I must have read hundreds of books covering, to some degree, the experience of Africans in America. Even as I tell me myself that "It is time to move on," I find another compelling title to distract me. This was the case with Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson's latest book on the subject, Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America.
Robinson writes a convincing depiction of contemporary black America. In fact, he makes a very good case for just how out of touch that term is today. He depicts the often exclusive social worlds that black people live in today; complete with their own value systems, politics, economic status and life expectations. Disintegration is an important book for those of us who like to engage topics without regard to who is listening, and not simply leave ourselves over to wondering... Why? The author's discussion of the emergence of African immigrants and mixed race blacks into the mainstream, where the vast majority of black people are, is worthwhile on its own. He discusses the dynamics of competition among these two subgroups for educational resources and jobs that people outside of "Black America" may not know. The emergent class of blacks outscore all cohort of students on standardized test -- including whites and Asians -- and make steady progress within the prevailing US economy.
Robinson further depicts a transcendent class of of super rich and powerful African Americans who are second to none in their ability to influence modern American life in many spheres. Among this (race) transcending class you will find media magnets, captains of industry, entertainment moguls and, most notably, the President of the United States of America.
For me, however, the most compelling story is the abandoned class of stagnant native born blacks. While they exist as the least in number among African Americans, their profile is probably the best known. Often the focus of any discussion about inner city crime, under performing schools, and lagging quality of life indicators like health and housing, this abandoned class of African Americans pose the most galvanizing argument for a new civil rights agenda in the 21st century.
My experience has been that even among those professionals who are on the front lines with the abandoned class -- of Black America -- few seem to comprehend the sociology behind their delima. Otherwise exasperated school teachers, repetitious practices among social workers, and fruitless exhortations from advocates would not be so frequent. I recommended Disintegration, not only for book clubs and black history classes, but for professional development among school faculty and human service workers of all kind.
