Sharply written. This book works on several levels. It is a good, tight summation of the formation of racialization in the U.S. (and, by extension, thSharply written. This book works on several levels. It is a good, tight summation of the formation of racialization in the U.S. (and, by extension, the global racial hierarchy). It also provides a really interesting cultural history of waste management, beginning with how race and class become conflated with ideas of clean and dirty. How we control dirt, or "misplaced matter", is partly due to how we have imbued these ideas with peoples, histories, and race. Nice interpretation of environmental racism. ...more
A fine book. The gist of it is this: the prevailing narrative about black Americans is that we were passive actors in our own liberation in the U.S. EA fine book. The gist of it is this: the prevailing narrative about black Americans is that we were passive actors in our own liberation in the U.S. Even the Civil Rights Movement has been re-characterized as passive, glorifying non-violence as a state-of-being rather than the political act it is and was. Umoja tells the historical story of black people in the U.S. who not only took a very active role in their own social, political, and economic liberation but who did it in the most American way imaginable, i.e. embracing armed resistance. Umoja sets the stage with a short synopsis of how violent white organized crime turned back the brief gains for the formerly enslaved during reconstruction. Umoja's point is that there was never a period of "non-violence" for black Americans. And, the federal government's implicit (and sometimes explicit) support of white violence throughout the South (especially) made it necessary for blacks who stayed in the south during both waves of the great migration to defend their lives and property against white violence. From there, Umoja traces how major civil rights organizations, leaders, and others worked with and often defined themselves against armed resistance as a political strategy.
The data are sound and the book reads as meticulous. None of it was remarkably new to me but if you don't read a lot of the work on black lives and histories, it could be revelatory. It won't necessarily be fun to read. The retelling of historical incidents where some black person used a gun or any form of physical resistance can get a bit tedious. It is often presented in this book like a journalistic report. By the 40th time someone says he or she owned a gun or questioned non-violence, you should get the point. Repetition can be a useful literary device but usually works best when paired with vivid storytelling. Still, it is an important, solid book. ...more
Fine book. Turco addresses an emerging interest in organizational theory literature: what is the bureaucratic firm in the age of social media? Turco wFine book. Turco addresses an emerging interest in organizational theory literature: what is the bureaucratic firm in the age of social media? Turco was embedded in a social media company in silicon valley. It's fairly easy to figure out which one. She observes how "openness" is transforming some, but not all, hierarchical rules of the industrial era firm. It's an easy read. Some of the conclusions are overstated given the evidence. But, as any good such academic book should do, it leaves more questions for further research (assuming you know someone who can get you unprecedented access to a SV firm to do research)....more
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