Disintegration The Splintering of Black America [Paperback]

The African American population in the United States has always been seen as a single entity: a “Black America” with unified interests and needs. In his groundbreaking book,Disintegration, Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist Eugene Robinson argues that over decades of desegregation, affirmative action, and immigration, the concept of Black America has shattered. Instead of one black America, now there are four:

• a Mainstream middle-class majority with a full ownership stake in American society;

• a large, Abandoned minority with less hope of escaping poverty and dysfunction than at any time since Reconstruction’s crushing end;

• a small Transcendent elite with such enormous wealth, power, and influence that even white folks have to genuflect;

• and two newly Emergent groups—individuals of mixed-race heritage and communities of recent black immigrants—that make us wonder what “black” is even supposed to mean.

“A deftly written account of the fragmentation of America’s black population.” —Time

“[A] sober, careful and engaging consideration of phenomena that began with the official end of segregation and has of late been accelerating. . . . Those familiar with [Robinson’s] style will findDisintegrationthe same blend of logical analysis and gentle humor that makes him sometimes appear to be the Most Reasonable Man in America.” —SF Gate
 
“[A] bold call to action . . . [Disintegration] makes clear that Robinson’s success, and the success of his fellow black fortunates, simply do not negate the problems of the other 30% of blacks who continue to struggle at the bottom.” —Los Angeles Times
 
“The text would be useful as a young person’s introduction to Race in America 101.” —The New Republic

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