Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

CASTE by Isabel Wilkerson (The Warmth of Other Suns) was a 2020 adult non-fiction bestseller and has just been released in an adaptation for Young Adults. Citing examples from America, India, and even the Nazis, Wilkerson explores the concept of caste and its relation to race: “neither synonymous nor mutually exclusive.… Caste is the bones, race the skin. Race is what we can see, the physical traits that have been given arbitrary meaning and become shorthand for who a person is. Caste is the powerful infrastructure that holds each group in its place.”  A significant portion of the book highlights what Wilkerson terms the eight pillars of caste, including religion, heritability, marriage, and stigma. The tome is rather academic and even this version will be a challenge for most high school students. However, the text is filled with observations and assertions that could serve as discussion or essay prompts; here is one short example: “The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power – which groups have it and which do not. It is about resources – which caste is seen as worthy of them and which are not, who gets to acquire and control them and who does not. It is about respect, authority, and assumptions of competence – who is accorded those and who is not.” The preview I saw did not contain any bibliographic notes or an index (shown in amazon’s look inside preview) both of which would be useful to student researchers. For those interested in other related adaptations for young readers, see The Burning and Me and White Supremacy. Heather McGhee's The Sum of Us is scheduled to have an adaptation for young readers available in February, 2023.