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Caste (Oprah's Book Club)
Caste (Oprah's Book Club): The Origins of Our Discontents | Isabel Wilkerson
22 posts | 19 read | 13 to read
OPRAHS BOOK CLUB PICK The Pulitzer Prizewinning, bestselling author of The Warmth of Other Suns examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions. An instant American classic.Dwight Garner, The New York Times As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about powerwhich groups have it and which do not. In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences peoples lives and behavior and the nations fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about peopleincluding Martin Luther King, Jr., baseballs Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many othersshe shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their out-cast of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity. Beautifully written, original, and revealing, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is an eye-opening story of people and history, and a reexamination of what lies under the surface of ordinary lives and of American life today.
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Kshakal
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Pickpick

This is a book that everyone should read… it reshaped my mind and how I think about things and how lucky I am to look the way I do and to have had the opportunities I have had. Such an important piece of work that I will tell everyone about.

35 likes1 stack add
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currentlyreadinginCO
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@BarkingMadRead @BeckyWithTheGoodBooks In my defense I have read about 50 BOTM books, so I'm not a total failure! But these are some of the 26 that I've not gotten to thus far ... let me know if you've read any, or if you want to!

BarkingMadRead I‘ve read Addie LaRue and I‘ve read Four Winds, but that‘s it 6mo
BeckyWithTheGoodBooks I‘ve also read Addie LaRue and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. The rest are free game! 6mo
currentlyreadinginCO I'm thinking that either Caste or The Golden Couple might be fun to do, do you have a preference for fiction or nonfiction? @BeckyWithTheGoodBooks @BarkingMadRead 6mo
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BarkingMadRead Nope! 6mo
BeckyWithTheGoodBooks @BarkingMadRead @currentlyreadinginCO Caste is around 500 pages so that might be hard to get through, but if you really want to pick that one, it would be fine! 6mo
currentlyreadinginCO Good point, let's do The Golden Couple! @BarkingMadRead @BeckyWithTheGoodBooks 6mo
38 likes6 comments
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DogMomIrene
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Pickpick

This book reframed my mental model around race. Wilkerson‘s blend of historical facts, various studies, and anecdotes kept me engaged. Everyone should read this book.

40 likes2 stack adds
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DogMomIrene
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From the chapter “Democracy on the Ballot”

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DogMomIrene
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Spring 1944 - Columbus Ohio public school

This single sentence was the winning essay response to the question “What should we do with Hitler after the war?” submitted by a 16-year-old African American girl.

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Davidtk20
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Pickpick

I‘ve always understood racism as a toxic made up system that divides America. Wilkerson pushes this notion further, examining the underlining structures and institutions in place that keep racism and all its prejudices alive. The caste system, developed before America‘s founding, spawned all these forms of prejudices that divides us. She expertly illuminates Caste and all its manifestations so well in this book. I couldn‘t recommend it enough.

Nute Excellent review! I agree. Thinking of this through scripture, “a house divided against itself will not stand.” 3y
Davidtk20 @Nute definitely. We can‘t keep going on like this. Our society will remain unstable and unsustainable if it is hierarchical. 3y
5 likes2 comments
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Jgotham
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I finally got it in! Can anyone from #shesaid tell me what chapter we are on?

KVanRead This week we‘re reading Part III 3y
Jgotham @KVanRead thank you!! 3y
14 likes2 comments
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bookwormlife
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Mesica25
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ such an important book!

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Cortg
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Pickpick

So, so, GOOD! This book compares America‘s caste system to that of India with a lot of references to Nazi Germany. The stories were excellent and it really made me think. It‘s a fresh take on racial inequality in America and I‘ve recommended this read to several people already.

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Jebpix
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Pickpick

A must-read. This gave me such a deep perspective of the imbedded inequities in this country. “A world without caste will set everyone free.” Great on audio. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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rmaclean4
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Pickpick

This book puts so much about our American society in perspective. Impactful and well researched and reasoned. This book will not make you feel good but could lead to real change for those who read it. Highly recommend. 5 🌟

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FashionableObserver
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My best friend sent an e-gift card to me for a new local bookstore in my area—Black Garnet Books. I decided to use it to buy Caste and have been eagerly awaiting its arrival. It‘s here!! And it‘s in line to be devoured by me sometime real soon!

42 likes1 stack add
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Monyca
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Now reading

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OglesbyK
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In 1944 a sixteen-year old Black student in Columbus Ohio won an essay contest on the theme ‘ What to Do with Hitler after the War‘ by submitting the single sentence, “ Put him in a black skin and leg him live the rest of his life in America” From the book Caste.

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brandierickson
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Pickpick

This book made me physically ill at some points but it was so well written and so significant. Everyone should read this.

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CoffeeK8
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Today‘s beautiful #audiowalk

38 likes2 stack adds
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CoffeeK8
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How many other #teachersoflitsy are having their lunch breaks in their car to get out of the school.

Johanna414 lol Too many classrooms overlook the teacher parking lot... I would feel like I was being watched! A couple friends and I hide out in a classroom that isn't being used so we can vent to each other before moving on with our day.
4y
CoffeeK8 @Johanna414 luckily we have a side lot. Otherwise I don‘t know what I‘d do 4y
kspenmoll Our weather has bern unexpectedly warm so I have been lucky enough to sit outside with other teachers for lunch. Car lunches will cone soon enough! 4y
CoffeeK8 @kspenmoll oh it was so rainy here today... no chance for an outside lunch for anyone 4y
33 likes4 comments
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CoffeeK8
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Today‘s #audiowalk

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Lauren.Archer
Pickpick

I do not think I have ever marked up a book as much I have this one, even my college textbooks. This is a book I will continue to go back to over and over again.

76 likes3 stack adds
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LatrelWhite
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🎧
In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.

16 likes2 stack adds
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Nebklvr
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(caste) It is about respect, authority, and assumptions of competence—-who is accorded these and who is not. Isabel Wilkerson