Listen free for 30 days

  • White Rage

  • The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide
  • Written by: Carol Anderson
  • Narrated by: Pamela Gibson
  • Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (54 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
White Rage cover art

White Rage

Written by: Carol Anderson
Narrated by: Pamela Gibson
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $21.48

Buy Now for $21.48

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

National Book Critics Circle Award winner, Criticism, 2016.

As Ferguson, Missouri, erupted in August 2014 and media commentators across the ideological spectrum referred to the angry response of African Americans as 'black rage', historian Carol Anderson wrote a remarkable op-ed in the Washington Post showing that this was, instead, 'white rage at work. With so much attention on the flames,' she wrote, 'everyone had ignored the kindling.'

Since 1865 and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, every time African Americans have made advances towards full participation in our democracy, white reaction has fueled a deliberate and relentless rollback of their gains. The end of the Civil War and Reconstruction was greeted with the Black Codes and Jim Crow; the Supreme Court's landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision was met with the shutting down of public schools throughout the South while taxpayer dollars financed segregated white private schools; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 triggered a coded but powerful response: the so-called Southern Strategy and the War on Drugs that disenfranchised millions of African Americans while propelling presidents Nixon and Reagan into the White House.

Carefully linking these and other historical flash points when social progress for African Americans was countered by deliberate and cleverly crafted opposition, Anderson pulls back the veil that has long covered actions made in the name of protecting democracy, fiscal responsibility, or protection against fraud, rendering visible the long lineage of white rage.

Compelling and dramatic in the unimpeachable history it relates, White Rage will add an important new dimension to the national conversation about race in America.

©2016 Carol Anderson (P)2016 Audible, Ltd

What the critics say

"Narrator Pamela Gibson perfectly conveys the insightful research and writing in this book about civil rights in the U.S. by an Emory University historian. Anderson contends that when African-Americans make even the slightest progress, a subtle, almost invisible, white rage in the form of opposition reverses what little progress has been made. An example is the current suppression of Black votes under the guise of voter fraud prevention. Gibson's delivery registers rage and compassion where appropriate. No one - from Lincoln to Trump - escapes criticism. Hard truths and supporting citations are clearly stated, leaving no confusion for listeners. Also, Gibson ably presents Anderson's unexpected humor, for example, when she talks about the current paralysis of the U.S. Senate." (AudioFile Magazine)

What listeners say about White Rage

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    41
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    37
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    38
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

mechanical reader

The reader sounds like some kind of AI robot, making the tone off key for such a powerful subject. I wish I had bought the printed version instead, because the book's content is excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Book!

As a Canadian, I’ve been pretty ignorant of US history, particularly with regards to treatment of Black people after the civil war. As some of the detailed information can become tedious to hear, this book provides the full story on the amount of resources and energy that were deployed to prevent black people from attaining equality. This was an eye opener in many aspects, and has enabled me to understand the current mouvements such as BLM.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wow

this is such an important book to read and understanding what is truly going on in the US.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Brutally honest

A brutally honest review of some of the ways racism in America has been expressed over the years. The most striking part is not what has changed from the years of chattel slavery but rather what hasn't. It also highlights much of the racial propaganda that is common in American politics.
The production itself is good and the book is short. Difficulty in listening comes from the content of the book, which is rather bleak and makes one feel hopeless and powerless, rather than from any complexity in the language used.
Only negative I could think of is that the book fails to connect racist policies towards blacks to negative outcomes for poor (and increasingly middle class) whites. I think the author alleges some connection when she discusses education and the Brown decision but she could have expounded on that to make a stronger point that might resonate with those on the fence.
Verdict: worth the money and time required to listen to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Changed my whole view of the US

I am a White Canadian Male, this is important because maybe that's why I didn't know how far America's rotten racist roots ran.
I will never see things the same, and now I have solid facts and figured to argue with.
If you think its not that bad in the states, if you don't believe in white privilege, you need to hear this before you ever speak again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • T
  • 2020-11-19

Most insightful book

This was such an insightful book. I learned so much and will reread & study many times.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An exposition that makes the role of race in America undeniable

What Professor Anderson has accomplished is nothing short of amazing. In a single volume, she has made a compelling case for and exposition of the reality of systemic racism in America. This book contains a chronological exploration of key legal decisions and how at each turn, measures were taken to thwart any advancements beyond the Emancipation Proclamation and how the rights and advancement of black people are actively threatened. This book should become a must read in at least general civics courses in college campuses across the US and for anyone trying to understand the extent to which systemic racism has incised the structure of America.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

no audio

I bought this book last year, but only just got around to downloading it. there is no sound on any of the tracks. I'm not sure why. I've tried on a couple of devices.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!