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To Be Black in America Is to Walk with Fury
A Vintage Shorts Original Selection
Twenty years ago, the publication of Nathan McCall’s groundbreaking memoir Makes Me Wanna Holler chronicled a black man’s passage from a life on the block to the prison yards to some of the most illustrious newsrooms in the country. McCall’s survival had been an act of defiance against a culture and political system designed to keep black men down. Today, from the halls of a great American university, McCall gives thought to how many remain conditioned to racial blindness and can’t see their way out. Our country’s promise of equality continues to ring hollow, as young black men are murdered on our streets and constrained behind bars in no less diminished numbers.
In this timely, intimate essay, Nathan McCall reflects on what it means to stand tall and fashion life on one’s own terms, and urges us to recognize that what will make America great again is not growing its wealth or might overseas, but doing right by its people.
An eBook short.
Twenty years ago, the publication of Nathan McCall’s groundbreaking memoir Makes Me Wanna Holler chronicled a black man’s passage from a life on the block to the prison yards to some of the most illustrious newsrooms in the country. McCall’s survival had been an act of defiance against a culture and political system designed to keep black men down. Today, from the halls of a great American university, McCall gives thought to how many remain conditioned to racial blindness and can’t see their way out. Our country’s promise of equality continues to ring hollow, as young black men are murdered on our streets and constrained behind bars in no less diminished numbers.
In this timely, intimate essay, Nathan McCall reflects on what it means to stand tall and fashion life on one’s own terms, and urges us to recognize that what will make America great again is not growing its wealth or might overseas, but doing right by its people.
An eBook short.
- GenresNonfiction
32 pages, ebook
Published February 23, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 21, 2016
3 1/2 stars. To Be Black in America Is to Walk With Fury by Nathan McCall is a very short follow up essay to McCall's book Makes Me Wanna Holler in which the author observes that not much has changed for black people in the United States since 1994 when his first book was originally published. He reflects on a number of contexts, including his experience as a professor at Emory University and his travels to South America, and expresses deep frustration at the pervasiveness of racism in the US, and the lack of recognition and attention to the issue. He notes that Obama's election certainly represents progress, but the overt racist reactions and threats on Obama's life tell a different story. Unfortunately, I didn't read McCall's original book so I felt like I was missing a lot of the context for this essay. But McCall is a vivid and engaging writer, and he has certainly made me feel like reading Makes Me Wanna Holler. I expect this will be interesting for people who have already read McCall's original book, and I certainly now intend to read it. Thank you to the publisher an Netgalley for an opportunity to read an advance copy.
July 3, 2020
I got this book for very little money on Kindle. It was very short. I read it in less than a couple of hours.
Much of this "A Vintage Short" book (published in 2016) was spent updating the reader on events since the publication of Prof. McCall's first book, "Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America." (published in 1995). I should have read that book first but I jumped at the opportunity to get this book because it was inexpensive. Don't get me wrong, I am glad I got this book. I would recommend that anyone who may be interested in this book start with his earlier book referenced above.
So why did I like this book? Not because it was short. It left me thirsty for more, which is good news for Prof. McCall because I will likely get "Makes Me Wanna Holler" when I get a chance. I liked this book because it was a reminder of the impact of the impact of mass incarceration, systemic white supremacy and how life is so much different for African Americans than it is for whites in the United States. I liked it because it was a reminder that the issues raised since the murder of George Floyd have existed for a long time in the United States. Although I knew this I just think every reminder that much work must still be done is important.
He writes about attending a funeral and noticing that nearly everyone in the church had been incarcerated at some point. He says, "Looking around, one had to wonder: In our collective core were we all bad people, as society insists? Or was that ragtag gathering merely visible proof of the success of some larger, structural snare?" What he said next really put matters in another light, "Yet that packed sanctuary reflected one of the many ways my tax dollars are used to help finance black oppression." (Location 343 and 347, Kindle edition). It is no wonder he concludes that, "to be Black in America is to walk with fury and to struggle to keep it from consuming you."
Start to tally the cost, in tax dollars, of the financing of Black oppression in the United States. Imagine if instead all that money was put toward reparations. I was reminded of another book I read recently because in "Socialism. . . .Seriously" Danny Katch points his finger at the Congress and the main political parties. He perfectly explains the positions of the two corporate parties: “Essentially, the Democrats are the loud guy in the bar pretending to be held back by his friends to keep him from going after someone he has absolutely no intention of fighting. (Location 777). . . .Conservatives are usually the ones arguing for “small government,” and yet they are huge fans of the vast armed wings of the state that make up by far the biggest aspect of government bureaucracy: the military, police, border patrol, and spy agencies. These are the state’s core functions, the repressive apparatus at the heart of every society where some have and others don’t.” (Location 834)
Prof. McCall's comment reminded me of the Katch's observations about systems of oppression which drain huge amounts of tax dollars that are main sources of Black oppression he mentions.
So if you need a wake up call, read this short book. If you don't, still read it because it is an easy way of supporting the work of an important commentator on the state things in the United States and its oppressive apparatus.
#BlackLivesMatter #BlackPower #JusticeForBreonnaTaylor
Much of this "A Vintage Short" book (published in 2016) was spent updating the reader on events since the publication of Prof. McCall's first book, "Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America." (published in 1995). I should have read that book first but I jumped at the opportunity to get this book because it was inexpensive. Don't get me wrong, I am glad I got this book. I would recommend that anyone who may be interested in this book start with his earlier book referenced above.
So why did I like this book? Not because it was short. It left me thirsty for more, which is good news for Prof. McCall because I will likely get "Makes Me Wanna Holler" when I get a chance. I liked this book because it was a reminder of the impact of the impact of mass incarceration, systemic white supremacy and how life is so much different for African Americans than it is for whites in the United States. I liked it because it was a reminder that the issues raised since the murder of George Floyd have existed for a long time in the United States. Although I knew this I just think every reminder that much work must still be done is important.
He writes about attending a funeral and noticing that nearly everyone in the church had been incarcerated at some point. He says, "Looking around, one had to wonder: In our collective core were we all bad people, as society insists? Or was that ragtag gathering merely visible proof of the success of some larger, structural snare?" What he said next really put matters in another light, "Yet that packed sanctuary reflected one of the many ways my tax dollars are used to help finance black oppression." (Location 343 and 347, Kindle edition). It is no wonder he concludes that, "to be Black in America is to walk with fury and to struggle to keep it from consuming you."
Start to tally the cost, in tax dollars, of the financing of Black oppression in the United States. Imagine if instead all that money was put toward reparations. I was reminded of another book I read recently because in "Socialism. . . .Seriously" Danny Katch points his finger at the Congress and the main political parties. He perfectly explains the positions of the two corporate parties: “Essentially, the Democrats are the loud guy in the bar pretending to be held back by his friends to keep him from going after someone he has absolutely no intention of fighting. (Location 777). . . .Conservatives are usually the ones arguing for “small government,” and yet they are huge fans of the vast armed wings of the state that make up by far the biggest aspect of government bureaucracy: the military, police, border patrol, and spy agencies. These are the state’s core functions, the repressive apparatus at the heart of every society where some have and others don’t.” (Location 834)
Prof. McCall's comment reminded me of the Katch's observations about systems of oppression which drain huge amounts of tax dollars that are main sources of Black oppression he mentions.
So if you need a wake up call, read this short book. If you don't, still read it because it is an easy way of supporting the work of an important commentator on the state things in the United States and its oppressive apparatus.
#BlackLivesMatter #BlackPower #JusticeForBreonnaTaylor
March 22, 2021
This should be required reading for every white person in America.
I read Makes Me Wanna Holler by Nathan McCall back in 1995 when it came out, and heard him speak in Arlington VA not long afterwards. Powerful. Even more so because *nothing* *has* *changed*
I read Makes Me Wanna Holler by Nathan McCall back in 1995 when it came out, and heard him speak in Arlington VA not long afterwards. Powerful. Even more so because *nothing* *has* *changed*
June 27, 2020
A concise and thoughtful essay about race in America.
March 3, 2016
'To Be Black in America is to Walk with Fury' by Nathan McCall is a short essay that acts more as a follow up to his 1994 book 'Makes Me Wanna Holler.' I'm only passingly familiar with that work, so my impressions of this probably suffer a bit.
In short, while Nathan McCall has probably mellowed some with age, there is still much to be discontent with in a country that has white privilege. He talks about friends from the first work, and why they took the paths they took. He talks about teaching on a college campus in Atlanta and interesting experiences in South Africa, where, because he was American, he was treated differently than native born South Africans with the same skin color.
I come at this essay from a different place than Nathan McCall. I am white. I appreciate his intelligence and coherence in making his point. I can understand the rage he feels in a system that is inequal and seems to be stacked against him. This work made me think hard about things in a way that screaming rhetoric on 24 hour news channels did not. This felt more intimate. I appreciate what he has written.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Vintage, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
In short, while Nathan McCall has probably mellowed some with age, there is still much to be discontent with in a country that has white privilege. He talks about friends from the first work, and why they took the paths they took. He talks about teaching on a college campus in Atlanta and interesting experiences in South Africa, where, because he was American, he was treated differently than native born South Africans with the same skin color.
I come at this essay from a different place than Nathan McCall. I am white. I appreciate his intelligence and coherence in making his point. I can understand the rage he feels in a system that is inequal and seems to be stacked against him. This work made me think hard about things in a way that screaming rhetoric on 24 hour news channels did not. This felt more intimate. I appreciate what he has written.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Vintage, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
February 29, 2016
Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy.
I was at a bit of a disadvantage with this, having never read Makes Me Wanna Holler, but I still appreciated Nathan McCall's essay on the lack of racial progress in the United States twenty years after his memoir was published. He made several points that have stayed with me since I finished, especially his thoughts on liberal white platitudes about race and the false sense of progress that President Obama's election seemed to indicate for race relations. Disheartening to be sure, but he writes with a stark honesty that pulls you straight in.
I was at a bit of a disadvantage with this, having never read Makes Me Wanna Holler, but I still appreciated Nathan McCall's essay on the lack of racial progress in the United States twenty years after his memoir was published. He made several points that have stayed with me since I finished, especially his thoughts on liberal white platitudes about race and the false sense of progress that President Obama's election seemed to indicate for race relations. Disheartening to be sure, but he writes with a stark honesty that pulls you straight in.
March 4, 2016
I am quite a fan of McCall's writings - I read Makes Me Want To Holler in college and again a few years ago. I find him provocative and he gives me a very different and I feel honest perspective about life and the about the lives of people around me. My family and I (teenage boys) read this out loud and had an amazing discussion about how history is portrayed, life, race in America and around the world, current events and to try and understand that everyone comes from different place. I also really respected the continued discourse from MMWTH. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and share my perspective on this piece.
May 11, 2017
Twenty plus years after publication, McCall’s first book, “Makes Me Wanna Holla,” is hauntingly still relevant today. The ebook summarizes the previous book with insights on how it was received and the author’s progression since then. Does McCall toot his own horn? Certainly, but the material is powerful enough to warrant praise. Addressing race can be delicate but this short shows how McCall can not only navigate it in an intelligent way but overcome it.
The first book is definitely worthy of my TBR list.
I received a copy from NetGalley.
The first book is definitely worthy of my TBR list.
I received a copy from NetGalley.
May 11, 2016
This essay was well written and very thought provoking. I was at a disadvantage never having read his first book Makes Me Wanna Holler because he referenced it a LOT during this essay but I still got a great message from it anyway as he realizes that even now everything from his book written more than a decade ago is still relevant in AmeriKKKa. He gives the previous readers a few life updates...and also explains how even now that he is a teacher he is also still learning right along with his student. A Must Read. Now I have to go back and read his previous books.
February 17, 2016
I'm torn between rating this short ebook a three and a four. It's hard to classify because it's shorter than a novella but longer than a magazine article. Speaking on the content, it gives us a little more insight into what led McCall into writing the classic 'Makes Me Wanna Holler,' and it discusses a little as to why it is still relevant today. This is worth a few minutes of your time if you read MMWH back in the day.
May 2, 2016
n amuse-bouche of an essay and one that will definitely set you searching for more works by Mr. McCall. A companion to Between the World and Me (it's older brother, perhaps) that, in more colloquial language, covers similar territory. A read worthy of a train ride home; give yourself sometime to move through your anger when you put this down.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 20, 2016
A short book in which the author updates his life and the state of race in America since the publication of his book Makes Me Wanna Holler. Things have not improved in his opinion. This is an interesting essay that clearly complements the earlier book.
[I received an electronic galley of this book through Netgalley.]
[I received an electronic galley of this book through Netgalley.]
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews