5.0
Birth of a Nation'hood
ByPublisher Description
Co-edited and introduced by Toni Morrison, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Birth of a Nation'hood elucidates as never before the grim miasma of the O.J. Simpson case, which has elicited gargantuan fascination.
As they pertain to the scandal, the issues of race, sex, violence, money, and the media are refracted through twelve powerful essays that have been written especially for this book by distinguished intellectuals--black and white, male and female. Together these keen analyses of a defining American moment cast a chilling gaze on the script and spectacle of the insidious tensions that rend our society, even as they ponder the proper historical, cultural, political, legal, psychological, and linguistic ramifications of the affair.
With contributions by:
Toni Morrison, George Lipsitz, A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., with Aderson Bellegarde Francois and Linda Y. Yueh, Nikol G. Alexander and Drucilla Cornell, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, Ishmael Reed, Leola Johnson and David Roediger, Andrew Ross, Patricia J. Williams, Ann duCille, Armond White, Claudia Brodsky Lacour
As they pertain to the scandal, the issues of race, sex, violence, money, and the media are refracted through twelve powerful essays that have been written especially for this book by distinguished intellectuals--black and white, male and female. Together these keen analyses of a defining American moment cast a chilling gaze on the script and spectacle of the insidious tensions that rend our society, even as they ponder the proper historical, cultural, political, legal, psychological, and linguistic ramifications of the affair.
With contributions by:
Toni Morrison, George Lipsitz, A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., with Aderson Bellegarde Francois and Linda Y. Yueh, Nikol G. Alexander and Drucilla Cornell, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, Ishmael Reed, Leola Johnson and David Roediger, Andrew Ross, Patricia J. Williams, Ann duCille, Armond White, Claudia Brodsky Lacour
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5.0

erin patton
Created about 5 years agoShare
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“I'm giving this book 5 stars because it made me think. It asked questions that I hadn't thought of. It asked questions that I also had but that I hadn't heard anyone else raise.
How did a trial about a double murder involving a has been athlete and B movie actor, become the trial of the century?
If Nicole had been black would it have made as many headlines?
If O.J. had been white would the public outcry over the verdict have been as strong?
Why don't Marcia Clark & Christopher Darden get blamed for blowing a very solid case?
Why was the defense, the so called "Dream Team" demonized for doing their job?
Why are White people so angry about O.J.'s acquittal, when white defendants get away with murder every day?
Birth of a Nation-hood isn't really about the murder case so much as its about how the mostly white run media covered the case. The media continuously stated that this case had nothing to do with race while playing into racial stereotypes.
Each essay in this book covers a different aspect of the atmosphere surrounding the case. My favorite essays were the one that talked about the racially charged treatment of the mostly Black and Latino jury.
This book is over 20 years old and it is still a very timely read. The racial questions raised in this book are still questions being asked about the media and the justice system today.
Highly recommended!”
About Toni Morrison
TONI MORRISON is the author of ten novels, from The Bluest Eye (1970) to A Mercy (2008). She has received the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. In 1993 she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. She lives in New York.
With contributions by:
Toni Morrison
George Lipsitz
A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., with Aderson Bellegarde Francois and Linda Y. Yueh
Nikol G. Alexander and Drucilla Cornell
Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw
Ishmael Reed
Leola Johnson and David Roediger
Andrew Ross
Patricia J. Williams
Ann duCille
Armond White
Claudia Brodsky Lacour
With contributions by:
Toni Morrison
George Lipsitz
A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., with Aderson Bellegarde Francois and Linda Y. Yueh
Nikol G. Alexander and Drucilla Cornell
Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw
Ishmael Reed
Leola Johnson and David Roediger
Andrew Ross
Patricia J. Williams
Ann duCille
Armond White
Claudia Brodsky Lacour
Other books by Toni Morrison
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