvey an ideology that dissolves racial difference,
historical injustice, and the true caste nature of American society
in a treacly, warm milk of human kindness. Racism is reduced to a
matter of personal interaction, "keep[ing] social fact at bay."
DeMott convincingly argues for the connection between this new
orthodoxy and the rise of a pernicious black neoconservatism,
embodied by the likes of Shelby Steele and Stephen Carter, who
batten onto the dissolution of racial difference with smug
denunciations of the irresponsibility of a black underclass that
chooses poverty and joblessness. At the same time, whites, liberal
or conservative, can feel good about their attitudes while failing
to address the reality of life for the majority of black Americans:
racial stratification that produces joblessness, family collapse,
crime, and inferior education and health care. DeMott argues his
case persuasively in this important book, a clarion call to those
still willing to consider the lessons of history before TV and
advertising erase them completely. (Kirkus Reviews)
In this lively book, a well-known social critic draws on evidence
from movies, TV, literature, and advertising to argue that many
Americans have been lulled by the media into believing that racial
problems can be substantially mitigated, even vanquished, by blacks
and whites working together, one on one, to reconcile their
differences. Benjamin DeMott believes that this position of
"friendship orthodoxy" oversimplifies the causes of racism and
allows us to ignore the harsh socioeconomic realities faced by many
blacks in this country. "A fresh, witty and pertinent essay on race
in America. . . . DeMott advances his simple yet subtle argument in
graceful, nuanced writing."-Edward T. Chase, Nation "DeMott draws
carefully and intelligently from the well of cultural evidence and
delivers the boldest contribution to America's ongoing racial
dialogue to come along in years."-Quinn Eli, Philadelphia Inquirer
"A refreshingly original assessment of the state of black-white
relationships in the United States."-George M. Fredrickson, New
York Review of Books "DeMott argues his case persuasively in this
important book, a clarion call to those still willing to consider
the lessons of history before TV and advertising erase them
completely."-Kirkus Reviews "Critical reading for anyone interested
in the intersections of culture, race, and policy."-Kristal Brent
Zook, LA Weekly "A uniquely fine book . . . on race relations in
America. . . . A powerfully crafted call for a revolution in the
way we see ourselves."-Courtland Milloy, Quarterly Black Review of
Books
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