揭露美國種族問題的七本書

哈里·克雷奇默

As protests in the United States continue and the population grapples with the death of George Floyd in police custody， attentions have turned， in part， to increasing awareness about systemic injustice.

With this increased awareness， books on race and criminal justice have begun to rise on bestseller charts， as readers look to educate themselves about these long-standing issues.

To increase your own awareness of the factors fueling racial injustice， here are 7 books that powerfully explore the topic from economic， political and cultural perspectives.

1. The Color of Money by Mehrsa Baradaran

According to McKinsey， the “racial wealth gap” between black and white families grew from around $100，000 in 1992 to $154，000 in 2016. This gap is worsened by a lack of access to traditional financial services， such as banks， making it difficult for people of color to accumulate savings.

In The Color of Money： Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap， American law professor Mehrsa Baradaran takes on this pressing issue， while sharing sobering realities， such as the fact that the share of wealth owned by African Americans in the US has barely budged in more than 150 years.

The Color of Money argues that black banking solutions and community self-help are not enough to cut through structural economic inequality; instead bold reforms are needed.

2. For Jobs and Freedom by Robert H. Zieger

In his wide-ranging book， For Jobs and Freedom： Race and Labor in America Since 1865， historian Robert H. Zieger charts the hard-fought progress of black workers to gain employment rights in the labor movement and the workplace. Many historians have declared this authoritative take on race and labor a worthwhile introduction to the barriers to opportunity facing African Americans from the days following the Civil War to modern times of globalization.

3. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

In The New Jim Crow： Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness， civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander argues that strict drugs laws have disproportionately impacted black communities and the issue should be at the top of the civil rights agenda. The book is regarded as one of the most influential civil rights books in recent years and important for understanding how incarceration rates impact this community and the efforts to bridge equality gaps.

4. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

In Between the World and Me， African American author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates tackles issues of race and injustice in the US in a fresh and moving way： through a letter to his adolescent son. The book by The Atlantic writer was called one of the most influential in the last decade.

5. White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

This widely-read book that spent months near the top of the New York Times bestseller list explores the defensive tropes some people fall into when challenged about their attitudes to race. In White Fragility： Why Its So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism， academic Robin DiAngelo asks what we can do to move beyond these challenges and engage with these key issues more constructively.

6. I， Too， Am America by Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes （1902–1967） was one of Americas leading chroniclers of the black experience. In this beautiful childrens book， Hughes famous poem I， too， is retold through rich illustration. The images are the work of the award-winning Bryan Collier， known for his vivid combination of watercolour and detailed collage.

7. The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison

What is race and why does it matter？ The answer often lies in literature and the often subliminal racial messages on the page. So argues the American literary giant， beloved author Toni Morrison （1931–2019）， in this book based on a series of lectures at Harvard University.

Morrison considers works by writers including Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner， and looks at how literature has often used skin colour to reveal character traits.

Morrisons book is not just about the African American experience; it also tackles defining themes that dominate the politics of the world， including the mass movement of people and globalization.

隨著美國抗議活動持續進行，民眾為死于警察暴力拘押的喬治·弗洛伊德而抗爭，某種程度上，人們的關注點已轉向對系統性不公正意識的提高。

伴隨這一認識的不斷提升，種族和刑事司法類書籍在暢銷書排行榜的位置開始攀升，因為讀者希望借此對這些長期存在的問題進行自我教育。

這里介紹7本從經濟、政治和文化角度深刻剖析種族話題的書籍，使你更好地認識加劇種族不公的原因。

1. 《貨幣的顏色》，梅赫薩·巴拉達蘭

根據麥肯錫公司的數據，黑人與白人家庭的“種族財富差距”在1992年約為10萬美元，而2016年增長到15.4萬美元。由于無法獲得銀行等傳統金融服務，有色人種很難積累存款，差距進一步擴大。

在《貨幣的顏色：黑人銀行和種族財富差距》一書中，美國法學教授梅赫薩·巴拉達蘭探討了這一緊迫問題，同時分享了一些令人警醒的現實，比如150多年來，非裔美國人擁有的財富份額幾乎沒有變化。

該書認為，黑人銀行解決方案和社區自助不足以消除結構性經濟不平等問題，相反，所需要的是大刀闊斧的改革。

2. 《為了工作和自由》，羅伯特·H.齊格爾

歷史學家羅伯特·H.齊格爾的著作《為了工作和自由：1865年以來美國的種族和勞工》涉及內容廣泛，記載了黑人工人在勞工運動和工作場所中爭取就業權利的艱辛歷程。很多歷史學家宣稱，這一關于種族和勞工的權威觀點使本書成為一部頗有價值的入門讀物，可以了解非裔美國人從內戰結束到現代全球化時代面對機遇時受到的諸多阻礙。

3. 《新種族隔離主義》，米歇爾·亞歷山大

在《新種族隔離主義：種族平等時代的大規模監禁》一書中，民權律師米歇爾·亞歷山大認為，嚴苛的毒品法對黑人群體產生了巨大影響，這一問題應成為民權議程的當務之急。本書被認為是近年來民權方面最有影響力的書籍之一，對于理解監禁率如何影響社會以及如何影響為縮小不平等差距所作的諸多努力具有重要意義。

4. 《在世界與我之間》，塔那西斯·科茨

《在世界與我之間》一書中，非裔美國作家兼記者塔那西斯·科茨以新穎且感人的方式——給青春期的兒子寫信，探討美國種族與不公的問題。這位《大西洋》雜志作家的著作被稱為近十年來最有影響力的書籍之一。

5. 《白人的脆弱性》，羅賓·迪安杰洛

這部著作廣受歡迎，位居《紐約時報》暢銷書排行榜前列達數月之久。它探討的是當有些人對待種族的態度受到質疑時，會采取的幾種防御性語言策略。在《白人的脆弱性：為何白人談論種族主義如此之難》一書中，學者羅賓·迪安杰洛提出，我們可以采取哪些行動跨越上述挑戰，更具建設性地應對這些關鍵問題。

6. 《我，也是，美國》，蘭斯頓·休斯

蘭斯頓·休斯（1902—1967）是美國撰寫黑人經歷的主要編年史作家之一。在這部精美的兒童讀物中，休斯的著名詩作《我，也是》配以豐富的插圖得到重現。這些插圖出自獲獎畫家布賴恩·科利爾的手筆，他以水彩和細節拼貼的生動結合而聞名。

7. 《他者的起源》，托妮·莫里森

何為種族？種族為何重要？答案常常存在于文學作品之中，潛藏在字里行間傳遞出的種族觀點里。美國文學巨匠、深受讀者愛戴的作家托妮·莫里森（1931—2019）基于哈佛大學的系列演講，在本書中得出了這一結論。

莫里森研究了厄內斯特·海明威和威廉·?？思{等作家的作品，并探討了文學著作往往如何通過膚色展現人物性格。

莫里森的書不僅講述了非裔美國人的經歷，還探討了主導世界政治的典型話題，包括人口大規模遷徙和全球化。

[譯者單位：中國石油大學（北京）]