A controversial and widely heralded look at the race-related pain and anger felt by the most respected, best educated, and wealthiest members of the black community…. More >>
The Rage of a Privileged Class: Why Do Prosperous Blacks Still Have the Blues?
1. Classic.
2. A JackandJill-US.com must-have.
3. Inside the black upper class.
Rating: 5 / 5
this book is very eye opening.cuz it asks now what? how about respect? educated and doing well don’t have to take nothing from nobody don’t have to harm anybody.don’t fit in the burbs don’t fit in the ghetto where are you suppose to be? ellis cose answers the questions the best that he can.it’s a very important book for all to study and ponder.you do the right thing and still aren’t accepted? this book is a great discussion.
Rating: 5 / 5
I wanted to read this book several years ago, but I was too busy being like the people in his book to read it. It’s easy to digest; I finished it in less than a day. It is a better read for some white person looking for enlightenment than for one of us enraged, discontented, over-educated folk.
Rating: 3 / 5
This book, published five years ago, is a masterful piece of work. It took tremendous courage for the successful black professionals depicted in the book to share their career experiences.
For those who deny the existence of a glass ceiling in the corporate world, reading this book will clearly show how it works, although may be uncomfortable reading for many.
Although the book suggests that white Americans should care about the issues raised in this book, I believe that any black professional aspiring to a professional career in North America (including Canada) would benefit from reading about the dues paid by other so-called successful black professionals and executives.
To me, a Human Resources Manager, “Rage” is no less than an examination of the labour market forces that lead to, and perpetuate discrimination.
To black professionals who are between jobs, it provides an understanding of some of the forces that may have led to their situation, and sheds new light on the concept of “networking”, and how it can work against blacks who may be banned from belonging to certain clubs or organizations.
If I were teaching aspiring Human Resources professionals, I would make sure that this book was part of their reading list. I strongly believe that any intelligent and informed discussion of race and its effect on the ability of blacks to close the wage gap on equally educated whites would only be possible after a careful reading of this extraordinary expose.
For example, it is hard to ignore example after example of succesful black professionals whose competence and right to hold powerful positions is questioned.
It is a sensitive, well-written book, that does not accuse all white Americans as being racist. At the same time, I would be surprised if anyone seriously repudiated the systemic forces described in this book that reveal the difficulty blacks have in acheving career success equivalent to whites with similar skills, education and intellect.
It is a book that I predict will serve as a tool for many black parents to prepare their children on the realities of working in a society where whites (especially males) are still overwhelmingly in positions of power and influence over blacks.
White America, on the other hand, will largely ignore or dismiss this book, which is a profound shame in my opinion.
Rating: 5 / 5
I find the title a bit melodramatic – although there is definitely rage, there are a lot of other feelings, too. I won’t summarize the book because the other reviewers have done so already. It seems that a key problem for successful African-Americans is the ambiguity of many situations. They are pretty sure race explains why they don’t get ahead as they should have, but never (or rarely) 100% sure that any given situation and/or obstacle, such as delay in getting a promotion, is entirely due to racism. This uncertainty in itself sounds enormously frustrating.
What is very unfortunate is the extent to which successful people have to deny their feelings and reactions to avoid upsetting oversensitive or excessively judgemental white people, or just those whites (of which there are many) who are not as comfortable around African Americans as other whites. The too-frequent social rejection takes a huge toll, as well. Finally, there is the dilemma of raising children. Be blunt about racial injustice, or shield them from it? It all sounds tough to deal with – harder than it should be, and proof we have not arrived at a true recognition and respect for diversity, as well as overcoming the stereotypes of African-Americans as inferior.
One theme that haunts Cose is the frequency with which he was told – yes, I’ve done very well indeed, but – who knows how far I could have gone without these obstacles to overcome? The sense of lost opportunities is stated by a number of interviewees.
I wish Bill Gates would read this book and take it seriously. It seems unfair that for these arguments to really get the publicity they deserve, a rich white guy would have to adopt the cause. But I do think this book has gotten less publicity and been taken less seriously than it should have. Being subtly nasty to those who’ve done everything right and worked hard, in addition to being unfair, is stupid because it means America loses out in many ways.
Rating: 5 / 5