Book Reviews

Two Harvard professors have written books that explain how and why the Republican Party has been taken over by far right extremists. They show that the structure of our government under the Constitution not only makes this possible, but the Constitution is designed to facilitate and even encourage extremism. They call on Americans to recognize that the Constitution is not designed for a democratic government.

As the 2024 presidential election season gains momentum, and TV and radio talk shows, social media, and everyday pundits, as well as the candidates themselves, seem obsessed with the question of whether African Americans and Hispanics will vote for Trump or Biden, now is a good time to read and learn from Ortiz’s book.

There is more than enough history in “An African American and Latinx History of the United States” for all Americans in 2024 to talk with each other and to demand that the candidates for president discuss exactly what was great about America in the past and what would make America a great country in the future.

What does a vision for the future look like if it is grounded on a commitment to human rights around the world?

Julissa Arce, author of “You Sound Like a White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation” is not waiting for white people to change. She celebrates that “together – Indigenous, African American, Latino, and Asian communities – we are creating change.” That change is to become “We the People of the United States.” She proposes this strategy: “‘In order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice,’ we must actually seek justice. Assimilation, diversity, inclusion – this is not justice. Representation is justice. Equality is justice. Intersection is justice. Freedom is justice.”

Whether you want a book for a gift or you want something to read yourself, there are literally hundreds of books about racism to choose from. Here are a few suggestions.

Annette Gordon-Reed is a history professor at Harvard University who has written a book that every American should read, and it should be required reading in every high school. Her special gift as a historian is to describe the complexity of past events so that they reveal the people who made them. Then, as a social commentator, she shows how Texans and Americans are products of history by sharing stories about her family and herself.

Elie Mystal has a wonderful way of making things that lawyers talk about regarding the Constitution sound like common sense. As the legal analyst and justice correspondent for “The Nation,” an MSNBC legal commentator, and the legal editor of the “More Perfect” podcast on the Supreme Court for Radiolab, he argues for the American people to take the country away from the conservatives.

I met Will Jawando because we both participated in President Obama's White House mentoring program.

For me, a white man, the book opens up a window into the challenges Will faced, challenges that he says are not unique to him. Will says it is important for white people to learn the stories of Black men and "help to shape a new story about who America is." Reading "My Seven Black Fathers" is an excellent way to learn a story of an amazing Black man.