- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Basic Books; Reprint edition (15 Sep 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0465068146
- ISBN-13: 978-0465068142
- Product Dimensions: 20.5 x 13.7 x 1.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 177,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
Faces At The Bottom Of The Well: The Permanence Of Racism
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Product Description
Product Description
The noted civil rights activist uses allegory and historical example to present a radical vision of the persistence of racism in America. These essays shed light on some of the most perplexing and vexing issues of our day: affirmative action, the disparity between civil rights law and reality, the racist outbursts of some black leaders, the temptation toward violent retaliation, and much more.
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First Sentence
"OH, THE CONTRADICTIONS of civil rights representation," I said to no one in particular as, rushing from the site of one lecture in midtown Manhattan, I saw the car and driver waiting at the curb to drive me to a college in Westchester County, where I was to give another speech later that afternoon. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
"OH, THE CONTRADICTIONS of civil rights representation," I said to no one in particular as, rushing from the site of one lecture in midtown Manhattan, I saw the car and driver waiting at the curb to drive me to a college in Westchester County, where I was to give another speech later that afternoon. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
This book is outstanding! On reading you acknowledge and recognise intimately that the 'Five Rules' are played out in 'your'own life as a black person... Over and over again! Having shared these 'RULES' with other black and white persons who have knowledge around the issues they too agree with 'Bell's' premise! Excellent insight! It is a true loss that the author died last year! Mr BELL I salute you; you did what you could to make things better and things will improve with education and a willingness of acceptance!
Format:Paperback
After reading this book, Professor Bell became one of the main reasons I chose to attend NYU School of Law. Bell poignantly tells the story of an oppressed race through allegory that at once is entertaining and educational. Two stories in particular made such an impact that I still feel it a full 5 years after reading the book. The first, Afrolantica, focused on the accomplishments that African Americans can make when working toward a common goal. The ending points out that cooperation and productivity if African Americans focus and produce we can achieve anything, even the seemingly impossible. The last story literally reduced me to tears. Though the premise was a little far-fetched it brought home to me the realization of African Americans' importance (or lack their of) as people with hearts, minds and souls to those that form the majority in this country. At first it left me feeling hopeless, but then it made me want to fight harder. And after having met the Professor Bell and sat in his classroom I am certain that my later reaction is what he was after. The other stories are definately worthwhile also but I point to these two because of the profound emotional effect they had on me. A must read for the believers and non-believers of the theory that racism is so ingrained in American society that it can never be eradicated.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
16 reviews
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Provocative and Thought Provoking
11 Mar 2012
Format:Paperback
I bought this after The Space Traders was adapted for the HBO film Cosmic Slop. It was a piece of fiction that got under my skin and stayed there. The book still retains its power to shock and make you think after all these years. Even Bell himself didn't agree with the conclusions of the characters in some of the scenarios but they certainly have the power to offend, provoke and make you think about how much and how little has changed.
It sad that the faux controversy about the book and Dr. Bell's work has brought out the typical responses. It's quite telling that in our "post-racial" society Dr. Bell's work still has sting.
It sad that the faux controversy about the book and Dr. Bell's work has brought out the typical responses. It's quite telling that in our "post-racial" society Dr. Bell's work still has sting.
44 of 71 people found the following review helpful
The Well is a distorted mirror...
31 Mar 2002
Format:Hardcover
Harvard Law Professor Derrick Bell's book, Faces At the Bottom of the Well defines America's racial divide in terms of the book's subtitle; "The Permanence of Racism". Throughout the book, he uses fictional settings to illustrate his theory.
Derrick Bell was a controversial professor at Harvard Law, until he left over the school's refusal to hire a black female law professor. Harvard argued that other applicants had much stronger backgrounds and credentials, but Bell, a strong proponent of race based preferences, claimed that "diversity considerations" outweighed any "purely academic requirements."
After leaving Harvard, Bell was subsequently hired by NYU's Law School, where he continues his dual career as law professor and writer/activist.
Two of Bell's most vivid fictions involve blackmailing Space Aliens and a fictional land call Afrolantica. In the first scenario, the Aliens demand that all the blacks in America be handed over to them, so that they can be taken back to their planet. They refuse to divulge what they intend to do with America's black citizens. In exchange the remaining Americans will be given enough gold to eliminate taxes for a year and the technology needed to eradicate all of the effects of pollution. There is also the hint of violence if America's blacks aren't turned over.
In the second scenario, a fantasy about a fictional land called "Afrolantica," an island upon which only black people can survive and where white people can't even breathe, starts a controversy. Some blacks argue that all American blacks should move there and start their own nation, many whites support that plan.
Bell asks some interesting questions with this book, "How deep are the ties that bind us a nation?"..."How close to the surface are our grievances and distrusts?"
The problem with Bell's thesis is that it is limited by its complete one-sidedness. To Bell an Irish-American who seeks to live in a predominantly Irish neighborhood, or a Chinese-American who decides to reside in China Town, NYC are suspected "racists," while a black-American who chooses to reside in Harlem is not.
Contrary to Bell's assertions, the fact that most people identify with one ethnic group or another is merely a fact, not an indictment. That many people feel more comfortable among people more "like them" than not, is not an indictment either. What Derrick Bell is most guilty of is "Special Pleading" or perceiving anything that benefits "his side" or his point of view, as "good" and all that runs counter to that, "bad." As a result his writing takes on a harsh and bitter tone that often makes him appear as guilty of the bigotry he condemns in others.
If Bell's intention was to use the image of "the well" as a mirror, in order to force his readers to examine the racism that continues to exist, he has failed, because his own bitterness colors his arguments with decidedly racist observations and attitudes.
Bells' strength lies in asking questions, his weakness is that he offers no answers and in fact accepts the inevitability of racism. His writing pales in comparison to other contemporary scholars who've dealt with the isue of race in America, such as Thomas Sowell and Walter E Williams.
17 of 29 people found the following review helpful
I Have to Give Bell Credit
10 Mar 2012
Format:Paperback
This book is one of the many reasons why I am no longer a progressive. I actually read it many years ago. This nation, and the world at large, would be a far better place if more people read this book and decisively repudiated the views within.
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