John McWhorter – författare

John McWhorter is one of the most original and provocative thinkers on the issue of race in America today. In Authentically Black McWhorter argues that although African-Americans stress hard work and initiative in private, they have assumed the mantle of victimhood in the eyes of the public and have thereby created a distorted meaning of what it is to be "authentically black." McWhorter takes on this mentality and its debilitating implications—in topics ranging from rap music to the reparations movement, to the portrayal of African-Americans on television to racial profiling— injecting new ideas and a fresh approach into the nationwide debate on race. Authentically Black is a powerful and important book that will inform and influence the opinions of Americans across all racial and political spectra.

Winning the Race examines the roots of the serious problems facing black Americans today—poverty, drugs, and high incarceration rates—and contends that none of the commonly accepted reasons can explain the decline of black communities since the end of segregation in the 1960s. Instead, McWhorter posits that a sense of victimhood and alienation that came to the fore during the civil rights era has persisted to the present day in black culture, even though most blacks today have never experienced the racism of the segregation era.

McWhorter traces the effects of this disempowering conception of black identity, from the validation of living permanently on welfare to gansta rap’s glorification of irresponsibility and violence as a means of “protest.” He discusses particularly specious claims of racism, attacks the destructive posturing of black leaders and the “hip-hop academics,” and laments that a successful black person must be faced with charges of “acting white.” While acknowledging that racism still exists in America today, McWhorter argues that both blacks and whites must move past blaming racism for every challenge blacks face, and outlines the steps necessary for improving the future of black America.

Uncover the Fascinating Evolution of the English LanguageIn Words on the Move, bestselling linguist John McWhorter takes us on a lively tour of how the English language is evolving before our eyes -- and why we should embrace this transformation and not fight it. Language is always changing, and while we understand that new words must be created for new things, the way English is spoken today often rubs many of us the wrong way.Whether it''s the use of literally to mean "figuratively" rather than "by the letter," the way young people use LOL and like, or business jargon like What''s the ask? -- it often seems as if the language is deteriorating. But as McWhorter shows in this delightful and eye-opening exploration, these shifts are a natural process common to all languages, and we should embrace and appreciate these changes, not condemn them.Drawing examples from everyday life and employing a generous helping of humor, Words on the Move opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to the words and expressions we use every day. Did you know that silly once meant "blessed"? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe? Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word like?McWhorter encourages us to marvel at the dynamism and resilience of the English language. His book offers a lively journey through which we discover that words are ever on the move and our lives are all the richer for it. A must-read for anyone interested in the fascinating world of linguistics, etymology, and the evolution of language.