Caste- by Isabel Wilkerson 

“The Ties That Bind”
Book Club Facilitator- Suzanne Parker

Host:AntiRacist.Jubilee.Symposia. Organizers: Ms.Evelyn, Ivy, Zoi, Jaden, and Paul

Description and Overview 

“The Trump years and the pandemic laid bare the deep racial divide that exists in the United States. The country was lulled into a post-Civil Rights Kumbaya. We were encouraged that we as a nation had turned a corner in regards to equity and equality with the election of President Obama. There was minority representation in the Obama administration. There was hope for what we thought was a post- racial America. Then the rude awakening occurred, the United States elected a man who openly bucked all social norms, weakened the guardrails of democracy, and gave citizens permission to be openly hateful and unapologetically racist. 

By stoking the fires of discontent and fear, using the pandemic to further sow the seeds of hate, scapegoating, and division. It causes one to step back and ask, what is really going on? What is at the root of the resurgence of openly racist rhetoric? The racial unrest started long before the Trump administration and the pandemic. I believe that in order for the great American experiment to be a success, there has to be healing. Healing only comes from confronting the “origins” and truth of our “discontent.” 

This book club can be a catalyst for change in our personal lives and communities. Facing the “origins of our discontent”, requires introspection, courage, and honesty. In order to be a catalyst for healing, we need a safe space to discuss what is really going on. It is my hope that this book club will be that safe space for discussion, introspection, and change. “

Learning Objectives 

To understand the social structures that we are assigned to.
To examine how these social structures impact our lives on a daily basis. 

To understand how the caste system in the United States impacts the judicial, educational, and economic systems in the United States. 

Required Reading
Caste “The Origins of Our Discontent”- by Isabel Wilkerson
March 20th, 2022- We will discuss the first four pillars of Caste. 

1. Divine Will and Laws of Nature
2. Heritability
3. Endogamy and the Control of Marriage and Mating 
4. Purity versus Pollution 

Journal your thoughts about the reading. 

1. What impacted you the most from the reading? 
2. Did you ever think of the United States as being a caste system? 
3. How has the United States Caste System impacted your life? Or has it? 

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