A review by newtimbuktu
The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson

5.0

This book is very important. It is a polemic by an old man who is frustrated that the people around him have fallen into traps, even though he admits he has fallen into some of them himself. The necessity to reject eurocentric standards of education is clear, as mimetic dynamics around whiteness have promoted ways of thinking of professional advancement which turns educated Blacks into bad copied of white men, separating them from their community. The competition and internalized self-hatred which leads to lateral aggression within the back community have been devastating. This book could be written today and few things would need to change...which is frustrating. An absolutely essential book for a high school junior needing to make key decisions about how they want to think about college and professional advancement.