2012 – The Post-Civil Rights Era

The 2012 Theme for The Bibliophiles was The Post Civil-Rights Era.

We wanted to delve into the view of African-American life, politics, culture, opinions, and view-points being written and discussed now that 57+ years have passed since the Civil Rights Movement began. Of course, many could say that the Civil Rights Movement began when slaves were brought to these shores; others can say that the institution of Jim Crow laws beginning in 1890 marks the start of the Movement; yet others will say that the U.S. Supreme Court Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 that deemed “separate but equal” as the law of the land was the line of demarcation. Our reading took the view of the Civil Rights Movement, often calculated as beginning in 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education or the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-1956. Nonetheless, the titles selected are fascinating and enriching. They led to wonderful and thought-provoking book discussions. We earnestly enjoyed this year of reading!

  • THE NEW JIM CROW: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness by Michelle Alexander
  • SISTER CITIZEN: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America by Melissa V. Harris-Perry
  • PROTEST PSYCHOSIS: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease by Jonathan Metzl
  • TEMPEST RISING: A Novel by Diane McKinney-Whetstone
  • WHO’S AFRAID OF POST-BLACKNESS?: What It Means to be Black Now by Touré
  • THE PERSISTENCE OF THE COLOR LINE: Racial Politics and the Obama Administration by Randall Kennedy