Racial Healing

By Harlon Dalton

Racial Healing offers the prospect of open and harmonious relations between blacks and whites. When discussing race, Dalton suggests that blacks and whites "should simply put everything on the table.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385475160
• ISBN13: 9780385475167
• Release Date: September 1995
• Publisher: Doubleday
• Length: 246 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.3" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

easily one of the best

This is a very well-thought-out and very well-written book. After teaching a course on race and politics for 5 years now, I had despaired of finding a single book that introduces students to the core issues. I'm amazed to find that Prof. Dalton's book does just that: privilege, supremacy, class, gender, fear-mongering, alliance building. It's all here. Noting that this book is also ten years old, I have to say: "Dang, why didn't anyone tell me about this book before!" This is a book that is valuable for its analysis, but it's also valuable for the way in which he starts to address many of the problems that confront communities of color and white folks interested in social justice. Not only that, Dalton provides a couple of really exciting concrete examples of how common ground can be forged. Granted, some may find some of his discussion overly-rooted in middle-class experiences and in Christianity (one of the core examples for instance in this book is his discussion of the interracial gospel group "Salt and Pepper"). However, I don't think this is a negative: Dalton is leading from his strengths and if as Fannie Lou Hamer said, we have to pick up the bucket from where it lies, then middle-class alliance building is part of where it's at. For sure there are other books which discuss working-class coalitions (Steve Gregory's books are good examples of these), I don't begrudge Dalton his own choice of bucket. The brother has a fine mind, and a good way with words. He had me laughing out loud in places too. Highly highly recommended.

Excellent Resource, Though-Provoking Primer

"Racial Healing" is one of the best books of any genre I have read in a good long while, and it works on many levels--whether the reader is new to the discussion of social and racial justice or is an old hand, this book has something to offer. Harlon Dalton astutely avoids talking down to his readers, and peppers the work with personal stories and insights. My only complaint is that Dalton provides too few specific and concrete solutions (or even baby steps) to bring us closer to racial healing; instead, this is a thoughtful and thought-provoking outline of where we stand. This is a highly readable book that will not take he reader very long to get through, but which will leave a lasting impression.

Get closer, get dirty, get free

Dalton's book is a wonderful plea for blacks and whites to get beyond assuming that social programs will "fix" our misunderstandings -- and get closer to each other through honest talk. And he's absolutely right when he says that such talk will ruffle feathers, cause pain, get us "dirty" and frustrated. But we each need to know more about how race affects our daily lives. For whites like me, that means getting to understand the privlege of white skin -- the taken-for-granted ability to navigate most social landscapes without anxiety, fear, or people closing doors. For blacks it means telling their story of racial oppression in ways which go beyond simple "us v. them" dynamics. For both groups it means a lot of earnest listening -- and learning. This book should be a weekly television show, featuring such dialog between blacks and whites from all walks of life. What a healthy thing that would be! Possible? Maybe. But hey, we prefer to ignore reality and be entertained instead. This book is full of sage insight, but will those who really NEED to read it do so? That's the big question I was left with at the end.

A book that has inspired me to "engage" in order to "heal"

Mr. Dalton is able to not only give the "White" reader a picture of what it is to be a black individual, but also to be able to feel what a black person feels under certain circumstances. The book really does serve as an inspirational guide to understanding one-another: encouraging individuals (black or white) to engage in order to "heal the past" and "transform the present".