New York Times veteran Lena Williams candidly explores the everyday occurrences that strain racial relations, reaching a conclusion that "no one could disagree with" (The New York Times Book Review)
Although we no longer live in a legally segregated society, the division between blacks and whites never seems to go away. We work together, go to school together, and live near each other, but beneath it all there is a level of misunderstanding that breeds mistrust and a level of miscommunication that generates anger. Now in paperback, this is Lena Williams's honest look at the interactions between blacks and whites-the gestures, expressions, tones, and body language that keep us divided.
Frank, funny, and smart, It's the Little Things steps back from academia and takes a candid approach to race relations. Based on her own experiences as well as what she has learned from focus groups across the United States, Lena Williams does for race what Deborah Tannen did for gender. Finally, we have a book that traverses the color lines to help us understand, and eliminate, the alarmingly common interactions that get under the skin of both blacks and whites.
Great book and a quick read. The author conducted focus groups all over the country to get people talking about race. Very eye-opening and thought-provoking. It should be required reading in every high school. It made me much more aware of my thinking and behavior with people who are different than I. Now if we could just do the same thing with liberals and conservatives....