Curtis Sneden

This is an important book. I personally have found DEI discussions grounded in terms like "racist" and "bigot" to be unsatisfying. They focus on the mindset of the accused racist, whose inevitable denials simply lead to a highly subjective disavowal of that mindset. (I feel comfortable calling-out this diorama because I have acted in it myself.) By focusing on caste, Ms. Wilkerson clears the way to an understanding that each American is to some degree a participant in a very old system which holds African Americans firmly in place at the bottom of our social hierarchy. This is true quite apart from any individual's state of mind. I don't have to be "racist" to be complicit in the caste system. Ms. Wilkerson's analysis of the dynamics of movement within castes and the mechanisms that prevent such movement were nothing less than riveting to me. The comparisons to the Indian caste system and, G*d help us, to the Nazis were deeply disquieting. That the Nazis admired America's legal system for its efficacy in holding minorities in their place, leaves me heartsick. As uncomfortable as that realization may be, it surely opens the way to growth and healing; bitter but urgently needed medicine. In just the week it has taken me to consume the book, I have begun to notice many of the caste tentacles she describes within my own progressive, future-focused community. Thanks to her insights, I feel better equipped, more competent, to join the discussion about, the fight against, this tragic and costly social system. I have already recommended "Caste" to most of the people around me and do so here. It bears repeating: this is an important book.