Caste

"Hard truths in this must-read book about the caste system in America, which is all the more insidious as it’s not openly acknowledged. Such helpful perspective and insights on a path to tear down caste. Highly recommend. "

"The title really sums this book up...the is the history of our caste system here in America. Our country has a very odd way of judging the history of slavery and racism in the sense that we sort of just want to acknowledge it and move on but not talk about how its still impacting so many people, especially those on the margins of society. This book illuminates that. "

"This book reflects on the deep cracks we have in our social systems. This is a must read for anyone, especially if you live in the south."

"Whatever book is next on your list, replace it with this book. Please. "

"Simply put, this book should be required reading."

"This is the best and the most important book that you will read this year. "

"This was a life-changing book for me.<br/><br/>If you grew up in the United States (Kentucky for me) and have always struggled to try to understand why things are the way they are, buckle up because this book will provide you a very long and detailed answer but also hit you with a sudden clarity and simplicity like shining a spotlight right into your soul and the deep recesses of your brain.<br/><br/>I have read many other books on race relations before, including the works of Montagu, Bryan Stevenson, and Michelle Alexander, and none of them has laid it out so clearly to me. If you are turned off by the tone of other books about race and don't understand white privilege or why you should feel guilty or worry about things that happened in your grandparents' generation or even before that, this is the book for you. <br/><br/>You see we are all CAST in a very specific role, playing the part assigned to us in a very deliberate society created hundreds of years ago in the colonies, based solely on a CASTE system of our skin color, a physical characteristic arbitrarily chosen because nobody can change it. You are playing a role, and your ancestors played a role, and your descendants will play a role, and you cannot help but play the role assigned to you. Wilkerson compares the United States to other caste systems in the world, perhaps ironically better known to us because we do study them in school and see them portrayed in movies - the Nazi Holocaust and the caste system of India. But then she clearly outlines how the same caste system takes place in the United States, and how it is never talked about. How we never learn the truth. <br/><br/>The thing is, these roles are harmful to all of us. And this is where I feel Wilkerson really hit me hard. She explains by all of us striving so desperately to be in the dominant caste (white male Anglo Saxon Protestants were the originals), we change ourselves, we are stressed out, we compete against our neighbors with the paranoid distorted belief that resources are somehow limited and only deserving to those at the top. I turn off my southern accent in certain situations; friends and family members search genealogies to try and find our Scottish/Irish ancestors in order to claim closeness to the original caste members when we were most likely indentured servants, fleeing persecution ourselves; I wear blazers to look more masculine in professional settings or when I have to give a speech; the list goes on and on. These roles cause us to subconsciously believe the lies passed on about the other caste members, and it negatively impacts our actual health and well-being to act this way. Why am I striving so hard to prove that I deserve to be at the table with rich white males? By acting this way I uphold the idea of the opposite, that at least I am not poor or black, which is the entire foundation of this caste system and all the unconscious beliefs associated with it. <br/><br/>I hope if you are American and you have ever harbored any spiritual or intellectual doubts about our history or the state of our current society, please read this with an open heart and mind. I realize I have a lot of soul searching to do to try to deprogram myself from this role and help to open the stage up to others."

"great"

"I appreciated how Isabel Wilkerson compared caste systems throughout the world. As much as it was hard to read, driving me to put this book down at times, it was eye opening to see similarities as well as differences. Isabel opened my eyes to how caste systems in the United States helped create one of the biggest caste systems in Germany. It was a heart wrenching journey of the ugly truth that exists in the world. Whether it is blacks, Jews, or the systems in place in India, Isabel shared things I had never known and it opened my eyes even further on the disparities that groups of people face. If you are on a journey of learning about race, I would definitely add this to your reading list. "

"An absolute MUST READ."