"Woke Racism" by John McWhorter - A Review

 

Rowing down the stream of Shelby Steel's "White Guilt," John McWhorter, associate professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University, adds his own paddle to the ride. "Woke Racism" is his  224-page hardback that flows along, sometimes loud and fuming, sometimes levelheaded. It's a book written not for those who have taken the red or blue pill, but for those who are pondering which way to go. His main premise is that the people who are caught up in "Third Wave Antiracism" - those who automatically assume that "racism is baked into the structure of society" (5), are actually following a religion. These, according to McWhorter, "pretend that performance art is politics" (6).

The tone is mildly hostile, or at least unfavorable, to religion of any flavor or texture. That's a significant downside to the volume. Another is the populist-style sarcasm, the type one meets with in memes on social media. If the author is reaching out to those on the fence, as he purports, it feels like he occasionally puts up noisy, loud barriers that make it difficult for some to be reached.

On the other hand, many of McWhorter's observations are helpful. His characterizations of three waves of antiracism is fitting. Also, reading through the chart he calls "The Catechism of Contradictions" (8-10, 177-8) made me feel like someone understood the nearly insane rhetoric one hears via media of all aspects and in person.  Further, the author does a nice job showing how often third wave antiracism processes real life and real relationships rejecting logic and reason and charitableness.

I have watched a couple of his videos on YouTube. I'm also a subscriber to Jonathan Haidt's Heterodox Academy where McWhorter is periodically presented and interviewed. In fact, McWhorter won Heterodox Academy's 2020 Open Inquiry Award for Leadership. Therefore, when this book surfaced last year I thought I would purchase a copy and see what I thought. It was a 3-Star read, as summarized above. It's worth getting, and worth the time to read.