- 272 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
New York Times Bestseller: "A compelling argument on how a second migration back to the South could prove a way forward for Black America." —
Library Journal
A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year
The Inspiration for the HBO Original Documentary South to Black Power
Race, as we have come to understand it, is a fiction; but, racism, as we have come to live it, is a fact. The point here is not to impose a new racial hierarchy, but to remove an existing one. After centuries of waiting for white majorities to overturn white supremacy, it seems to me that it has fallen to Black people to do it themselves.
Acclaimed columnist Charles Blow never wanted to write a "race book." But as violence against Black people—both physical and psychological—seemed only to increase in recent years, culminating in the historic pandemic and protests of the summer of 2020, he felt compelled to write a new story for Black Americans. He envisioned a succinct, counterintuitive, and impassioned corrective to the myths that have for too long governed our thinking about race and geography in America. Drawing on both political observations and personal experience as a Black son of the South, he offers a call to action by which Black people can finally achieve equality, on their own terms.
So what will it take to make lasting change when small steps have so frequently failed? It's going to take an unprecedented shift in power. The Devil You Know is a groundbreaking manifesto, proposing nothing short of the most audacious power play by Black people in the history of this country. This book is a grand exhortation to generations of a people, offering a road map to true and lasting freedom.
"A must-read in the effort to dismantle deep-seated poisons of systemic racism and white supremacy." — San Francisco Chronicle
A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year
The Inspiration for the HBO Original Documentary South to Black Power
Race, as we have come to understand it, is a fiction; but, racism, as we have come to live it, is a fact. The point here is not to impose a new racial hierarchy, but to remove an existing one. After centuries of waiting for white majorities to overturn white supremacy, it seems to me that it has fallen to Black people to do it themselves.
Acclaimed columnist Charles Blow never wanted to write a "race book." But as violence against Black people—both physical and psychological—seemed only to increase in recent years, culminating in the historic pandemic and protests of the summer of 2020, he felt compelled to write a new story for Black Americans. He envisioned a succinct, counterintuitive, and impassioned corrective to the myths that have for too long governed our thinking about race and geography in America. Drawing on both political observations and personal experience as a Black son of the South, he offers a call to action by which Black people can finally achieve equality, on their own terms.
So what will it take to make lasting change when small steps have so frequently failed? It's going to take an unprecedented shift in power. The Devil You Know is a groundbreaking manifesto, proposing nothing short of the most audacious power play by Black people in the history of this country. This book is a grand exhortation to generations of a people, offering a road map to true and lasting freedom.
"A must-read in the effort to dismantle deep-seated poisons of systemic racism and white supremacy." — San Francisco Chronicle
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access The Devil You Know by Charles M. Blow in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & African American History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Notes
Introduction
1. 6 percent of American adults: Amanda Barroso and Rachel Minkin, “Recent Protest Attendees Are More Racially and Ethnically Diverse, Younger than Americans Overall,” Pew Research Center, June 24, 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/24/recent-protest-attendees-are-more-racially-and-ethnically-diverse-younger-than-americans-overall/.
2. racial reckoning: Ailsa Chang, Rachel Martin, and Eric Marrapodi, “Summer of Racial Reckoning,” National Public Radio, August 16, 2020, https://www.npr.org/2020/08/16/902179773/summer-of-racial-reckoning-the-match-lit.
3. bottles of syrup: Tiffany Hsu, “Aunt Jemima Brand to Change Name and Image Over ‘Racial Stereotype,’” New York Times, June 17, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/17/business/media/aunt-jemima-racial-stereotype.html.
4. bags of rice: Jordan Valinsky, “Uncle Ben’s and Mrs. Butterworth’s Follow Aunt Jemima Phasing Out Racial Stereotypes in Logos,” CNN, June 17, 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/17/business/uncle-bens-rice-racist/index.html.
5. approval of Black Lives Matter protests: Charles Franklin, “Black Lives Matter Protests in Wisconsin,” Marquette Law School Poll, August 26, 2020, https://rpubs.com/PollsAndVotes/652966.
6. “Vandalizing government buildings”: E. D. Mondainé, “Portland’s Protests Were Supposed to Be About Black Lives. Now, They’re White Spectacle,” Washington Post, July 23, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/23/portlands-protests-were-supposed-be-about-black-lives-now-theyre-white-spectacle/.
7. encouraged police brutality: Melanie Eversley, “Trump Tells Law Enforcement: ‘Don’t Be Too Nice’ with Suspects,” USA Today, July 28, 2017, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/29/trump-tells-law-enforcement-dont-too-nice-suspects/522220001/.
8. defended Confederate Monuments: Eugene Scott, “Trump’s Ardent Defense of Confederate Monuments Continues as Americans Swing the Opposite Direction,” Washington Post, July 1, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/01/trumps-ardent-defense-confederate-monuments-continues-americans-swing-opposite-direction/.
9. majority of the redistricting: José Sepulveda, “Republicans Solidify Grip on State Legislatures, Which Is Likely to Lead to Redistricting and Gerrymandering Efforts in 2021,” CNBC, November 6, 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/06/republicans-to-lead-redistricting-efforts-in-many-states-in-2021.html.
10. exit polls conducted: 2020 presidential exit polls conducted by Edison Research for the National Election Pool, New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/exit-polls-president.html.
11. share of the nonwhite vote: Zachary Evans, “Trump Won One-Quarter of Non-White Voters, Improving on 2016 Numbers: Exit Poll,” National Review, November 4, 2020, https://www.nationalreview.com/news/trump-won-highest-share-of-non-white-vote-of-any-republican-since-1960-exit-polls-show/.
12. Associated Press’s VoteCast: Estimates from A.P. VoteCast, a survey conducted for the Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago, New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/ap-polls-georgia.html.
13. a quarter of the state’s: 1990 Census of Population: General Population Characteristics, Georgia, https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1990/cp-1/cp-1-12.pdf.
14. about a third of it: United States Census Bureau, Quick Facts, Georgia, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/GA.
15. “251,000 Black people”: Alana Semuels, “Reverse Migration Might Turn Georgia Blue,” The Atlantic, May 23, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/05/reverse-migration-might-turn-georgia-blue/560996/.
16. Abrams told NPR: Transcript of All Things Considered interview between Mary Louise Kelly and Stacey Abrams, National Public Radio, November 2, 2020, https://www.npr.org/2020/11/02/930504055/former-georgia-gubernatorial-candidate-on-a-push-for-voter-turnout.
17. Biden carried the state: “Georgia Confirms Biden Victory and Finds No Widespread Fraud after Statewide Audit,” CNN, Friday, November 2...
Table of contents
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Introduction
- One: The Past as Prologue
- Two: The Proposition
- Three: The Push
- Four: The Pull
- Five: The End of Hoping and Waiting
- Six: The Reunion
- Notes
- About the Author
- Also by Charles M. Blow
- Copyright
- About the Publisher