Democracy in Black ─ How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul

A powerful polemic on the state of black America that savages the idea of a post-racial society, from a promising new public voice at Princeton University

America's great promise of equality still rings most hollow in the ears of its black community. From the murder of Trayvon Martin to the Supreme Court's dismantling of the Voting Rights Act to the disaster visited upon middle-class black families by the bursting of the housing bubble, it is clear that black America faces a dire emergency--at the very moment when the election of the first black president prompts citizens and politicians alike to believe we've turned the page on the country's legacy of racism and discrimination.

Democracy in Black is Eddie S. Glaude Jr.'s impassioned response. Part manifesto, part history, part memoir, it makes the case that multiple forces have conspired to deepen the impoverishment of black communities. Whether discussing the disproportionate wealth lost by blacks in the Great Recession, the complacency of black leaders content with bundling black votes for politicians, or the new political language whereby talk of "entitlements" becomes a code meant to stoke racial fears of working-class whites, Glaude crystallizes the untenable position of black America--and offers thoughts on a better way forward. In the tradition of Cornel West'sRace Matters, Glaude has written a landmark book on race in America, one that promises to spark wide discussion as we move toward the end of our first black presidency.

EDDIE GLAUDE is a professor at Princeton University, teaching in the religion department and the Center for African- American Studies. He works closely with fellow Princeton professor Cornel West and offers a perspective that infuses the curriculum across all disciplines with questions and conversations surrounding race and the black experience.