Professor Douglas Massey points out that relatively stable jobs such as in factories, steel mills and auto plants have dissapeared in black communities. These jobs have largely dissapeared for this generation. Blacks cannot move to where decent jobs might be because of their difficulty in entering the housing market. A person working in the service economy, say at Macdonalds, full time at minimum wage, can't stay above the poverty line.

Alex Berteau, a partner in a law firm, says that it's tough for him to talk to young successful whites who say that they have nothing to do with the injustices done to African Americans in the past. Berteau says, no, it's not them, it's their fathers, who profited while paying black people subsistence wages so their children to go to Harvard. This young individual says "Don't lay it on my doorstep" yet he is getting all the fruits of it. Berteau, says that this youngster has a college degree but the black man who slaved so his father could get everything cheap is illiterate and can barely speak English. To get rid of Affirmative Action, is to ignore history, he says.

Maggie Holmes, retired domestic worker, refers to a painting at the Chicago art musem in the mid-80's of Chicago's black progressive mayor Harold Washington in a bra and panties and apparently an exhibit consisting of an American flag on the floor which people were invited to walk on. To judge by her comments, it appears the white population ridiculed the anger of blacks at the first, but raised an uproar at the second. She also says that the American flag is just an old rag that dosen't mean anything to her, because white people burned things and wrapped themselves around that flag when Dr. King was marching.

Mike Wrobleski, former police captain in Chicago is interviewed. He got a lot of viscious harrassment from his fellow officers during the 80's because he would not tolerate racist posters and other expressions, many about Mayor Washington, in police stations under his watch. He got one letter which contained a picture of a naked black man and a white woman with her mouth open that said "You nigger-lover. This is what my wife is doing when I'm not at home." Terkel notes that this lout actually meant to say "your wife" instead of "my wife" and Wrobleski comments that there is probably some deep Freudian stuff in that case, the fear of the alleged sexual prowess of black men on which he based his racism.

Fred Hampton, is only refered to once in this book, in the very last interview. Terkel says in a footnote that in 1990 the Chicago city council voted to have a Fred Hampton day but after that sixteen white alderman objected on the grounds that they thought they had voted to honor Dan Hampton the Chicago Bears football player.

Most of these interviews take place with people from Chicago, Terkel's hometown, which has always been pretty volatie racially. Marquette Park is refered to several times early in the book. This was where Dr. King tried to have a march in 1966 but instead got assaulted with rocks several times by rampaging white mobs, whose hatred terrified him. He said that it had surpassed anything he had seen in the South.

Then there are a few like C.P. Ellis and Ann Atwater from Durham North Carolina. Ellis was a poor white klansman who battled the black activist Atwater in the racial strife of Durham in the 60's. Ellis started to lose his enthusisasm for the KKK when he realized that the big politicians and economic elite of Durham who provided funds and expressions of racial solidarity to him and his chapter of the KKK during the nightime were embarassed to associate with a poor white like him during the daytime. He realized that poor whites had a heck of a lot in common with poor blacks. He became close to Atwater and speaks about her in his interviews (one in 1978, the other in 1989) with great emotion. He became a multi-racial union organizer. C.P. Ellis is an example of what Dr. Kenneth Clark of Brown Vs. Board of education fame refers to, in his interiview, about poor whites trying to get feelings of self-worth in this society by stomping on poor blacks below them in the class system.W

ill Campbell, a White Southern preacher says in his interview regarding the origins of the term "redneck. It was from a Edwin Markham poem which refered to the poor white farmer taking a break from his slavery, putting his hands on his hoe and looking on the ground. All the while the scorching sun beats down on the back of his neck. Thus he gets a redneck. Unfortunately, says the reverand, we've equated that with racism.

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Candid Oral History  Jul 23, 2008 By Valerie J. Saturen
I first encountered Studs Terkel's fascinating oral histories through his book "Working." In "Race," he creates a richly textured study of one of America's great obsessions--and taboos--in the early 1990s. His interviewees represent a wide range of perspectives, including both "experts" and ordinary people of many socioeconomic backgrounds, and their testimonies are remarkably candid. Although they encompass several ethnic groups, the focus of the book is race relations between blacks and whites, as the subtitle indicates.

For the most part, the book is centered on Chicago, a city with a troubled history regarding race. Infamously, the violent response to a 1966 civil rights march in Marquette Park prompted Martin Luther King to remark, "I have seen many demonstrations in the South, but I have never seen anything so hostile and so hateful as I've seen here today." Chicago is also a pertinent site for such a study because of the devastating impact the decline of manufacturing has had upon the city's black population. Terkel's interviewees discuss the effects of this decline upon the economic status of many of Chicago's black residents and the resultant disintegration of the family, in addition to the interracial tension caused by the loss of jobs (a tension that often manifests as a debate over affirmative action). Many interviewees, both black and white, seem to agree that overt racial prejudice became more socially acceptable during the Reagan years, reversing a trend that began with the civil rights movement. Many also discuss the popularity of Louis Farrakhan, with varied feelings.

Another frequently recurring theme is that of interracial dating and marriage. Some support interracial relationships or are themselves in one, while others confess to feelings of resentment when they see an interracial couple. Interviewees of both races talk about the deep-seated insecurities (especially male insecurities) that often surround the issue.

Although aspects of the book are grim, showing how blacks and whites have actually grown farther apart due to a widening economic gap and diverging cultural (particularly linguistic) courses, there are some rays of hope. One especially memorable section is the story of C.P. Ellis and Ann Atwater of Durham, North Carolina. A former Ku Klux Klansman, Ellis eventually comes to feel that, as a poor white, he has more in common with poor blacks than with white members of the elite who exploit them both. Although he knows he will be stigmatized for his change of heart, he reaches out to Atwater, a black activist, and the two become not only colleagues but close friends.

What makes this book unique is the sheer variety of voices it contains, each offering a completely different perspective. Despite the unfortunate reluctance of many Americans to discuss race, Terkel succeeds in drawing out the people he talks to. Their observations remain very relevant over a decade later.

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Typically outstanding Terkel  Jul 30, 2000 By Eric V. Moye
Studs Terkel may be the greatest American chronicler of oral history. I recall an introduction to his writing by reading his book "Working" while in college twenty five years ago. I love his ability to tell history by and through the words of those who have lived it.

"Race" is the most difficult topic he has ever chosen. Gunnar Myrdal was correct when he called it the American dilemma. Terkel examines it from not just one perspective or two (or even three). Instead, he has brought together dozens of varying perspectives on the most dividing issue in the Nation. The greatness of this work does not come from the well known names, although there are many: from Louis Farrakhan, Dr. Kenneth Clark, the Mother of Emmett Till and Clarence Page. Also included are those who are unknown (but nonetheless speak to and for legions of other Americans of all races and persuasions).

It is nothing if not thought provoking. The participants come to life in the writing of this excellent work. It will make the reader rethink some of his/her closely held notions, and see a different perspective. Whether any ideas change or not, reading "Race" and thinking about its content it is an exercise in which we should all engage.


Studs Terkel RACE  Feb 11, 2010 By Sharon M. Reynolds
This was a fascinating, wonderful book. The author gave me insights into racial differences--things that I never understood before. I didn't necessarily agree with everything, but I do appreciate the differences of opinion. A very good read! I highly recommend it. John Reynolds

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