The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the South - Book Report/Review Example

The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the South America being a home to people from many parts of the world is faced with a number of challenges revolving around peaceful coexistence. The whites and blacks for instance leaving in America blame their problems of poverty, joblessness and other social issues on each other-race is a major source of mistrust among the two groups. Poor whites particularly blame their poverty, lack of proper housing and inability to get well paying employment on the presence of black Americans. Osha Davidson in his book “The Best of Enemies” observes that the main issue to be addressed in America and which is seldom mentioned surrounds class and not race as perceived. Segregation based on social class is a common enemy of both blacks and poor whites and requires the collaboration of all people who are affected by this in working towards its alleviation. The book is well researched and written in a manner to clearly demonstrate that poor whites have a lot in common with Afro-Americans as well as other minority races as compared to the structure of power which oppresses them all. It brilliantly shows how for a very long time many people especially poor whites have failed to see this and continued to go after the rich whites who secretly support them in a way or another. This does not solve their problems but instead perpetuates existence of class with a net effect of ensuring the poor remain so while the rich continue to oppress them. This is a very powerful and valuable insight that the author authoritatively points out in his book as he seeks to illustrate that elitist whites have historically distracted their poor counterparts from seeing the real issue which is class- it is to blame for economic difficulties facing both poor whites and blacks and not race It is such an informative book with a marvelous insight into the dark days and desegregation times in North Carolina. It portrays how Durham for a long time upheld the law of Jim Crow move very slowly integrating public schools in comparison to other cities. They were forced to do so through a court order and this compelled the formation of a committee on desegregation which brought together a vocal Afro-American activist working with a Ku Klux Klan member. The two led the committee which was dealing with all issues around integration; the relationship between the two was expected to be disastrous due to their racial inclinations but to the surprise of many including the duo the opposite was witnessed. The relationship led to discovery by the two of their common problems and hence trust grew up which led to a truly blossoming friendship. The author draws our attention on how a very strong friendship evolved between an activist of black origin (Ann Atwater) and Claiborne Paul from the Ku Klux Klan. The two hailed from Durham and frequently encountered each other in the times of the civil rights movement but with little knowledge of the fact they had common goals. They learnt to their common surprise that they shared a problem when they served in one committee working to desegregate schools. They learnt that apart from both being poor, they also had a common goal to see their children get quality education and better economic opportunities. What began as a cautious rapport grew into a strong friendship guided by respect for each other. This testament is put in context by the author who interviews Durham city’s past, existence of the Klan as well as the movement on civil rights. It is a moving book in which the author is demonstrating that we have a lot in common with our brothers and sisters from other races; it is by forging towards the common goals that we see the real issues affecting us and move forward as a society. Any person who believes works and looks for parity in our society will find this book very informative in terms of to approach the problem of race. The author’s demonstration of the friendship between Ellis and Ann is an interesting one. Ann had worked as a domestic worker and came in contact with racial segregation that informed her to quit job. Ellis on the other hand came from neighboring poor settlement and had the belief that blacks were to blame for poor living conditions. Discovery of their common concerns helps them go past the barrier of racial suspicion to forge a relationship based on mutuality. This clearly defied all odds especially since this are the times of real racial branding. In a very skillful way he goes on to interrogate a central concern in the community; why and how racial branding can be a very detrimental factor in our society. Gray authoritatively and systemically brings out how powerful and triumphant the human spirit can be in terms of issues such as race and class. In conclusion therefore, this is a very powerful and well thought book drawing the attention of readers’ to the real issues facing the society. The author attempts to distract us from the petty racial issues and invites us to look at class as a major social issue serving against both African-Americans and poor whites. It is a common problem; power structure allows few elites to oppress both blacks and poor whites. The lower class in the society which comprises of blacks, poor whites and other races have common problems such as poverty, ensuring quality education for their children, ensuring better economic opportunities for their children and oppression from the elite class. I recommend the book for many people who think race is the most important social problem facing America and particularly poor whites who blame their problems on blacks. Works cited. Osha Gray, Davidson. The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the South. University of North Carolina press, 2007. Read More