The End of Blackness

Rating:
Summary: This book is a much-needed addition to the race discussion
Review: Debra Dickerson has shown courage and cojones in writing this book. As an African-American male, I appreciate her perspective. One does not have to agree with everything she says in order to understand her critique of the toxic dialogue that is in the general culture. Some of her critics need to stop throwing verbal bricks at her and listen to her more carefully. Truly there are some black bigots who have nothing better to do than to hurl insults.

Rating:
Summary: Just another hustle
Review: Debra Dickerson's latest polemic is just more of same: kick the victim, promote self, extol the virtues of "bootstrap mobility", promote self, pander to conservatives by making them comfortable with their prejudices, promote self, make the PR rounds with a "brave" pseudo-provocative message, promote self, collect money. Ms. Dickerson did not live in a vacuum; she did not get to the Harvard Law School entirely on her own, as she seems to believe. More than anything, her message reflects either a brazen dishonesty or a transcendent ignorance of the historic, economic, political and social forces that shaped this country and the destiny of black Americans. This is a book that could have been written by Dinesh D'Souza, Shelby Steele, Thomas Sowell, or any one of a dozen other race hustlers. It is a foolish waste of trees.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but flawed- makes some nervous
Review: DICKERSON OPENS ON THE WHITE SIDE OF THE HOUSE
Dickerson begins this book by skewering whites (mostly conservatives seem to draw her ire) as folks who always wish to always appear in a good light- seeking to airbrush away the ugly facts of history before the closing credits roll. But black folk as Dickerson jokes, "have access to the Director's cut". They KNOW what parts are missing. Whites also she says, always desire to be at the center of attention- whether it be from the easy assumption of black inferiority, to the clutching of purses within the vicinity of any black male, to white South African tales of woe, doom and gloom. Black conservatives are not exempt, although she handles them gingerly. Curiously enough, Dickerson seems to have few bones to pick with white liberals apart from some mild boilerplate.

TAKING BLACKS TO THE WOODSHED
Dickerson next heads to the woodshed with blacks. The bottom line is that she says blacks are focused too much on whites, who yet again, seem to be the center of attention. It is time that blacks concentrate on OTHER THINGS, like the hard work that needs to be done internally. Such a view of course is not the "correct" one to play up, and the "black politiburo" ruthlessly attacks those who fail to demonstrate the "right way of thinking".

DICKERSON LETS WHITE LIBERALS OFF THE HOOK
It could be a strategy of protective innoculation or flank cover, but Dickerson expends a lot of ink hurling barbs at "conservative" whites. Some are well deserved, but even in the book's ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS at the back, she is warning against the machinations of the Republicans and manages to squeeze in a reference to the Ku Klux Klan. Easy targets include wavers of the Confederate Flag, right wing talk show hosts, racists of the old Jim Crow regimes, conservative scholars and various other "unreconstructed" whites.

--- --- Some of these criticisms are valid, but she fails to do the blunt speaking that is also needed towards white liberals, who are adept at manipulating blacks symbolically to cover their own agendas. The whites doing the most damage to blacks today are not those insensitive Confederate Flag people, but arguably, white liberals. Too often, the patronizing social policies they support have helped sap and preempt the initiative of the black community- from the dependency fostering welfare system, to the deceptive quotas of "affirmative action", to the cynical tokenism of some so-called "diversity", to the dismal and corrupt public "education" system and its obstructive (white dominated) unions. Any SERIOUS analysis of white society must acknowledge liberal deception. Malcolm X didn't shirk from it, but Dickerson by in large does, despite liberal quotations from Malcolm himself.

. . Dickerson asserts that the "black politiburo" tactily cooperates with those bad white right-wingers in exposing the negative side of black life, but curiously, downplays a much more relevant and substantial relationship- that of white liberals with said "black politiburo"- a link which demands that such negatives be played up endlessly.

. . Dickerson continually seesaws between pulling out yet another nugget of white hypocrisy or racism, while simultaneously urging black folk to frankly examine themselves. As a result the book sometimes seems to lose focus, and some of the plain speaking and central thread of her argument, is lost in the shuffle.

DICKERSON'S ANALYSES COULD BE BETTER
Dickerson too often resorts to sound-bite McNuggets, when meatier examples would make her case. She has very little substantatively, to say about religion, a key player in any realistic scenario of black uplift. She mentions black preachers successfully catering to "millions" of unmarried black women and points out that while women make up 75% or more of many congregation, they are only 5% of the clergy.
Fine, but such imbalances have been noted ever since the 1960s, and doesn't 4 decades of success by such preachers in the face of this imbalance (and numerous scandals) indicate that blacks still WANT and PREFER the male element to exercise spiritual leadership? The "Essence Sisters" crowd may not think much of this as they head to the salon for another hairdo, but it is the reality on the ground for millions. Doesn't the success of the "patriarchal" Nation of Islam also confirm this preference among blacks, unglamorous as it may be?

. . Furthermore the ancient Hebrew scriptures speaking of Jehovah as father to the fatherless, and a protector and husband to widows and the vulnerable female, finds strong resonance in historical black religion. And some of the most promising initiatives for black uplift today are found precisely in those churches. Doesn't all this call for more serious analysis and commentary, rather than yet another joke about "yo baby daddy?"

THE BOTTOM LINE
Dickerson's brief final summation notes that while blacks can't control the behavior of others, they can control THEIR REACTIONS to that behavior. Rather than attempting to change the hearts and minds of the insensitive, the racist or the indifferent, it is time to concentrate on changing what they can. Blacks must stop dreading and stop caring what white people think. No one should set higher standards for blacks, than blacks.

RATING
On the whole- 4 stars for some good writing and fresh material, but too often sound bites substitute for penetrating analysis, and white liberals- one of the most damaging groups to blacks, are essentially given a pass. Her avoidance of serious discussion of such topics as affirmative action also shows that the "courageous" declarations touted by some reviewers are rather less so. Dickerson too often plays it safe, and picks easy targets. This may offer some flank protection, but at the end of the day, the peeps will still holler "traitor", and white liberals will keep on feeling good.

NOTE: Some folks seem to have worked themselves into a lather over Dickerson's interracial marriage. Cut the hypocrisy and get over it people. Evaluate Dickerson's arguments on their own merits.

Rating:
Summary: Great no-prisoner take on racism, blackness
Review: Dickerson's body blow-dealing introduction is enough to wither most black intellectuals where they stand. Taken by itself, one would think the remaining 275 pages were a primer on how to get your butt-whupped at the company picnic of the NAACP. After plainly and deftly laying out in the first sentence the purpose of her book, she jabs, kicks and otherwise pounds on the kufi-donned heads of any black person donning race baggage without breaking a lip sweat, with such haymakers as:

"[Blacks] have not been left out of America; they affect rejecting it while availing themselves of every morsel of its benefits."

Ouch. Or how about:

"If an upheaval on the scale of the civil rights movement couldn't do it, it is hard to know what it will take to satisfy the 'woe is me' race men that they are citizens; perhaps a giant Hallmark card signed by every Caucasian in America."

Are your cowry shells ringing yet?

Dickerson, however, isn't a simple race baiter. She just as easily spends the next 25 pages running white folks through the ringer, detailing the developmental history of slavery and racism as it has nurtured and been so nurtured in the west. From there, the rest of the book is open season on anybody without an open mind.

Dickerson possesses a cool hand when it comes to capturing not only the academic side of the racial shebang, but is particularly stunning at pointing out the ridiculous foibles of a people who want freedom by as few means as necessary. Her codification and critique of popular public-passed emails such as "You Know You're Ghetto Corporate If..." and "Ghetto Resume" puts her research firmly in the front lines of the debate, and yet, just when you think she's Clarence Thomas in a dress, she lambasts whites for contributing politely to much of the same crimes of ignorance and fear-based rhetoric as blacks. A great example, among many, is the section on Africa-bashing by whites to slip under the radar of the homegrown racism they claim to no longer possess as it relates to Africa's American stepchildren.

Dickerson plays for keeps, and despite what must be an obvious and careful noting of just-enough cases to make the points she wishes to make, she writes this book with more courage and brawn than any Dyson book, and with more on-ramps into her worldview than Cornel West has ever offered. You may not like what she has to say, but chances are if the rock hit you, well, you were the one in the pack she was aiming for. The question isn't how back is Dickerson. The question is, how black are blacks, and what does that mean 40 years out of the civil rights movement?

This book reads as though Dickerson wrote it like it might be her only one. Hopefully, we'll not have to wait long for another dose of her medicine. It goes down tough, but you'll be better in the morning.

(Review from KISO Books)

Rating:
Summary: Terrific, Timely Truthtelling
Review: Dickerson's eloquent analysis and no-holds-barred expose will infuriate the race-baiters, ethnic hustlers, and professional victims industry with its common sense, down-to-earth reality check.

Dickerson is classy, suave, attractive, accomplished and brimming with self-confidence. She is an exemplary role model for men and women, blacks and whites, and Americans of all ages.

She is sure to be attacked with venom and vindictiveness by the politically correct doomsday crowd, that confederacy of dunces whose time has passed.

For that reason alone, her wonderful book will be savored by all level headed, anti-racist, anti-victimology readers.

As a Russian-Kazakh American, I am delighted to be alive to embrace her recommendations and poignany.

Rating:
Summary: Here we go again
Review: Do we really need another black neo-conservative to tell us how hypocritical black America is? The only reason a book like this gets attention is because certain segments of white america enjoy hearing these neo-conservatives denigrate or "critique" other blacks. Such critiques are always embraced as fresh and insightful but it is the same opportunistic nonsense that certain blacks for decades have used to advance themselves at the expense of their own people. Save your money and time.

Rating:
Summary: I dont know whether to laugh or cry
Review: First of all; I read this book only because it was being promoted on CSPAN at the same time Elaine Brown was giving a speech to some college kids.
So I got the book and read it. It is a big joke and I will post a few points here:

1. The notion of surrender - This is a ridiculous point because within her own construct, surrender only becomes another weapon. Notice how she says "Living well is the best revenge?" - So why criticise blacks who are fighting with other means; instead of her vague notion of surrender? Blacks arent asking to be made whole for the years of damage, any more than France making Haiti pay reparations is asking to be made whole.

2. The Notion of Abele being an Uncle Tom - This is foolish. She skewers Afrocentrics for conjuring up Africans in the bronze ages who built airplanes (a clear case of Hyperbole used to malicious intent), then she raises the spectre of Onesimus and Abele. For what purposes? Why arent Afrocentrists like Asante, Vazant and Clarke allowed to identify with a culture they love and have researched, yet she is allowed to speak of Abele and Onesimus in a context that makes no sense?

3. Her Attacks on Afrocentrism - This is nothing new. Has she said anything that McWhorter and Patterson havent said? The truth is that Afrocentrism is successful because it caters to needs of the Diaspora and it does so based on FACTS. FACTS, Ms. Dickerson are what Afrocentrism is about. Can you enter into an argument with Asante? Have YOU studied classical African civilizations? Do YOU know anything about Africa at all? It would be laughable if it werent so pathetic!

4. The Place and Position of Africa - She touches on Iyanla Vazant and mocks her for her summoning of Yoruba Priestesses. I suspect Dickerson is Jealous. Then she mutters some mumbo jumbo about the Yoruba ancients not being able to protect their offspring from being conquered. Has this woman read no history at all? First of all, why werent the Roman gods able to protect them from the sacking of the Barbarians? Secondly, it seems that the Yoruba gods were successful after all. The Yoruba had one of the Briefest colonization periods on the African continent. Thirdly, it seems it is her own disconnection which African history that makes her mock those who have made it their focus.

5. Slavery - She speaks of African ancestors hands being stained with bllod of the slave trade. JeeeeZ! She criticies white denial then embraces it. By European accounts, Africans fought nothing less than 300 battles with Imperialists to stop the slave trade. Please read John Clarke's "West African Resistance" for a more scholarly treatment of this matter.

Finally, this book is absolutely RIDICULOUS and you can tell who black people are by watching the rating given to this book.
Why, for goodness sake, doesnt Amazon.com have a zero rating?
There is much more to expose here, but no space.
I advise black people to read this book though, so they can keep abreast of contemporary propaganda from the Western establishment. Then after reading it, they should take a bath in either Clarke, Asante, Diop - even Gates, Jr is preferable to this nonsense.
The end of blackness? I doubt it.
The future will prove who is right and who is wrong.
Remember, some blacks right from the times of slavery have been singing the same tune as Dickerson. Have they been vindicated? NO and I doubt Dickerson will be.
You see, blacks have realized something over the ages. They have realized Racism and Imperialism are VIRUSES. They may not be entirely defeatable, but a consistent resistance is neccesary.
Blacks have realized that while BLACKS all over the world have their problems - the hope of BLACK people all over the world lies in COMMUNITY.
Divide and Conquer is still a tactic of the enemy and Dickerson is just one more mouthpiece.
As Blacks, we have also learned that people like Dickerson who feign some kind of objectivity and atatck white people in other to provide a cover up for their real intention (which is a denigration of black) will always be around.
Vigilance is ever neccesary.
PC Police? Huh? I dont think so. Of what good is a nonPC attitude that destroys blacks? In the end will Dickerson's influence be as far reaching as that of the real truth tellers? The Asantes and Diops? Let us wait and see.

Rating:
Summary: May she be washed whiter than snow....
Review: First off, let me say that this is just an awful book: poorly written, repetitive, disorganized and negative in tone. Doesn't Pantheon employ editors and fact-checkers? Second, the reviewer from Los Angeles is to be thanked for adding indispensable information to this thread. Debra Dickerson has hurled so many brickbats at so many people that she has exposed her personal life to scrutiny, but this is a good thing. When her book and its many ridiculous, self-esteeming pronouncements are viewed from this vantage point, then her pathologies are much better understood, and the source of those pronouncements is quite clear. Marriage is a political act; it reveals what people truly think of themselves. In Dickerson's circumstance, it is now quite clear that racial self-hatred, low self esteem, and a racial death wish are what motivate her writings. "The End of Blackness" is really wish-fantasy on her part, with a very apt title. There's a reason why she has chosen to hide this information: Because her own life choices cannot stand up straight next to her writings. If she were writing fiction (and in a way, she is), this would not matter one whit. As things are, it is pointedly relevant in that it marks her as a fraud whose work is fraudulent.

Rating:
Summary: Anti-Blackness
Review: Here we go again another "objective" book coming from a closet neoconservative "black" woman. In the tradition of John McHorror, Judas Patterson, Thomas Sorewell, Larry Failure Elder etc. al. Same formula once again. Lets attack blacks indirectly by using "black" people that way they can go much further than Charles Murray and David Duke ever could dream to go. Second lets make it "objective" by quoting Dr. King or Malcolm X and by taking thier words out of context (even though if Dr. King and Malcolm X were alive today they would be against them!). Third lets tell closet white racist what they want to hear every single negative stereotype possible. But their is a reason why this book and so many others written by "black" racist fail or at best become a modest seller. The typical bookstore keeps putting thier works in the African-American section. I have been saying this time and time again. They should just create a white supremacist book section in each book store that way when the typical closet white racist buys for instance The Bell Curve he can discover books like the End of blackness. At least the book would get a shot at making the NYT bestseller list somthing that the Bell Curve was able to accomplish. Which proves another point these "black" neoconservatives keep saying. Which is that racism does not exisist or is quite miniscule but if that is the case how can you explain the succes of books like the Bell Curve?

Rating:
Summary: The Horrific Consequences of Child Abuse
Review: I had the discomfort of interviewing Ms. Dickerson for two hours after ATTEMPTING to get through her book. I couldn't get through it sequentially and was forced to pick it up, randomly read a section until I couldn't stomache it any more. What a waste of a higher education. I think that the widespread incidence of child abuse can show up much later in life and leave us with adults with extensively damaged psyche. I alternatively feel sorry for this damaged little girl in a woman's body and outraged that she would lease her blackness to those who would publish a peice of ethnic slander like "The End of Blackness." I regard Ms. Dickerson to be somewhat schizophrenic...but I doubt that it is her fault. This is a classic case of both "post-enslavement traumatic syndrome" and the "Stockholm syndrome."