Carol Anderson

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFrom the Civil War to our combustible present, White Rage reframes the continuing conversation about race in America, chronicling the history of the powerful forces opposed to black progress.Since the abolishment of slavery in 1865, every time African Americans have made advances towards full democratic participation, white reaction has fuelled a rollback of any gains. Carefully linking historical flashpoints - from the post-Civil War Black Codes and Jim Crow to expressions of white rage after the election of America's first black president - Carol Anderson renders visible the long lineage of white rage and the different names under which it hides. Compelling and dramatic in the history it relates, White Rage adds a vital new dimension to the conversation about race in America.'Beautifully written and exhaustively researched' CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE'An extraordinarily timely and urgent call to confront the legacy of structural racism' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'Brilliant' ROBIN DIANGELO, AUTHOR OF WHITE FRAGILITY

The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide

White Rage

As Ferguson, Missouri, erupted in August 2014, and media commentators across the ideological spectrum referred to the angry response of African Americans as “black rage,” historian Carol Anderson wrote a remarkable op-ed in the Washington Post showing that this was, instead, “white rage at work. With so much attention on the flames,” she writes, “everyone had ignored the kindling.” Since 1865 and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, every time African Americans have made advances towards full participation in our democracy, white reaction has fueled a deliberate and relentless rollback of their gains. The end of the Civil War and Reconstruction was greeted with the Black Codes and Jim Crow; the Supreme Court's landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision was met with the shutting down of public schools throughout the South while taxpayer dollars financed segregated white private schools; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 triggered a coded but powerful response, the so-called Southern Strategy and the War on Drugs that disenfranchised millions of African Americans while propelling presidents Nixon and Reagan into the White House. Carefully linking these and other historical flashpoints when social progress for African Americans was countered by deliberate and cleverly crafted opposition, Anderson pulls back the veil that has long covered actions made in the name of protecting democracy, fiscal responsibility, or protection against fraud, rendering visible the long lineage of white rage. Compelling and dramatic in the unimpeachable history it relates, White Rage will add an important new dimension to the national conversation about race in America.

iris

I read this book so fast and it was a necessary read. definitely for Americans.

Sam Pulliam

I wish anyone who's said "get over it slavery was 400 years ago" had to read this book.

Jelke Lenaerts

So before you yell at me over this rating I honestly think it's pure up to the circumstances I read this book in. Combining a reading slump with having to read this book for school just didn't work out in the favor of this book. It honestly felt like such a chore to read and I was dreading picking this up every single day. But besides that I would 100% recommend people to read this book. It's actually really good and discusses a lot of interesting topics that need to be discussed more. As someone who isn't from America I learned a whole lot, even from the sections about the more recent elections. I honestly wish I would have read this book in completely different circumstances because I'm sure I would have been able to give a more fair review to this book.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the Civil War to our combustible present, White Rage reframes the continuing conversation about race in America, chronicling the history of the powerful forces opposed to black progress. Since the abolishment of slavery in 1865, every time African Americans have made advances towards full democratic participation, white reaction has fuelled a rollback of any gains. Carefully linking historical flashpoints – from the post-Civil War Black Codes and Jim Crow to expressions of white rage after the election of America's first black president – Carol Anderson renders visible the long lineage of white rage and the different names under which it hides. Compelling and dramatic in the history it relates, White Rage adds a vital new dimension to the conversation about race in America. 'Beautifully written and exhaustively researched' CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE 'An extraordinarily timely and urgent call to confront the legacy of structural racism' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW 'Brilliant' ROBIN DIANGELO, AUTHOR OF WHITE FRAGILITY

Neva Davies

White Rage by Carol Anderson looks at what's really behind our current racial divide. It's a tough read because when you read it, you have to acknowledge your own complicity in the current system, and then you have to unlearn that complicity. It's an important read because of what it forces you to really look at, not what you want to see but what you need to see. 

White Rage covers multiple decades, including 2016 (with an afterword that touches on the election of Donald Trump), and it keeps you reading until the end, even though you know how it ends. I will forever recommend White Rage to my friends because everyone needs to read it and understand their place in it. 

5/5 stars

Jeni Enjaian

I found this book fascinating and thought-provoking. Anderson digs into some thorny issues in a way that sparked my own thinking and made me investigate the origins of my private school as well as my mom's. Turns out that mine started in the early 70s, a year or so after my school district integrated and that my mom's out in California started shortly after LA schools had to integrate Latinx students. Interesting.
That being said, Anderson indulged in some emotional verbiage throughout which at times drifted dangerously close to hyperbole, hence the 4 stars rather than 5.

This book is really well written. It is incredibly powerful and sad and it's important you read it whether you live in the USA or you are just interested in its history or you just want to educate yourself -which you should. 
It follows the last 150+ years and we can see what was it like to be black (and still is) in America.

I do not read nonfiction. I pick that genre here and there but only rarely. So, as a person that does not reach out for something this real, I have to say I absolutely loved this book and how uncomfortable it made me feel. Because that is the point: that we see all the inequality and how black people (and other POC) aren't getting the lives they deserve, aren't getting the same treatment and privileges as white people are, and that we acknowledge this, so the world could be a better place someday.
I really do hope you'll read this book.

Katie Bell

I’m not the type of person to say “everyone needs to read this book” but here I am, screaming “EVERYONE needs to read this book!!!!!”


It made me angry. I often took breaks in between chapters to sit with my anger and reflect. Realizing just how much we’re lied to as children in this education system. I unlearned a whole lot of bullshit fabricated “history” with this book. And there’s so much more. Carol Anderson has changed my life with this one.

From the Civil War to our combustible present, and now with a new epilogue about the 2016 presidential election, acclaimed historian Carol Anderson reframes our continuing conversation about race. White Rage chronicles the powerful forces opposed to black progress in America. As Ferguson, Missouri, erupted in August 2014, and media commentators across the ideological spectrum referred to the angry response of African Americans as "black rage," historian Carol Anderson wrote a remarkable op-ed in the Washington Post showing that this was, instead, "white rage at work. With so much attention on the flames," she writes, "everyone had ignored the kindling." Since 1865 and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, every time African Americans have made advances towards full participation in our democracy, white reaction has fueled a deliberate and relentless rollback of their gains. The end of the Civil War and Reconstruction was greeted with the Black Codes and Jim Crow; the Supreme Court's landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision was met with the shutting down of public schools throughout the South while taxpayer dollars financed segregated white private schools; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 triggered a coded but powerful response, the so-called Southern Strategy and the War on Drugs that disenfranchised millions of African Americans while propelling presidents Nixon and Reagan into the White House. Carefully linking these and other historical flashpoints when social progress for African Americans was countered by deliberate and cleverly crafted opposition, Anderson pulls back the veil that has long covered actions made in the name of protecting democracy, fiscal responsibility, or protection against fraud, rendering visible the long lineage of white rage. Compelling and dramatic in the unimpeachable history it relates, White Rage will add an important new dimension to the national conversation about race in America.

Amy Buckle

White Rage is the exploration of the African American experience in the USA. Author Carol Anderson takes the reader through history, from the abolition of slavery to the first Black president of the USA. The book explores the advancement of Black rights and pulls into question moments in history where ‘white rage’ prevents this progress.

I took my time with this book as the subject matter is heavy, and while it was clearly exhaustively researched and therefore very informative, there’s a lot of jargon and political history which made it quite a lot to digest. That being said, everything was very relevant and helped build Anderson’s points well, so while all very necessary, take you time reading it!

Anderson’s words and research really speak for themselves, and one of the most poignant passages for me reminded me of reading Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass and his emphasis on the importance of education: “Since the days of enslavement, African Americans have fought to gain access to quality education. Education can be transformative. It reshapes the health outcomes of a people; it breaks the cycle of poverty; it improves housing conditions; it raises the standard of living. Perhaps, most meaningfully, educational attainment significantly increases voter participation. In short, education strengthens a democracy.” Her powerful words really are a call to arms to incite change.

For me the most striking parts of the book was the more modern sections as I’ve lived through them so had a better understanding of them. From gerrymandering to preventing ex-convicts from casting a ballot, spelling mistakes and asking for specific forms of ID, the lengths taken to ensure that Donald Trump and his administration went to in order to be elected was astonishing. What’s clear from Anderson’s words are that this effort shouldn’t be surprising – it’s been happening in one form or another for hundreds of years.

Books like these are so vital in our education and it’s so important to not only read them, but walk away questioning things too. The point of this book isn’t to invoke anger – it’s to invoke change. Anderson’s contribution to this movement is a perfect book to read regardless of your previous understanding of Black history; even if you consider yourself ‘woke’ and feel you’re educated, keep going, read this and all the other books too and stay informed always!

Liyah 🤎

National Book Critics Circle Award Winner New York Times Bestseller USA Today Bestseller A New York Times Notable Book of the Year A Washington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of the Year A Boston Globe Best Book of 2016 A Chicago Review of Books Best Nonfiction Book of 2016 From the Civil War to our combustible present, acclaimed historian Carol Anderson reframes our continuing conversation about race, chronicling the powerful forces opposed to black progress in America. As Ferguson, Missouri, erupted in August 2014, and media commentators across the ideological spectrum referred to the angry response of African Americans as “black rage,” historian Carol Anderson wrote a remarkable op-ed in The Washington Post suggesting that this was, instead, "white rage at work. With so much attention on the flames," she argued, "everyone had ignored the kindling." Since 1865 and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, every time African Americans have made advances towards full participation in our democracy, white reaction has fueled a deliberate and relentless rollback of their gains. The end of the Civil War and Reconstruction was greeted with the Black Codes and Jim Crow; the Supreme Court's landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision was met with the shutting down of public schools throughout the South while taxpayer dollars financed segregated white private schools; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 triggered a coded but powerful response, the so-called Southern Strategy and the War on Drugs that disenfranchised millions of African Americans while propelling presidents Nixon and Reagan into the White House, and then the election of America's first black President, led to the expression of white rage that has been as relentless as it has been brutal. Carefully linking these and other historical flashpoints when social progress for African Americans was countered by deliberate and cleverly crafted opposition, Anderson pulls back the veil that has long covered actions made in the name of protecting democracy, fiscal responsibility, or protection against fraud, rendering visible the long lineage of white rage. Compelling and dramatic in the unimpeachable history it relates, White Rage will add an important new dimension to the national conversation about race in America.

White Rage The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide

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