Black Rednecks and White Liberals, by Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell.  Long may he live--and write!  I'm not sure I've ever read anything he has written--whether a tweet, an essay, or a book--that was not absolutely packed full of brilliance, insight, and fresh ideas.  His 2006 book Black Rednecks and White Liberals shatters popular conceptions about race, and is even more relevant today than when these essays were published fifteen years ago. 

The provocative title isn't as self-contradictory as it sounds.  Sowell describes the migration patterns of Europeans who populated the American south and the language and behavior patterns they brought from Scotland and Wales.  Much of what we now consider "redneck," and many of the behaviors and language patterns viewed as stereotypically Southern black culture, derive from these European immigrants.  Interestingly enough, when Southerners began migrating to the north, whites experienced exclusion because of their southern speech.  Many blacks in the north showed prejudice against southern blacks for the same reason.

The irony that Sowell points out is that when blacks have experienced the greatest success educationally and professionally, it is the result of the influence of New England educational attitudes and programs.  Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. produced generations of successful black Americans due to their faculty of New England educated blacks.  When liberal advocates try to preserve or celebrate stereotypically black language and culture in schools (i.e., ebonics), they are crippling students who would be better served in the manner of Dunbar and other successful schools.

Sowell writes about economic and cultural trends in a way that celebrates the achievements of American blacks, while disparaging the programs and policies that most black political activists and politicians support today.  For example, economic and education success of blacks in America saw much greater improvements in the middle of the twentieth century, before the Civil Rights movement and the Great Society programs. 

Sowell sticks his neck out in such a way that makes many black leaders hate him.  But as an economist, he prefers to look at data rather blindly follow popular movements.  No matter the color of your skin, Sowell is worth reading and considering.