Joshua DuBois, President Obama's first director of the White House's faith-based initiative, recently wrote a piece entitled "The Fight for Black Men" for Newsweek. In the article, he traces this "fight" from slavery today, and ties in many of the issues we discuss at the Stowe Center, including racism, stereotyping, the war on drugs, and mass incarceration.
He makes frequent reference to Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow and winner of the 2013 Stowe Prize, and her work to call attention to the plight of black men in today's world. Perhaps without knowing about the Stowe Prize, DuBois makes the remarkable statement that:
No one has done more to shed light on this issue than Michelle Alexander. Alexander may be this century’s Harriet Beecher Stowe, the storied author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin about whom President Lincoln remarked, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this Great War?” But instead of making a war, Alexander wrote a book to end one.We certainly agree that Michelle Alexander is following in Stowe's footsteps and are excited to see the impact of this 21st century Uncle Tom's Cabin. We are proud to call her a friend of the Stowe Center.
Have you read The New Jim Crow? What were your reactions to it? What are your reactions to DuBois' article?
Please share your comments with us below!
No comments:
Post a Comment