Kathleen Brush’s new book entitled Racism and anti-Racism in the World: before and after 1945 is an eye-opening read. What you didn’t know about is just how bad racism has been throughout history and across the world. And contrary to what the media tells you, the USA has been on the forefront of correcting the evils more than any other country on the planet.
The book starts out chronicling the horrors of tribalisms, slavery and genocides you probably never heard about over centuries ago and up until today across the world. It’s obvious that what’s happening today in the USA is trivial in comparison.
Talk about having it tough! The Arab slave trade, the African slave trade, and later on the Atlantic slave trade as well as so many killed or enslaved in history when competing religions or tribes battled for supremacy is breathtakingly alarming. How we got to today’s relatively civil discourse is a miracle considering where the world has been and where much of it still is today.
When Brush gets to the BLM movement and Critical Race Theory in the United States today, her arguments are precise, particular, and persuasive. She successfully makes the case that the United States is exactly the opposite of the way it is prominently displayed by today’s media: Instead of being an inherently racist society as the media suggest, the United States is an exemplar of anti-racist policies.
Brush references the major media and political narratives and contrasts them with actual facts, explaining how “kind hearted progressivism” is actually racist and entrapping people of color causing them much more harm.
The book in paperback is tightly spaced and uses many words I had to look up. But every word is well placed and significant. “Hey Siri, what is the definition of …” Even though the book is under 100 pages, it will take you some time to thoughtfully consume the content. If you want more, she has plenty of footnotes and references in the book’s appendix.
She actually makes a great case for where we should be going instead of where we’re headed. It’s a must read. 5 stars.
