In the Age of Trump, a New Book Argues, It's Time for Afro-Americans to Re-Envision Identity, America, and How the Two Intersect

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Feb 27, 2018, 08:30 ET

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In his new book, Whites Shackled Themselves to Race, and Blacks Have Yet to Free Ourselves, writer Leonce Gaiter argues that Trumpism has ripped the skin off of America's post-Civil Rights Movement self-image. It is time, Gaiter argues, to arm the descendants of African slaves to live in the often-bigoted society we have, versus awaiting the "dream" of the colorblind utopia that too many of the majority insist we have achieved.

Gaiter suggests moving beyond the majority-imposed, pseudo-scientific racial identity to adopt a primary identity based on Afro-American history and culture—the history and culture of the American descendants of African slaves. Afro-Americans are not a political caste, he insists, but have evolved into this country's most significant cultural force and a through-line of American history. It's time, he says, they codified a system of self-education to define and appreciate themselves as such, as opposed to continually looking through the warped racial mirror the majority has help up for hundreds of years.

Whites Shackled Themselves to Race, and Blacks Have Yet to Free Ourselves, seeks to unseat the political, racial status quo. It argues for a primarily cultural—not racial—identity and program of historical and cultural self-education—as opposed to political/moral redemption of the majority—as the primary vehicle for Afro-American advancement.

About the author: Leonce Gaiter's historical novel, "I Dreamt I Was in Heaven – The Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang," was an African-American Literature Book Club bestseller. His critically acclaimed noir, "Bourbon Street" was published by Carroll & Graf, and his 'road movie,' "In the Company of Educated Men," was published by Astor + Blue Editions. His essays have appeared in Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, The New York Times, in national syndication, and elsewhere. A Harvard graduate, he has worked in the film, television, music, and marketing industries.

Read excerpts at www.ShackledToRace.com.

For further information, please call 1-530-413-0643. For more on the author's work, visit www.leoncegaiter.com.

Contact: J. Benton

Phone: 1-530-413-0643

Email: [email protected]

Site: http://www.shackledtorace.com

SOURCE Legba Books