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I’m embarrassed to say that I came late to Isabel Wilkerson’s rich writing and extensive research—first reading her seminal 2010
The Warmth of Other Suns in 2017.In my review, I called *Warmth* mandatory reading for every American because, before it, “there had never been a definitive and comprehensive analysis (at least in the ethnographic sense) of these waves of migration that began following the Reconstruction era as Jim Crow set in.”
Wilkerson's book is particularly relevant because of the short historical space between 2017 and the enslavement (through legal or socio-economic means) of a race of people.
In *Warmth*, Wilkerson presented a gift to Americans—she captured a fundamental piece of our history that previously only existed buried in the margins of dusty newspapers and the crumbling, fading memories of aging octogenarians.
By weaving the personal with the historical, she brought to life the brave flight of millions who sought a better life only to find roadblocks—yet fought on, hoping to give their children and grandchildren a better chance, or at the very least, the chance to bloom.
This brings us to her follow-on deep dive into the soiled roots of America’s origins dating from the failed Reconstruction era: her 2020 (and 2023 updated) *Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents*.
Unfortunately, parts of this book read more like a Ph.D. thesis (with some distracting near non sequiturs—such as a chapter comparing wolf pack behavior [“Alpha dog”] to the racism/caste system) than the non-fiction masterpiece that *Warmth* was.
It does still, however, pack a jarring gut-punch, as she makes a strong case that, “In America, race is the primary tool and the visible decoy, the front man, for caste… caste is the bone, race the skin.”
In other words, race is what is seen (and heard, and felt), but caste is the malevolent, artificial gravity that holds each group in its place—in places like America and India.
In laying out some of the history and the way caste is embedded into the very psyche of Indian society, she makes the case that the same caste system is embedded into American society even today—but in a way that is harder to see and sense by the dominant white caste.
Because caste is not personal but is instead the “worn grooves of comforting routines and unthinking expectations,” it means that if you’re in the dominant caste, you’re less likely to notice things that fit squarely in your comfort zone—those worn grooves.
She also argues that it’s the lowest economic and social rung of whites that have needed the caste system the most, as it enables them to have an outgroup to look down upon.
The book is at its most powerful in her research on how the Nazi party and government studied the caste system in the United States and sought to emulate it in its systemic subjugation and extermination of the Jewish population.
Most shameful (for the United States), though, is her keen observation that in post-WWII Germany you don’t find echoes, monuments, or memorialization of Nazi heritage.
You don’t have monuments to Rommel or colleges and highways named after Hitler.
This distinction is striking and worth considering as Confederate relics still remain in the U.S., despite recent shifting political winds.
Ultimately, even an unconvinced reader must acknowledge the troubled history and origins that Wilkerson lays out.
And while an outright caste system may no longer remain in the United States, vestiges of it still echo today across the spectrum of the Black experience as an American—from health challenges to the stories told to children about how to survive each day.
(For more on this, read Coates’s “Between the World and Me-his letter to his son”--my review is here)
Key Quotes:
17, 19 Caste defined: “artificial construction, a fixed and embedded ranking of human value that sets the presumed supremacy of one group against the presumed inferiority of other groups on the basis of ancestry and often immutable traits, traits that would be neutral in the abstract but ascribed life and death meaning in a hierarchy favoring the dominant caste whose forebears designed it.” Keeping groups of people separate and in a hierarchy.
18 Thesis: “In America, race is the primary tool and the visible decoy, the front man, for caste.” “caste is the bone, race the skin” Race is what is seen but caste is the malevolent artificial gravity that holds each group in its place.
22 “Yes, I am untouchable, and every Negro in the United States of America is an Untouchable.” Martin Luther King after his trip to Italy
25 caste vs. race–1942 race problem is really a caste system with its associated problems
44 SECNAV Pauling. Expressed horror at the system of slavery in pre civil war America in the 1940s
47-8 slavery heritage.
49 how to be white–immigrants from America only took on a white identity when they came to American
53 Only black in America. The african identity is not “black”--they are tribes. This observation does ignore teheway various tribes fought and looked down on each other: i.e. Tutis vs. Hutus.
70 Caste vs. racism. Caste is not personal but is instead the “worn grooves of
comforting routines and unthinking expectations” Caste is the structure, racism is the actions of hatred and harm.
76–77
Caste is reinforced by belief in reincarnation—making it more culturally accepted.
80–82
Disturbingly, there's evidence that the Nazis studied the caste/racist system and sought to emulate its "strengths."
109
"Endogamy," the third pillar of caste: you can only marry people in the same caste. 41 out of 50 states made intermarriage a crime.
111
Alabama didn’t repeal that law until 2000!
114
Death of Willie James in 1943 was never prosecuted—he was murdered.
117
SAD. In the South, Blacks had to use a different Bible than whites.
121
Only the U.S. created a "racial absolutist" system where one drop tainted you.
124
In the 1920s, Italians didn’t meet the definition of “white.”
127
Japanese weren’t viewed as white either—the U.S. caste system embraced illogic to keep its upper caste in power.
141
In creating the “out-group,” the upper caste didn’t dehumanize exclusively—instead the entire group bore the stigma. Much more effective as a control mechanism.
155
From 1900 to 1940, there was a lynching every 3–4 days!
181
Working-class whites need caste the most—so they aren’t on the bottom rung.
201–207
"Alpha Dog" chapter—bizarre.
209
Black reality: to seek to prolong their child’s innocence as long as possible while still protecting him.
212
Quote: “Modern-day caste protocols are like the wind—powerful enough to knock you down but invisible as they go about their work.”
223
Quote: “This was the thievery of caste, stealing the time and psychic resources of the marginalized, draining energy in an already uphill competition.”
226
Private Burton Holmes (WWI) showed bravery against the Germans. White officers nominated him for the Medal of Honor along with Freddie Stoners, but U.S. Army HQ refused. (French military was aghast at American racism.)
236
Post Brown vs. Board of Education, one Virginia city shut down its own school system for 5 years rather than integrate.
287
Heartbreaking story of Devan Hart (adopted by two white women), who was abused by them. They were never prosecuted, and in 2018 drove off a cliff, killing themselves and their adopted kids.
304
Blames caste for killing people through health problems—American food is most likely to blame.
306
Middle-class Blacks are more likely to have high blood pressure than those with lower incomes—this is crazy! Discrimination actually causes the growth of a subcutaneous fat layer.
316
Mitch McConnell’s drive to make Obama a one-term president is blamed on the caste system—but another interpretation ignores ideological concerns.
345–347
There was no shame in the Confederate South vs. post-WWII Germany.
Confederate president got to live out his life on his plantation.
Colleges named after Robert E. Lee.
Germany has no Nazi memorials—for good reason.
This is a great point—and a point of shame for the United States.
386
Radical empathy: “Kindred connection from a place of deep knowledge that opens your spirit to the pain of another as they perceive it.”
