What Black People Should Do Now

Rating:
Summary: UNEVEN...BUT OVERALL, A VERY PLEASANT READ...
Review: When I decided to pick up this book and read it for a second time this spring, Ralph Wiley was still alive. I felt it was my duty as a fan of his sociological books (especially "Why Black People Tend to Shout") to write a review here -- and I also felt compelled to see if I missed anything from the first time I read it way back in 1997. Today (minutes before writing this review) I learned that Mr. Wiley has passed on, and while I do believe everything happens for a reason, I still feel it is a shame that Mr. Wiley didn't have more time to share his views with people like me who loved to read and listen.

I don't think this book was as consistent as the first one, however some chapters were incredibly engaging. Of particular note was the incredible amount of foresight it must have taken for Wiley to devote an entire chapter to Cathy Hughes of Washington, D.C., who would go on launch Radio One, the largest Black-owned radio company in the nation *and* TV One, a joint venture with Comcast cable that serves as an adult-alternative to the younger-skewed BET. I read with great interest how Wiley so skillfully illustrated her story (along with her son Alfred Liggins who is the no. 2 executive at both companies). Again, I cannot stress enough how "right on" Ralph was to highlight Ms. Hughes so early on in her career. He was probably the first major writer to do so.

I also enjoyed his musings on the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill controversy, the "Strange Fruit" chapter (which to me was a throwback to his earlier book), his whole take on the Spike Lee/Denzel Washington/Malcolm X project (probably my favorite chapter), and his essay on Magic Johnson. "What Black People Haven't Done Yet," and "Do All Black People Know Each Other" also captured the thought-provoking incisiveness that made "Tend to Shout" such a can't-miss work of literature, and his final chapter spoke to me in ways it didn't the first time around.

My three-star rating is actually a 3 and 1/2 star rating. There were some chapters that I ended up skimming through because for some reason or another, I wasn't drawn in. But the entries I mentioned were more than enough incentive for me to finish this book. Again, I can't help but feel truly dissapointed that I will now never meet Mr. Wiley, or be able to read anything new from his end in the years to come. But one thing I am happy to say is this: he inspired me to pick up a pen and attempt to write something of my own back in 1997, and now in 2004 I am even more compelled to make that vision a reality.

Like Wiley, I have a passion for entertainment - his passion was sports. My passion is music. Both sports and music can be analyzed and chronicled through a sociological lens, and I plan to excercise my right to express myself the way Mr. Wiley did so well. I highly recommend his first sociological work "Why Black People Tend to Shout" for a look into his thoughts on race relations in the '80s. I didn't even know who Willie Horton was until I read that book. I'd like to thank Mr. Wiley for writing so passionately (and so humorously at times too!), and my roommate from 1995's Washington Journalism Conference for hipping me to his first book way back when. Thanks.