Synopsis:
"There is a suspiciousness directed at black Americans that is unbecoming of a place called home...an awareness of being on shaky ground, of hostility bubbling just beneath the surface...that at any moment and with the least provocation, the little dance of tolerance may be abandoned, and there you'd have it: a full frontal assault of fear, anger, and deadly assumptions."YET A STRANGER
Forty years after the Civil Rights movement, divisions between white and black America still remain. Whites feel that "progress" has mostly solved the problem, but blacks know all too well that it has addressed only the surface symptoms of racism. Everyone, however, agrees that the key to breaking down barriers is understanding.
Now, in this eye-opening and provocative book, syndicated columnist Deborah Mathis gives a sweeping, pull-no-punches look at why African-Americans are still set apart spiritually and economically from the rest of the country. Drawing on extensive research, interviews, and real-life experience, she dares to look at:
...Unconscious behavior on the part of many whites that African-Americans know can trigger life-and-death situations-including "The Look" of fear and suspicion directed at black teens in stores and the streets and how it affects young lives ...Unequal treatment by institutions-the teacher "concerned" about the intelligence of an African-American student after a minor error; the car company that demands higher loan payments from a black customer than from an equally qualified white one ...the African-American side of many issues-including "personal responsibility" (its meaning when options are limited for many), "progress" (the perspective when inequality is the goal), the O. J. Simpson verdict (long overdue judicial payback?), affirmative action, "tough on crime" measures, public school funding, and more.
An honest, unforgettable portrait of two Americas struggling to come together across fault lines of mutual misunderstanding, YET A STRANGER gets to the heart of how much farther we all have to go before everyone can feel truly at home.
