The Book Everyone Should Be Reading
Photo from: America's 'Caste' System: Isabel Wilkerson Says It's More Than Racism : NPR
Emily Hokanson
Background On The Book
Photo source: Caste Summary and Reviews - Four Minute Books
The book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by author Isabel Wilkerson holds an eye-opening message about the unseen phenomenon in America, otherwise known as the caste system. Wilkerson links the caste system of America, India, and Nazi Germany all while telling riveting stories about people to explore the eight pillars of caste systems across civilizations.
Some may be wondering, what is caste? The dictionary definition stated in the Britannica dictionary states: Caste is the system of dividing society into hereditary classes. The way caste systems work varies. As described in the book, the author states that America’s caste system has a dominant or upper caste, middle caste, and subordinate or disfavored caste. The dominant or upper-caste consists of White Americans, while the middle caste consists of Asian or Latino people, and the subordinate or disfavored caste consists of African Americans.
Photo source: What is India's caste system? - BBC News
When discussing caste systems, most people who have heard of the term think of the caste system in India, which has been in use since 1500 B.C. The author does a deep analysis of the differences between the American and Indian caste systems. The caste system in India divides Hindus among Brahmins (priests and teachers), Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers), Vaishyas (farmers and traders), Shudras (laborers), and Dalits (street sweepers and outcasts). In India, one’s social status is determined by what caste or community their family belongs to when they are born. Once a child is born into a certain caste it is very unlikely they will be able to ever exceed it.
Wilkerson links this to America’s caste system in the sense that some in the subordinate caste may have great success, but they will never truly escape their place in the caste system. One thing both caste systems have in common is their goal to keep everyone confined to the caste they’ve been assigned, especially when it comes to the lowest caste members.
Why Should I Read This?
Apart from leaving you absolutely flabbergasted, this book has a message that has never been talked about in this way. The American caste system is not something many Americans have heard of. Personally, I had no idea it existed before reading this book, but I am so happy I do now. This book has left me with a deeper understanding of how America has come to be what it is today.
Not only has this book sharpened my historical knowledge with facts that I otherwise may have never known, but it has given a new perspective that has truly changed the way I will view this country forever.
Something this book has further uncovered is just how uneducated American students are when it comes to the history of America and why it continues to repeat itself today. When the majority of students say they are educated on the history of America, they are referring to the history of government and politics. Both are very important topics, but when it comes to the discussion of slavery, most kids view it as a dark time in American history and as soon as it was demolished, so were the effects it had on this country. Our schools have framed this “dark time” that happened “so long ago” in a way that we don’t even realize it was just 154 years ago that slavery was deemed illegal. That means that slavery has been apart of America much longer than it hasn’t been apart of America.
The underteaching of slavery and the history of Black Americans is a problem in itself, but when these subjects are taught they are taught in a way that frames America as the hero. If I would have never read this book I would never have known that White Americans would gather at lynching ceramonies of Black Americans as a form of entertainment. Isabel Wilkerson describes the horrifying picture of an 11-year-old girl looking at the limp, dead body of Rubin Stacy, a Black American falsely accused of attacking a White American woman with a penknife simply because he asked her for a glass of water. This story stems from thousands of others that have stayed untold due to being too “sensitive” of a topic. The book uncovers these untold stories along with parts of history that almost no school ever touches on.
Photo from: CNN
What if I told you the well-known dictator, Hitler, sent Nazi troops to America, so they could observe slave owners for inspiration? Or how intermarriage laws between Black and White Americans weren’t legally permitted in Alabama until the year 2000. Incredibly shocking, but true. This book sheds a light on everything about American history that schools won’t. If there is one thing that inspires you to read this book, let it be that it will educate you on topics you may have never otherwise known existed. One promise that can be made is that this book will leave you shocked after reading it.
I’ve always been one who believes strongly in being educated, but this book has taught me that school isn’t the only way to obtain that education. Rather it is everyone’s responsibility to personally go out of their way to learn what schools won’t teach you. Isabel Wilkerson is an inspiration to this generation. The book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, is a message and symbol for change. This is the book that everyone should be reading and every library should have.
