Race
A landmark book—the first title ever published by The New Press—now with a new introduction by Gary Younge that brings Terkel’s poignant portraits of how race is lived in America to bear on today’s shifting cultural and political landscape
“The kind of book that happens along once in a long while.” —The New York Times
First published in 1992 at the height of the furor over the Rodney King incident, Studs Terkel’s Race was an immediate bestseller.
In a rare and revealing look at how people in America truly feel about race, Terkel brings out the full complexity of the thoughts and emotions of both blacks and whites, uncovering a fascinating narrative of changing opinions. Preachers and street punks, college students and Klansmen, interracial couples, the nephew of the founder of apartheid, and Emmett Till’s mother are among those whose voices appear in Race. In all, nearly one hundred Americans talk openly about attitudes that few are willing to admit in public: feelings about affirmative action, gentrification, secret prejudices, and dashed hopes.
