What You'll Learn:
Caste is a term often reserved for Indian civilization, but journalist Isabel Wilkerson argues that United States history reveals unnerving parallels to India’s ancient system. In Wilkerson’s estimation, both caste systems have been legally abolished, but the caste mindset remains and hamstrings the unity and justice that American society desperately needs.
Key Insights:
- MLK was jailed as a criminal in Birmingham, but he was celebrated as a celebrity in Bombay.
- Numerous scholars have been pointing out the strong parallels between caste dynamics in India and America’s social order for decades.
- Since the beginning, America has been a grand play with prescribed roles, heroes and villains, and scripts that people dare not deviate from.
- Eight pillars are inevitably constructed to uphold a caste system.
- The United States is like an old house, and we have a better chance of preserving it when we honestly face its structural vulnerabilities.