Substantive documentation of the underestimated, long-term effect of these unique colleges on Black life and success.
An academic history of the multipolar role of HBCUs and their long-term effects on civic engagement.
In this follow-up to Citizens by Degree, Rose, a professor of public policy and political science at Duke, provides a solid combination of in-depth statistical analysis and participation-based interviews. The author effectively establishes how they “have provided Black Americans with access to knowledge, skills, and opportunities needed to drive socioeconomic progress.” Furthermore, she writes, “as centers of Black excellence and amplifiers of Black voices and ideas, Black colleges represented a powerful threat to White supremacy.” Rose begins with the emergence of HBCUs in the mid-19th century and their central role in Black aspirations against the explicit marginalization of Jim Crow, then moves through the civil rights legislation of the mid-1960s. She shows how, over the decades, “government support for HBCUs pales in comparison to lawmakers’ esteem,” and she tracks a complex, intriguing narrative of these institutions’ progress during Reconstruction, followed by violent backlash as segregationist attitudes hardened. Despite their numerous obstacles, the author terms these hardy schools “essential institutional structures that made scholarly resistance to racism possible.” Prior to the Civil Rights era (in which students were engaged), the schools were not seen as interconnected; the apparent post-1960s openness of “predominantly White colleges” led to a “dramatic reimagining of their central purpose.” The bonding experienced by students at HBCUs demonstrates their continued relevance; despite the greater diversity other schools now embrace, they remain “uniquely empowering spaces.” Overall, Rose concludes, “HBCUs have played a central role cultivating highly engaged Black citizens.” Though occasionally dry, the discussion is informative, based on surveys and statistics and the author’s wise use of anecdotal recollections by multigenerational subjects.
Substantive documentation of the underestimated, long-term effect of these unique colleges on Black life and success.Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780197776599
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
For those satisfied with blame-the-victim tidbits of received wisdom.
The noted conservative economist delivers arguments both fiscal and political against social justice initiatives such as welfare and a federal minimum wage.
A Black scholar who has lived through many civil rights struggles, Sowell is also a follower of Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, who insisted that free market solutions are available for every social problem. This short book begins with what amounts to an impatient declaration that life isn’t fair. Some nations are wealthy because of geographical advantages, and some people are wealthy because they’re smarter than others. “Some social justice advocates may implicitly assume that various groups have similar developed capabilities, so that different outcomes appear puzzling,” he writes. In doing so, he argues, they fail to distinguish between equal opportunity and equal capability. Sowell is dismissive of claims that Black Americans and other minorities are systematically denied a level playing field: Put non-white kids in charter schools, he urges, and presto, their math scores will zoom northward as compared to those in public schools. “These are huge disparities within the same groups, so that neither race nor racism can account for these huge differences,” he writes, clearly at pains to distance himself from the faintest suggestion that race has anything to do with success or failure in America. At the same time, he isn’t exactly comfortable with the idea that economic inequalities exist, and he tries to finesse definitions to suit his convictions: “The terms ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ are misleading in another and more fundamental sense. These terms apply to people’s stock of wealth, not their flows of income.” As for crime? Give criminals more rights, he asserts, as with Miranda v. Arizona, and crime rates go up—an assertion that overlooks numerous other variables but fits Sowell’s ideological slant.
For those satisfied with blame-the-victim tidbits of received wisdom.Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9781541603929
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Basic Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Everything about Sabathia is larger than life, yet he tells his story with honesty and humility.
One of the best pitchers of his generation—and often the only Black man on his team—shares an extraordinary life in baseball.
A high school star in several sports, Sabathia was being furiously recruited by both colleges and professional teams when the death of his grandmother, whose Social Security checks supported the family, meant that he couldn't go to college even with a full scholarship. He recounts how he learned he had been drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the first round over the PA system at his high school. In 2001, after three seasons in the minor leagues, Sabathia became the youngest player in MLB (age 20). His career took off from there, and in 2008, he signed with the New York Yankees for seven years and $161 million, at the time the largest contract ever for a pitcher. With the help of Vanity Fair contributor Smith, Sabathia tells the entertaining story of his 19 seasons on and off the field. The first 14 ran in tandem with a poorly hidden alcohol problem and a propensity for destructive bar brawls. His high school sweetheart, Amber, who became his wife and the mother of his children, did her best to help him manage his repressed fury and grief about the deaths of two beloved cousins and his father, but Sabathia pursued drinking with the same "till the end" mentality as everything else. Finally, a series of disasters led to a month of rehab in 2015. Leading a sober life was necessary, but it did not tame Sabathia's trademark feistiness. He continued to fiercely rile his opponents and foment the fighting spirit in his teammates until debilitating injuries to his knees and pitching arm led to his retirement in 2019. This book represents an excellent launching point for Jay-Z’s new imprint, Roc Lit 101.
Everything about Sabathia is larger than life, yet he tells his story with honesty and humility.Pub Date: July 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-13375-0
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Roc Lit 101
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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