The most shocking moment that stands out for me in reading "White Rage" was the difficulty of securing housing in historically white, not particularly wealthy, neighborhoods outside of Detroit. I was particularly horrified by the story of a mob of people throwing rocks at Dr. Ossian Sweet’s home as he chose to move into a historically white neighborhood. I'm not sure why I found it so surprising, given the long history of segregation and violence. Perhaps the current era in which explicit acts of racism are more likely to be condemned has clouded my view. The police officer's minimization of the claims of being attacked, including denying there was a mob of people, frustrated me immensely and reinforced the longstanding way in which such cruel and racist acts have been allowed to persist to this day. It also emphasized for me that there are likely many ongoing violent or racist acts that remain covered up, by law enforcement or others. It made me wonder how we bring to light such practices of legal disenfranchisement today in a way that doesn't pit one group against another or lead to defensiveness (e.g. "All Lives Matter," "Blue Lives Matter").
— Nina Shiffrin
— Nina Shiffrin
