Race War in America: A

¶ … Race War in America: A Wake Up Call by Carl T. Rowan The main theme of this particular book deals with race relations and how the black person - most specifically the black male - has been treated and is still being treated today. The issues of slavery and racism are alive and well in the mind of the author of the book, making this book somewhat unexpected to most people who read it.

They are generally looking for a book that is addressing the serious issue with clarity as opposed to a book which appears angry and upsetting based on information that may or may not be deemed accurate by most people. The book itself is about how affirmative action has affected this country and how there have been serious concerns about whether it actually works and if it has been taken too far by some individuals who are behind it.

The backlash against affirmative action is something that Rowan is very interested in discussing, but he is also interested in whether white people are treating black people fairly (Rowan says they are not) and what can be done about this so that the racism in this country can disappear. The book does not really answer any questions, because it appears to mostly be targeted at addressing the problems, or perceived problems, that are seen in society today when it comes to race relations.

Instead of taking the time to look clearly at the issues and how they could be addressed, the author of the book seems to take interest in making issues where none really exist and creating his own issues - or putting a more complicated spin on some of the problems that are actually out there in society from a racial standpoint. By doing this, the author shows that he is not addressing questions that belong to the rest of society, but only issues that he perceives as having value.

Section II. In the first chapter of this book, Rowan looks at what he calls the violent decline of America. The lack of morality and the lack of caring about one's fellow man are at the forefront of the concerns that he addresses. This is mostly discussed based on the differences between - and treatment of - blacks and whites in this country today.

The unfortunate thing about this book is that there is really no need to discuss each chapter individually because they are all based on the same thing. They all have a lot of hate and strong opinions toward white people today and in the past, and they all point toward the 'fact' that America is headed downhill very rapidly from a moral standpoint.

With this being the case, Rowan's book mostly goes back and forth in each chapter between lamenting the plight of the black man and blaming the white man for putting him there. Section III. Rowan's book is very hate-filled from the standpoint that he is constantly throughout the book targeting white people for causing problems for black people. He admits that black people cause a disproportionate amount of crime but then states that there are too many 'black' prisons, so the prison system must be racist.

It is difficult to feel as though Rowan is not being hypocritical when he makes these kinds of statements. If there are more black people committing crime, it is certainly not racist to punish them for their crimes. In that instance it would simply make sense that there were more black people than white people within the prison system. There have been arguments in the past that black people are unfairly targeted and their sentences when they are convicted are longer and more serious.

If this is the case it is certainly worthy of investigation, but not in an angry and hateful way which does little to solve the problem and does not even interest anyone in looking into it. Section IV. My evaluation of this book is that it really does not make that much of a contribution to sociology. Some people - both black and white - would probably like it very much, and would probably think that Rowan is very realistic in what he has to say.

However, it seems to me that he is only spewing hateful and ugly words most of the time, instead of really looking at the problems, whether they are actually real, and how they can best be solved. If he were expressing his upset in a more realistic manner more people would take his book seriously and be more likely to do something that the problems that may be out there.

It is no secret that race relations are still not where they should be in this country, and there is still a lot of prejudice out there in American today. The days of slavery are long past, but granting a race equal rights under the law does not mean that race is automatically granted equal rights in the minds of all the people in a country. Racism still exists in many ways and in many places.

It is understandable that Rowan is angry about this, but not as understandable that he cannot address it in such a way that other people feel his pain. It almost seems as though his type of talk is contributing to the problem rather than looking at ways to solve it.

The book added very little to my knowledge other than to show me that the hate that blacks have for whites (in some cases) can be very strong - it makes some of them prejudice against whites, just as there are white people who still have strong prejudices against blacks. The 'forgive and forget' mentality that would be so nice is not completely there yet for everyone in this country. In my own life, there is also not much that I can do to use anything from this book.

It was interesting from the standpoint that I was amazed at how angry Rowan seemed through most of it. I was surprised that it was published because it seemed like a rant. I am not at all prejudiced against any race, but I did feel that Rowan was only hurting his cause by many of his words. He seemed too harsh and too willing to place blame based on.