The Problem of Race in the 21st Century by Thomas C Holt

The Problem of Race in the 21st Century by Thomas C Holt

"The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the colour-line", W.E.B. du Bois wrote in 1903, and his words have proven sadly prophetic. As we enter the 21st century, the problem remains - and yet it, and the line that defies it, have shifted in subtle but significant ways. This brief book speaks powerfully to the question of how the circumstances of race and racism have changed in our time - and how these changes will affect our future. Foremost among the book's concerns are the contradictions and incoherence of a system that idealizes black celebrities in politics, popular culture and sports even as it diminishes the average African-American citizen. The world of the assembly line, boxer Jack Johnson's career and "The Birth of a Nation" come under Holt's scrutiny as he relates the malign progress of race and racism to the loss of industrial jobs and the rise of our modern consumer society. Understanding race as ideology, he describes the processes of consumerism and commodification that have transformed, but not necessarily improved, the place of black citizens in our society. As disturbing as it is enlightening, this work reveals the radical nature of change as it relates to race and its cultural phenomena. It offers conceptual tools and a new way to think and talk about racism as social reality.

Thomas C. Holt is the James Westfall Thompson Professor of American and African American History at the University of Chicago. A past president of the American Historical Association, Holt has been a Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson International Center, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of Black Over White, The Problem of Freedom, The Problem of Race in the Twenty-First Century, and co-author of Beyond Slavery.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780674004436
ISBN 10	0674004434
Title	The Problem of Race in the 21st Century
Author	Thomas C Holt
Series	The Nathan I Huggins Lectures
Condition	Unavailable
Publisher	Harvard University Press
Year published	2001-02-12
Number of pages	160
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.