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How Race Is Lived in America: Pulling Together, Pulling Apart
by Correspondents of The New York Times (Introduction: Joseph Lelyveld)
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Times Books (2001-04-17)
ISBN: 080506740X
EAN: 9780805067408
Dewy Decimal #: 305.800973
Hardcover: 400 pages
Edition: 1st
SKU: 08090228
Condition: Like New Like New
Comments: First Edition. Hardcover. Like new cover and text. Like new dust jacket with one tiny tear on top corner of jacket and very minor shelfwear. Near Fine condition. Beautiful book.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
In 1999, the New York Times embarked on the most ambitious project in its history. Starting with one central question--What are race relations like today?--a dedicated group of editors and writers began work on an intense, demanding form of narrative journalism, finding compelling stories in fifteen communities around the nation and following their subjects for up to a year until their stories played out. The result, How Race Is Lived in America, captures the emotions and candid words that often churn just below the surface and presents an uncommon view of the country's private and public discourse on race.
Whether it's the struggles of a biracial partnership in a high-tech start-up, the tension-filled merger of a white church with a black church in the South, the simmering resentments of a multiracial slaughterhouse workforce, or the hip-hop dreams of a suburban white teenager, the powerful and intimate stories in this book follow real people leading complex lives, often but not always side by side.
Aqeelah Mateen, one of a trio of young friends in Maplewood, New Jersey, finds herself torn by racial identity as she approaches adulthood. Sergeant Maria Brogli suspects that the black undercover officers on her Harlem narcotics squad fear being accidentally shot by white officers. Achmed Valdes, a white immigrant from Cuba, wonders why his best friend from Havana has chosen to align himself with Miami's black community. As each shares hopes, fears and assumptions, an intricate and poignant understanding of race relations emerges.
Throughout these chronicles, which are enriched by an extensive poll and commentary from the journalists and citizens, it is clear that America has not become two distinct nations--one black and one white--as was feared a generation ago. America is now an inescapably multiracial society, discovering day by day how perceptions of race affect the fabric of human relationships. But deep divisions and frustrations persist, in minds and hearts if not in the laws of the land.
This landmark book offers a personal yet panoramic view of real-world conflict and aspiration, pain and resolution--a portrait of a country torn apart and brought together by its attitudes towards race
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Amazon.com Review
The Assembly of God Tabernacle in Decatur, Georgia, has succeeded at doing what most institutions in America have failed at--achieving full integration. White parishioners who thought of blacks in the worst terms in the past have now decided that all believers--black and white--are going to the same heaven, so they might as well get used to it here on earth. After a black man hugs an elderly white woman, he says, "Man, 30 or 40 years ago I would have been hung for just touching this lady." While there is genuine affection between many of the parishioners, all the complex feelings and questions that plague the races at the turn of the century are being reckoned with here. Is integration a blessing or a sellout, blacks wonder. Is it ever acceptable--or even helpful--to make race the issue, or must a preacher and his congregation always feign colorblindness? What are the burdens of blending in, and are they worth it? And will this last, or is the church just like so many neighborhoods--enjoying a fleeting moment of integration on the way to becoming predominantly black? These are just some of the touchy issues explored in this remarkable and eye-opening book. Originally published as a series in The New York Times, the 15 stories are the outcome of a yearlong examination by a team of reporters who managed to overcome the taboo of discussing private attitudes toward race and uncover the daily experience of race relations in schools, friendships, sports, popular culture, worship, and the workplace. The result is a wide range of intimate portraits, from bringing up slavery in the Old South, to drug cops reacting silently to the Amadou Diallo verdict, to the making of the HBO special The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood. Race clearly remains a source of misunderstanding and alienation, but there are also heartening signs of reaching out, reconciliation, and even unity. This book is an important leap into an area most fear to tread, yet also yearn to change. --Lesley Reed
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Customer Reviews
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Relevant, important, and a pleasure to read
Rating  (5)
Date: 2007-02-17
I had the opportunity to read some of the testimonials and accounts that appear in this book when they were first published as a series in the New York Times. When I read the book, I had the chance to enjoy a few narratives that I had missed. This book makes a great effort to put into focus the dynamic of race relations in America. All the stories are touching and beautifully written. The reader is not led into any specific conclusion; once you read all the stories you will have a better picture and will be able to judge where you stand pertaining race relations. I identified myself with more than one of the subjects of these stories. Congratulations to the New York Times for this momentous documentary that surely will make history. No matter which race you identify yourself with, there is something for you in this book.
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The True Value of Courage and Strength
Rating (5)
Date: 2002-08-12
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This collage of independant stories revealed the courage of ordinary Americans doing extra-ordinary things. In each of these stories, the indiviuals challenged their own personal beliefs, and cultural and ethnic diffrences, to come together and build alliances that transcended race. This is the ideal of what true Americans are and the values of real patriotism and heroism foiled up into an amazing hardcover, that all peace-loving humanitarians should own. The NY TImes and Joseph Lelyveld, You get 2 thumbs up for this incredible work of art. My gratitude to you,
Sincerly, Malik Padgett
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great read
Rating (5)
Date: 2002-06-10
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
How race is lived in america deals with the issues of race that we are still dealing with today and how race still does matter. The collection of new york times pieces deals with how race is played out. From race being a straign on frienships (a group of inter-racial friends making the transition from middle school to high school and two cuban friends-one white and one black-coming to america and facing different challenges) to race in the work place (looking at race relations at a tyson factory in north carolina to a black-white owned internet company). The book gives a rather good detail of where are in terms of race now.
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Can't put down
Rating (5)
Date: 2002-03-11
0 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
I picked this up last night and couldn't put it down. Not only that, but after each chapter I just stopped and thought for a minute or two. Just incredible.
Get it and read it.
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Almost there.
Rating  (4)
Date: 2001-12-09
5 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
I read this for class the past semester and thought that while there are some really incredible circumstances discussed,(White quarterback, growing up multi-racial, and minority public servants) that some people were noticeably left out. Native Americans received a further blow of marginalization. (they were mentioned once as something of a prop) Also, the diversity among Black and Asian communities was very much ignored. I must say that it's obvious who the writers/editors are marketing towards in their readership, because many of the arguments continue some monolithic dialogues that haven't changed in 20+ years. Going into a work like this will take some serious analysis on the part of the reader to notice what I'm talking about, as it is written with an almost indistinguishable slant. The work has great potential for use as a teaching tool, but focus should remain on analysis rather than taking work verbatim.
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