Book Discussion "Woke Racism" by John McWhorter

Our book for November is Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America by linguist John McWhorter.

From Amazon:
According to [linguist] John McWhorter…a well-meaning but pernicious form of antiracism has become, not a progressive ideology, but a religion – one that’s illogical, unreachable, and unintentionally neoracist.

In Woke Racism, McWhorter reveals the workings of this new religion, from the original sin of “white privilege” and the weaponization of cancel culture to ban heretics, to the evangelical fervor of the “woke mob.” He shows how this religion that claims to “dismantle racist structures” is actually harming his fellow Black Americans by infantilizing Black people, setting Black students up for failure, and passing policies that disproportionately damage Black communities. The new religion might be called “antiracism,” but it features a racial essentialism that’s barely distinguishable from racist arguments of the past.

“Honest commentary about racial controversies is rare, and John McWhorter is a writer who can be counted on to provide it. Woke Racism is a heartfelt evisceration of the sloppy thinking that forms the foundation of so much social justice activism today.” – Jason L. Riley, Wall Street Journal columnist