Whatever Serious Wednesday - Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

 Seriously

This is a must read book. Isabel Wilkerson has out done herself as a writer, researcher, and commentator for our times. 

I participated in a book talk of hers and it was so cool. She's smart, well spoken, and is on top of a topic for our times.  As a Pulitzer Prize winning author for her columns, she now commands our attention in her research and books.  I loved The Warmth of Other Suns about the  migration of folks from the south to the north and the impact on so many people. 

In Caste she compares Nazi Germany, India, and America - the research is astounding.  

Cover blurb - she explores how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. 

Anyone with a friend of color has experienced this.  At a restaurant, she and a white friend were ignored.   My husband, Ray, with a black co-worker were pulled over. Once the policeman realized the driver was Ray (white), they were dismissed.  

Ridiculous!

The insidious flow of caste is experienced every day. So many examples are given. 

Isabel Wilkerson's research is flawless and worthy of attention.  

cover blurb - She points the way forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions toward hope in our common humanity. 

This is an amazing read!  Trust me.  I love her writing and would love to hang out with her for a day. 

Monday Muse - The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

Just a great quote to ponder

 Just an excellent book to read and ponder. In between my light pool reads, I've been working my way through  The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson.  This is a non-fiction book that reads like fiction as Wilkerson follows three main characters in their migration from the Jim Crow south.  

back cover blurb  From 1915 to 1970, six million black citizens made an exodus that changed the face of America. They fled the South for northern and western cities in search of a better life. The author interviewed more than a thousand individuals, gained access to new data and records, and wrote this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves. 

I really enjoyed this book and found it fascinating. Ida Mae Gladney,  from Mississippi fled to Chicago. There and parts north she and her husband worked hard,  raised a family, and still enjoyed her home cooking skills - like a mean cornbread. They just didn't look back. 

George Starling fled Florida before a lynching. Once in New York City, he became a porter on the train and road the rails the whole rest of his life, seeing the day when black folks did not have to move to a separate train car when they crossed into the South. 

Robert Joseph Pershing Foster, MD fled the South to California and worked hard to become the best doctor, have the best reputation and practice, raise his daughters to be the best. He was a gambler and an achiever, wanted acclaim, and attention. In a way, his soul could never be at peace with being a black man from the South. 

The history,  the lives, the aches, and sorrows. The hard work. The extra scramble. It's something I can't fathom. But I'm grateful for Isabel Wilkerson's words and work to help anyone understand what (black) Americans have encountered and endured in the 20th century, and appreciate the achievement of survival and growth for each generation.  The Warmth of Other Suns is a stunning book.