Unequal plus Seen and Unseen

UNEQUAL by Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau is subtitled “A Story of America” and it deals with racial injustice through the stories of over two dozen individuals. Dyson, a Georgetown University sociology professor and award-winning author, and Favreau, who has also written several commended books, have collaborated to produce a text which is geared to teens. Our students will recognize many of the people and actions which are profiled; examples include Ida B. Wells, Michelle Alexander (The New Jim Crow), and Malcolm X.  And, I have a student working on a project about John Carlos and Tommie Smith right now. Other names (Susan Moore, Catherine Flowers, Fannie Lou Hamer) may be less familiar, but several students have been researching discrimination in health care, environmental racism, and voting rights which are all issues addressed in this informative text. Each section begins with a short vignette and photo, followed by a more in-depth review of resistance to inequality. Sadly, Dyson and Favreau felt it necessary to begin by saying, “This is a book of truth. So we’ll start by telling you the stone-cold fact that there are many people who do not want you to read it. … Some will undoubtedly try to ban this book.” That does seem to be a pattern in the early online reader reviews even though UNEQUAL received starred reviews from both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. It contains an impressive list of other suggested readings and source notes and will soon be available for our student researchers and their teachers.

SEEN AND UNSEEN by Marc Lamont Hill and Todd Brewster is a fascinating look at “Technology, Social Media, and the Fight for Racial Justice.” These two dynamic authors are respected intellectuals who have both taught at Temple University. In this text, they reflect upon the ways in which smartphones, video, and its quick dissemination on the internet have impacted our collective reactions to cases like those of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Christian Cooper (Central Park bird-watching incident). They truly stress the broader history of communications – the role of photography and television during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, for example. They also discuss John Filo’s famous photo of May Ann Vecchio kneeling in horror after National Guard violence at Kent State in May 1970.  We know this image, but don’t have ready references for similar violence occurring within that month at historically Black institutions of Jackson State and South Carolina State.  Similarly, they comment on contrasts between coverage and reactions to events in Selma, Little Rock, and more recently, Charlottesville. SEEN AND UNSEEN assumes a fairly broad knowledge of American History – which our students are just developing. However, the text contains copious endnotes and sources and could possibly function as a starting point for discussion, contrasting past and contemporary activities.