揭露美国种族问题的七本书

哈里·克雷奇默

As protests in the United States continue and the population grapples with the death of George Floyd in police custody， attentions have turned， in part， to increasing awareness about systemic injustice.

With this increased awareness， books on race and criminal justice have begun to rise on bestseller charts， as readers look to educate themselves about these long-standing issues.

To increase your own awareness of the factors fueling racial injustice， here are 7 books that powerfully explore the topic from economic， political and cultural perspectives.

1. The Color of Money by Mehrsa Baradaran

According to McKinsey， the “racial wealth gap” between black and white families grew from around $100，000 in 1992 to $154，000 in 2016. This gap is worsened by a lack of access to traditional financial services， such as banks， making it difficult for people of color to accumulate savings.

In The Color of Money： Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap， American law professor Mehrsa Baradaran takes on this pressing issue， while sharing sobering realities， such as the fact that the share of wealth owned by African Americans in the US has barely budged in more than 150 years.

The Color of Money argues that black banking solutions and community self-help are not enough to cut through structural economic inequality; instead bold reforms are needed.

2. For Jobs and Freedom by Robert H. Zieger

In his wide-ranging book， For Jobs and Freedom： Race and Labor in America Since 1865， historian Robert H. Zieger charts the hard-fought progress of black workers to gain employment rights in the labor movement and the workplace. Many historians have declared this authoritative take on race and labor a worthwhile introduction to the barriers to opportunity facing African Americans from the days following the Civil War to modern times of globalization.

3. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

In The New Jim Crow： Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness， civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander argues that strict drugs laws have disproportionately impacted black communities and the issue should be at the top of the civil rights agenda. The book is regarded as one of the most influential civil rights books in recent years and important for understanding how incarceration rates impact this community and the efforts to bridge equality gaps.

4. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

In Between the World and Me， African American author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates tackles issues of race and injustice in the US in a fresh and moving way： through a letter to his adolescent son. The book by The Atlantic writer was called one of the most influential in the last decade.

5. White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

This widely-read book that spent months near the top of the New York Times bestseller list explores the defensive tropes some people fall into when challenged about their attitudes to race. In White Fragility： Why Its So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism， academic Robin DiAngelo asks what we can do to move beyond these challenges and engage with these key issues more constructively.

6. I， Too， Am America by Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes （1902–1967） was one of Americas leading chroniclers of the black experience. In this beautiful childrens book， Hughes famous poem I， too， is retold through rich illustration. The images are the work of the award-winning Bryan Collier， known for his vivid combination of watercolour and detailed collage.

7. The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison

What is race and why does it matter？ The answer often lies in literature and the often subliminal racial messages on the page. So argues the American literary giant， beloved author Toni Morrison （1931–2019）， in this book based on a series of lectures at Harvard University.

Morrison considers works by writers including Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner， and looks at how literature has often used skin colour to reveal character traits.

Morrisons book is not just about the African American experience; it also tackles defining themes that dominate the politics of the world， including the mass movement of people and globalization.

隨着美国抗议活动持续进行，民众为死于警察暴力拘押的乔治·弗洛伊德而抗争，某种程度上，人们的关注点已转向对系统性不公正意识的提高。

伴随这一认识的不断提升，种族和刑事司法类书籍在畅销书排行榜的位置开始攀升，因为读者希望借此对这些长期存在的问题进行自我教育。

这里介绍7本从经济、政治和文化角度深刻剖析种族话题的书籍，使你更好地认识加剧种族不公的原因。

1. 《货币的颜色》，梅赫萨·巴拉达兰

根据麦肯锡公司的数据，黑人与白人家庭的“种族财富差距”在1992年约为10万美元，而2016年增长到15.4万美元。由于无法获得银行等传统金融服务，有色人种很难积累存款，差距进一步扩大。

在《货币的颜色：黑人银行和种族财富差距》一书中，美国法学教授梅赫萨·巴拉达兰探讨了这一紧迫问题，同时分享了一些令人警醒的现实，比如150多年来，非裔美国人拥有的财富份额几乎没有变化。

该书认为，黑人银行解决方案和社区自助不足以消除结构性经济不平等问题，相反，所需要的是大刀阔斧的改革。

2. 《为了工作和自由》，罗伯特·H.齐格尔

历史学家罗伯特·H.齐格尔的著作《为了工作和自由：1865年以来美国的种族和劳工》涉及内容广泛，记载了黑人工人在劳工运动和工作场所中争取就业权利的艰辛历程。很多历史学家宣称，这一关于种族和劳工的权威观点使本书成为一部颇有价值的入门读物，可以了解非裔美国人从内战结束到现代全球化时代面对机遇时受到的诸多阻碍。

3. 《新种族隔离主义》，米歇尔·亚历山大

在《新种族隔离主义：种族平等时代的大规模监禁》一书中，民权律师米歇尔·亚历山大认为，严苛的毒品法对黑人群体产生了巨大影响，这一问题应成为民权议程的当务之急。本书被认为是近年来民权方面最有影响力的书籍之一，对于理解监禁率如何影响社会以及如何影响为缩小不平等差距所作的诸多努力具有重要意义。

4. 《在世界与我之间》，塔那西斯·科茨

《在世界与我之间》一书中，非裔美国作家兼记者塔那西斯·科茨以新颖且感人的方式——给青春期的儿子写信，探讨美国种族与不公的问题。这位《大西洋》杂志作家的著作被称为近十年来最有影响力的书籍之一。

5. 《白人的脆弱性》，罗宾·迪安杰洛

这部著作广受欢迎，位居《纽约时报》畅销书排行榜前列达数月之久。它探讨的是当有些人对待种族的态度受到质疑时，会采取的几种防御性语言策略。在《白人的脆弱性：为何白人谈论种族主义如此之难》一书中，学者罗宾·迪安杰洛提出，我们可以采取哪些行动跨越上述挑战，更具建设性地应对这些关键问题。

6. 《我，也是，美国》，兰斯顿·休斯

兰斯顿·休斯（1902—1967）是美国撰写黑人经历的主要编年史作家之一。在这部精美的儿童读物中，休斯的著名诗作《我，也是》配以丰富的插图得到重现。这些插图出自获奖画家布赖恩·科利尔的手笔，他以水彩和细节拼贴的生动结合而闻名。

7. 《他者的起源》，托妮·莫里森

何为种族？种族为何重要？答案常常存在于文学作品之中，潜藏在字里行间传递出的种族观点里。美国文学巨匠、深受读者爱戴的作家托妮·莫里森（1931—2019）基于哈佛大学的系列演讲，在本书中得出了这一结论。

莫里森研究了厄内斯特·海明威和威廉·福克纳等作家的作品，并探讨了文学著作往往如何通过肤色展现人物性格。

莫里森的书不仅讲述了非裔美国人的经历，还探讨了主导世界政治的典型话题，包括人口大规模迁徙和全球化。

[译者单位：中国石油大学（北京）]