Stars and Shadows: The Politics of Interracial Friendship from Jefferson to Obama
Saladin Ambar
(Author)
Description
A sweeping look into interracial friendship's significance in American democracy from the founding to the present.The oppression of Blacks is America's original sin -- a sin that took root in 1619 and plagues the country to this day. Yet there have been instances of interracial bonding and friendship even in the worst of times. In Stars and Shadows -- a term taken from Huckleberry Finn -- Saladin Ambar analyzes two centuries of noteworthy interracial friendships that served as windows into the state of race relations in the US and, more often than not, as models for advancing the cause of racial equality. Stars and Shadows is the first work in American political history to offer a comprehensive overview of how friendship has come to shape the possibilities for democratic politics in America. Covering ten cases -- from Benjamin Banneker and Thomas Jefferson's ill-fated effort to navigate the limits imposed on democracy by slavery and white supremacy, to the more hopeful stories of James Baldwin and Marlon Brando as well as Angela Davis and Gloria Steinem -- Ambar's study illuminates how friendship is critical to understanding the potential for multiracial democracy. Political leaders and cultural figures are frequently involved in translating private feelings, relationships, and ideas, into a public ideal. Friendships and their meaning are therefore a significant part of any effort to shape public or elite opinion. The symbolism inherent in interracial friendship has always been readily apparent, down to the powerful example of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, who were not only allied politicians, but most importantly, friends. Ambar weaves a set of interlocking stories that help create a working theory of multiracial democracy that demands more of us as citizens: a commitment to engage one another and to engage our past with even greater courage and trust. Such gestures are a vital part of the story of how race and America have been shaped. Stars and Shadows helps explain America's enduring difficulty in making friends of citizens across the color line -- and why the narrative of racial friendship matters.
Product Details
Price
$29.99
$27.89
Publisher
Oxford University Press, USA
Publish Date
June 01, 2022
Pages
272
Dimensions
6.4 X 9.6 X 1.2 inches | 1.15 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9780197621998
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About the Author
Saladin Ambar is Professor of Political Science and Senior Scholar at the Center on the American Governor at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, where he teaches courses in American politics. He is the author of numerous books, including American Cicero: Mario Cuomo and the Defense of American Liberalism (Oxford) and Malcolm X at Oxford Union (Oxford), which was nominated for a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for best book in nonfiction, and is currently in development for a feature film by Number 9 Films in the UK.
Reviews
"A searching history of interracial friendship and cooperation throughout American history ... A welcome case that all of us should just get along - and work hard to do so." -- Kirkus Reviews"This beautifully-written historical meditation on the powers of friendship is an extended reflection about meaningful connections that span America's racial borderlands. Stars and Shadows--a book I could not put down--probes often surprisingly resonant relations, taking in the personal and the political in a democratic zone marked by affection and regard. In troubling times, it is moving and encouraging to gain access to such sources of hope for the fraught American experience." -- Ira Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University"A fresh, wise, humane antidote to the political bombast of our time. Amber brilliantly explores the way Americans have bonded across the racial divide from Thomas Jefferson to Angela Davis. Stars and Shadows is deeply researched, beautifully written, and genuinely moving. It all adds up to something special--a guide to the angels of our better selves--as individuals, as communities, and as a nation." -- James A Morone, John Hazen White Professor, Brown University, and author of The Republic of Wrath: How American Politics Turned Tribal from George Washington to Donald Trump"Saladin Ambar offers the rare combination of a gifted storyteller whose prose is hard to put down and a penetrating scholar of politics. In Stars and Shadows, he gives readers an inspiring and candid set of meditations on friendship mediated through the lens of race and spanning the entirety of US history. In these ten narratives he conveys why friendship is a democratic responsibility on which any thriving multiracial society depends. This book is an urgent and extremely enjoyable read." -- Elizabeth F. Cohen, Professor of Political Science, Syracuse University"Professor Ambar skillfully challenges readers to place the role of intra-racial political fraternity at the heart of American democracy. Using historical and present-day case studies of political friendships between Blacks and Whites, Ambar illustrates the prevalence of White supremacy in American politics but also adroitly weaves together a compelling account of friendships that challenge this political problem. This book is engaging, beautifully written, and thoroughly researched. Stars and Shadows is a must-read for students of American politics regardless of subfield or methodological orientation." -- Nadia Brown, Professor of Government and Director of Women's and Gender Studies program at Georgetown University"Illuminating. . . . [Stars and Shadows is] a welcome case that all of us should just get along-and work hard to do so." -- Kirkus Reviews"This beautifully-written historical meditation on the powers of friendship is an extended reflection about meaningful connections that span America's racial borderlands. Stars and Shadows-a book I could not put down-probes often surprisingly resonant relations, taking in the personal and the political in a democratic zone marked by affection and regard. In troubling times, it is moving and encouraging to gain access to such sources of hope for the fraught American experience." -- Ira Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University"A fresh, wise, humane antidote to the political bombast of our time. Amber brilliantly explores the way Americans have bonded across the racial divide from Thomas Jefferson to Angela Davis. Stars and Shadows is deeply researched, beautifully written, and genuinely moving. It all adds up to something special-a guide to the angels of our better selves-as individuals, as communities, and as a nation." -- James A Morone, John Hazen White Professor, Brown University, and author of The Republic of Wrath: How American Politics Turned Tribal from George Washington to Donald Trump"Saladin Ambar offers the rare combination of a gifted storyteller whose prose is hard to put down and a penetrating scholar of politics. In Stars and Shadows, he gives readers an inspiring and candid set of meditations on friendship mediated through the lens of race and spanning the entirety of US history. In these ten narratives he conveys why friendship is a democratic responsibility on which any thriving multiracial society depends. This book is an urgent and extremely enjoyable read." -- Elizabeth F. Cohen, Professor of Political Science, Syracuse University"Professor Ambar skillfully challenges readers to place the role of intra-racial political fraternity at the heart of American democracy. Using historical and present-day case studies of political friendships between Blacks and Whites, Ambar illustrates the prevalence of White supremacy in American politics but also adroitly weaves together a compelling account of friendships that challenge this political problem. This book is engaging, beautifully written, and thoroughly researched.Stars and Shadows is a must-read for students of American politics regardless of subfield or methodological orientation." -- Nadia Brown, Professor of Government and Director of Women's and Gender Studies program at Georgetown University"Ambar's lucid history lessons and spirit of optimism make this an enlightening study of how racial progress is made." -- Publishers Weekly
