Havurah Shalom

Nonfiction, 496 pages - This new book points to our entire social structure as an unrecognized caste system. Wilkerson points out that we tend to refer to slavery as a “sad, dark chapter” in America when in fact it lasted for hundreds of years—but in order to maintain a social order and an “economy whose bottom gear was torture”, it was necessary to give blacks the lowest possible status. Whites in turn got top status. In between came the middle castes of Asians, Latinos, indigenous people, and immigrants of African descent. Such a caste system allowed generations of whites to live under the same assumptions of inequality whether their ancestors were slave owners or abolitionists. This isn’t an easy book, but it’s extremely important, especially in light of current times. Discussion led by Laurie Brown & Marjorie Walters. This discussion will take place in Zoom Room Bet.