Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics | Date: 15 April 2011, 15:41
|
Cathy J. Cohen, "Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics"
Oxford University Press | 2010 | ISBN: 0195378008 | 304 pages | PDF | 1,2 MB
While Barack Obama's victory led many to believe that America's racial divide had significantly narrowed, the lived experience of many black youth belie this. Young black Americans today continue to be plagued by low levels of employment, high levels of incarceration, and a profound lack of trust in the government and broader political community. Yet discussions of why this is have been largely anecdotal, often putting the blame on black
youth themselves--even when the commentators are also black. Think of the criticisms that Bill Cosby has leveled, for example.
In Democracy Remixed, award-winning scholar Cathy J. Cohen offers an authoritative analysis of the state of black youth in America today. Utilizing the results from the Black Youth Project, a groundbreaking national survey, Cohen focuses on what young black Americans actually experience and think--and underscores the political repercussions. Featuring their stories, she reveals that black youth largely want what most Americans want--a good job, a fulfilling life, safety, respect, and equality. But while members of this generation have much in common with the rest of America, they also believe that equality does not yet exist, at least not in their lives. Many believe that they are treated as second-class citizens. Also, for a significant number the future seems bleak when they look at their neighborhoods, their schools, and even their own lives and choices. Through their words, these young people provide a complex and balanced picture of the intersection of opportunity and discrimination in their lives.
Democracy Remixed provides the insight and information necessary to help us reshape the future of both young black Americans and American democracy.
Summary: Remixed and redefined
Rating: 5
More knowledge from political scientists should be like this. Bound to sharpen, amplify, redirect,... TRANSFORM. Reaffirms Cohen's standing as one of the leading social scientists thinking about issues of power, marginality, and agency.
Summary: Timely and Intriguing Book
Rating: 5
This book is a welcome reminder of the importance of Cohen's work. Much like her analysis of HIV/AIDS and Black Politics in Boundaries of Blackness, in Democracy Remixed Cohen reminds us of the precarious political, social, and economic position of those who are at the margins of a variety of communities. Cohen compelling discusses the feelings, ideas, and behaviors of black youth in order to make visible the fractures in the American democracy. Characterizing black youth as citizen outsiders, Cohen convincingly reminds us of the contours of American and black American politics, pointing to new directions and strategies to address the serious social issues plaguing America's black youth. Anyone interested in American Politics, Black Politics, African American Studies, and Popular Culture, would find that all of these interests converge nicely and compellingly in this book.
|
DISCLAIMER:
This site does not store Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics on its server. We only index and link to Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
|
 |
|
Comments (0)
All
