GOTHAM BOOKS, 2006

John McWhorter's new book, Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America (Gotham Books, January 2006) was a finalist for the 37th NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Literary Work in Non-fiction.



Four decades after the great victories of the Civil Rights movement secured equal rights for African Americans, black America is in crisis. Indeed, by most measurable standards, conditions for many blacks have grown worse since 1965: Desperate poverty cripples communities nationwide, incarceration rates have reached record highs, teenage pregnancy and out-of-wedlock births are rampant, and educational failures are stifling achievement among the next generation. For years, prominent sociologists and pundits have blamed these problems on forces outside the black community, from lingering racism, to the explosion of the inner-city drug trade, to the erosion of the urban industrial base and the migration of middle-class blacks to the suburbs. But now, in an important and broad-ranging re-envisioning of the post-Civil Rights black American experience, acclaimed author John McWhorter tears down these theories to expose the true roots of today's crisis, and to show a new way forward.

In Winning the Race, McWhorter argues that black America's current problems began with an unintended byproduct of the Civil Rights revolution, a crippling mindset of "therapeutic alienation." This wary stance toward mainstream American culture, although it is a legacy of racism in the past, continues to hold blacks back, and McWhorter traces all the poisonous effects of this defeatist attitude. In an in-depth case study of the Indianapolis inner city, he analyzes how a vibrant black neighborhood declined into slums, despite ample work opportunities in an American urban center where manufacturing jobs were plentiful. McWhorter takes a hard look at the legacy of the Great Society social assistance programs, lamenting their teaching people to live permanently on welfare, as well as educational failures, too often occurring because of an intellectual climate in which a successful black person must be faced with charges of "acting white." He attacks the sorry state of black popular culture, where indignation for its own sake has been enshrined in everything from the halls of academia to the deleterious policy decisions of community leaders to the disaffected lyrics of hip-hop, particularly rap's glorification of irresponsibility and violence as "protest." In a stirring conclusion, McWhorter puts forth a new vision of black political and intellectual leadership, arguing that both blacks and whites must abolish the culture of victimhood, as this alone can improve the future of black America, and outlines steps that can be taken to ensure hope for the future.

Powerful and provocative, Winning the Race combines detailed research with precise argumentation to present a compelling new vision for black America.

John McWhorter is the author of ten books, including the New York Times bestseller Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America, the national bestseller The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language and most recently Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why We Should, Like, Care. A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, he holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Stanford University and is a frequent media commentator on race, language, and culture. He lives in New York City.

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/winningtherace/


©Very Fine/1952 -- 2006
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"Give advice; if people don't listen, let adversity teach them." -- Ethiopian Proverb

He said in an interview he was elated Clinton dismantled the welfare and its generational effects as stated in his book and changed it to a work style time limited program. He pointed out that 'welfare' was the determining factor in the decline of large black communities in the US. I think he has a point but I see other factors at play.

Now he said these working welfare to work parents are going to be working poor and this will provide some new avenues of inspiration for the next working poor generation of blacks. With immigration reform in the mix, things will be sliding in a spiraling direction. No American can compete with low cost laborers and high cost of living. I have seen shed homes in various lots forming. Its just a matter of time. State governments try to depend on road projects to keep its people on the move but they are finding out that they are too expensive and Congress isnt keen on giving more dollars. The next step is cuts in all areas of government.

There is a large cloud of destruction on the horizon for everyone (its not death but misery, confusion, dissappointment) such as not making the American Dream and for me I will step back and prepare myself for a life of peace whether I am poor rich or other.