McCall follows up his critically acclaimed autobiography Makes Me
Wanna Holler (1994) with this eye-opening collection of personal
essays on race and racism in America. One of the principal themes
that crops up here, in tones that range from levity to gravity, is
that of childhood and parenthood. In the essay entitled "The
Problem with Babies," a white toddler who tries to engage McCall in
play in a fast-food restaurant is depicted as a sort of adorable
predator; the child's ignorance of racial tension between his
mother and McCall leads to the conclusion that babies "don't give a
damn about the racial boundaries that grown-ups impose." In other
pieces, McCall meditates on his son, as he condemns both whites and
blacks for the intraracial violence that he states, in no uncertain
terms, is destroying the African-American community; he writes of
his daughter in an essay in which he confesses to having committed
sexual assaults on several women as a young man, not realizing that
he wasn't entitled to their favors by virtue of his being male. It
is this surprisingly and often disarmingly confessional tone that
brings cohesion to these essays. McCall knows his own faults and
those of the very community that he defends and of which he is
part; he can be slow to admit that those faults include poor family
structure and upbringing. He is far quicker to finger white racism
as a cause for black suffering, but his strong defense lies in his
own experiences. While McCall is reluctant to divorce himself from
acceptance of Louis Farrakhan, it is his essay on Muhammad Ali that
better depicts a black dissenter as a model human being. Despite
some flaws, this is a strong effort from the journalist turned
essayist. (Kirkus Reviews)
Current Affairs / African American Studies
"Filled with essays that challenge America's myths.... His easy reading style unsuspectingly pricks the conscience." --USA Today
ith the same personal authority and exhilarating directness he brought to his account of his passage from a prison cell to the newsroom of The Washington Post, Nathan McCall delivers a series of front-line reports on the state of the races in today's America. The resulting volume is guaranteed to shake the assumptions of readers of every pigmentation and political allegiance.
In What's Going On, McCall adds up the hidden costs of the stereotype of black athletic prowess, which tells African American teenagers that they can only succeed on the white man's terms. He introduces a fresh perspective to the debates on gangsta rap and sexual violence. He indicts the bigotry of white churches and the complacency of the black suburban middle class, celebrates the heroism of Muhammad Ali, and defends the truth-telling of Alice Walker. Engaging, provocative, and utterly fearless, here is a commentator to reckon with, addressing our most persistent divisions in a voice of stinging immediacy.
"[These essays] reinforce the moral authority McCall [brings]
to the issue of America's racial schisms."
--The New York Times Book Review
"Straightforward, quick-moving [and] erudite."
--Philadelphia Inquirer
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