Books and Cooks West
November 2002
Afraid of the Dark: What Whites and Blacks Need to Know About Each Other
by Jim Myers
Afraid of the Dark: What Whites and Blacks Need to Know About Each Other
by Jim Myers
Dawn and Jared's place
November 2 at 5:30 PM
Pizza, salad, bread, cider bread, and red wine
Our rating: 3.2 cups of tea!
From Booklist
From a black perspective, the fact that Myers is a white man (married to a black woman) expounding on the subject of race arouses the usual skepticism, which would likely prove one of Myers' points--that black and white people have markedly different viewpoints and don't trust each other. Myers brings surprising insight and straightforwardness to one of the most compelling but least discussed topics in the U.S. He describes the different worlds inhabited by black and white Americans. Despite some progress on integration, blacks and whites generally don't live in the same neighborhoods, attend the same churches or schools, or even watch the same television shows. Myers cites statistics that belie the widespread fear of a surge in the black population and the trend among whites, abetted by technology, to move to areas with low minority populations. He also examines the stubborn persistence of myths about black and white intelligence and sexuality. Myers offers commonsense advice that he acknowledges is likely to be ignored, including more open and honest dialogue on race.
