Black Rednecks And White Liberals Summary

Chapter 1
Summary
The first chapter/essay of Black Rednecks and White Liberals is also the titular chapter. The title of the essay comes from Sowell’s thesis. I the essay Sowell is making a claim that “black culture” is not authentically theirs, but rather it was learned during the antebellum South from the Scottish “rednecks”.
The first section of this essay explores the redneck culture of Scotland and other parts of northern England and Ireland. These were lawless regions without a stable order. These people eventually immigrated to the United States and settled in parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. Sowell continues on in his essay to detail the behaviors of the rednecks. They had great pride that made them very quick

to violence. Sowell cites a passage from Grady McKinney’s Cracker Culture as an example.
“When and Englishman, tired of waiting for a Southerner to start working on a house he had contracted to build, hired another man to do the job, the enraged Southerner, who considered himself dishonored, vowed: ‘tomorrow morn, I will come with men, and twenty rifles, and I will have your life, or you shall have mine.” (pg. 7)
This is one of many examples Sowell presents covering their ride and violence. Sowell also discusses the rednecks’ poor economic activity (they would only work when they needed money), their lack of education, and sexual promiscuity.
In the next section of the essay Sowell begins talking about the “black rednecks” and what made them that way. Sowell says that much of Southern redneck culture became that of the Southern blacks. These traits the followed the blacks from the south into urban ghettos. A big example of this is what we perceive as an African American dialect that actually came from the southern rednecks. Examples such as ax for ask or acrost for across, among others, actually came from the southerners. African Americans simply adopted this way of speaking from them and we now believe that it originated with them. This is just one of many examples of how things we observe as black culture, actually came from the self-defeating culture of the southern rednecks.
In the final section of the essay Sowell discusses how white liberals have helped the perpetuation of the self-destructive lifestyle among black rednecks.

This perpetuation stems from many things. Sowell cites blaming others as a big factor. He discusses how white liberals are quick to call others racist whenever blacks aren’t doing well. He gives an example of how when black attorneys aren’t promoted in proportion to their number, the New York Times will have headlines claiming that firms are slow to promoting minorities. It seems to be apparent that only external factors lead to negative things happening to blacks.
Analysis
This first essay from Sowell provides interesting insight into where “black ghetto culture” came from. It is easy for us to assume that it is just the way they are, but there is evidence here that it is in reality not their own fault. Sowell has painted the “black culture” in a new light and given me something new to consider about where their culture came from.
In the White Liberals section Sowell also provides great insight into what has kept African-Americans down and how they have been hampered from changing their culture. Despite wanting to be on their side, liberal whites have actually been doing nothing to help them

improve.
“By cheering on counterproductive attitudes, making excuses for self-defeating behavior, and promoting the belief that `racism` accounts for most of blacks` problems, white intellectuals serve their own psychic, ideological, and political interests. They are the kinds of friends who can do more harm than enemies.” (pg.57)
White’s try too hard to be nice about what is wrong with black culture, instead of trying to help them change it for the better. I think that this issue is important for us to look at. To have this large group of people continue to do so poorly is a real problem. The “black ghetto culture” in many parts of the country can create a great drain on everyone else. Having ghettos in large cities is not god for creating a healthy economy. They are a large group of people that are not doing anything to help further develop and grow. They settle for less than mediocrity and not enough is done to help change their culture. We must do a better job of changing the culture and quit blaming racism as the reason for their downfalls.
Chapter 2
Summary
Sowell’s second essay is titled “Are Jews Generic?”.

In this essay he looks at anti-Semitism’s origins and what has led many to harbor jealousy towards the Jews. They are known for financial and entrepreneurial success leading to many people feeling jealousy.
Sowell calls the persecution and violence that middlemen minorities are subjected to the worst of any other minorities. While other minorities have suffered, it has never been to the magnitude or duration of the middlemen. Sowell claims that this resentment comes from the middlemen’s economic role.
The middlemen minorities have always been intermediaries between producers and consumers. This role came with hazards, raised prices hurting profits and threats of violence or vandalism are constant problems. Along with this middlemen have been perceived as people who came about their wealth by not doing anything. There is a belief that since they neither produced what they are selling or did the work to create it, did not come about their wealth rightfully. They have not really contributed to the economy. Because of this middlemen are not

trusted.
Sowell goes on to discuss how Jews are far from the only middlemen to be persecuted against. The Lebanese have also been persecuted in the United States for being middle men. The same thing happened to Chinese people in the Philippines. Middlemen are often believed to be operating illegally or corrupt and bribing authorities. Middlemen are prevalently believed to be gaining their wealth in wrongful ways.
Sowell goes on to show that Jews are not hated for being Jewish. They are hated for the same reasons as any other middlemen minority. While it may seem that there is something unique about the Jews that causes resentment towards them, in reality it is their middlemen role that has caused resentment.
Analysis
Resentment towards Jews was something I have never understood. It has never been prevalent in my life or the lives of those around me. It does, however, seem to be quite prevalent in popular culture. I probably would have never known that some resentment towards Jews exist if not for the “jokes” used in some T.V. shows that I watch.
The third essay in Black Rednecks and White Liberals is titled “The Real History of Slavery”. This essay looks at the history of slavery in Western culture. In this essay Sowell discusses where slavery originated and how much it originally had to do with race in the West.
Sowell says that slavery has never been about racially different people. In early eras slaves were often people of the same race as those who owned them. Eventually racial lines were crossed for slaves, but it has never been about racism.
Sowell goes on to discuss how, despite popular belief, it was originally Western culture that began questioning the morality of slavery. Sowell says that it was because of Western pressure that eventually the rest of the world abolished slavery after the European countries. Once slavery was put under moral scrutiny it was unable to stand up.