Friday, June 20, 2008






I'll be talking about my new book, Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness, for an hour on C-Span 2’s BookTV this weekend. The segment is supposed to air on Saturday at 9pm and Sunday at 3:30pm. If you have time, check it out--and spread the word. Thanks.

6 comments:

Winslow Robertson said...

Thank god. Book TV Sundays are, short of Redskins games, the best method of wasting otherwise productive days for the American viewing public. I have been waiting to hear about this book for a while (no reviews up on JSTOR yet) so knock em dead!

John L. Jackson, Jr. said...

thanks for the note. let me know what you think. j.

Karla at GlobalWays said...

John

You were brilliant! I look forward to reading your book. I especially appreciate your anthropoligist's lens to understanding the status of race today.

I am a "White-looking" Black woman who lives racism everyday. I keep a journal entitled "Fly On the Wall" where I list all the comments I hear from Whites who presume I am White. White supremacy is alive and well.

I also get the occasional, "Why do you think you are Black?" Some think I am insane to think I am Black. Welcome to 2008 in the US.

I am a world traveler and I conduct intercultural communication training.

Thank you for your work.

Karla S.

Winslow Robertson said...

Dr. Jackson, that was a great presentation, though I wanted to know a little more about the book rather than have you answering questions ;). Guess I am going to have to read it now. By the way, was your "stick and move" line a Punch-Out reference?

Will Conway said...

i'm watching your program now. very interesting

Anonymous said...

Brilliant presentation…very engaging... kept trying to TiVo along and wound up hitting the rewind button... couldn't stop watching.

Couple of points keep rattling around my head:

- Rev. Wright... I think you somewhat miss the point regarding white American being surprised by his comments. At this point, we've all seen folks like Louis Farrakhan and other religious wingnuts who have charisma and smarts, but an agenda that’s out-of-step with most rational people. The “surprise” was that Obama had gotten so close to the guy. The fact that Shawn Hannity (and others with an anti-Obama agenda) played this, “oh my gosh can you believe some African-Americans think this way?” doesn’t make it anything more that political theater.

- Not sure I ever felt closure on the “race as an illusion” point you made. Seems like this is the starting point for the discussion as it redefines the assumptions we’ve all been making for hundreds of years. Have to wonder to what extent this new scientific understanding has fully penetrated our psyche.

- “Real dialog that makes us sweat.” I found this point frustrating – aren’t we past this? Do you want to dialog with me about race and the cultural constructs around ethnenticity? Really??? Do we have to talk about race before we talk about anything else? Do you really want to hear about my Greek-American heritage and how I flunked out of Greek school and am not very fond of My Big Fat Greek Wedding? These are not very popular topics with folks I meet, but you’d have me think they’re real conversation starters. Can’t I just vote for Obama (like all us white folks around the country did) and make it clear that I’m over my paranoia.

Alex
www.skeptiko.com