Thomas Chatterton Williams – författare

An incisive, culturally observant analysis of the evolving mores, manners and taboos of social justice (“anti-racist”) orthodoxy, which has profoundly influenced how we think about diversity and freedom of expression, often with complex or paradoxical consequences.In this provocative book, Thomas Chatterton Williams, one of the most revered and reviled social commentators of our time, paints a clear and detailed picture of the ideas and events that have paved the way for the dramatic paradigm shift in social justice that has taken place over the past few years. Taking aim at the ideology of critical race theory, the rise of an oppressive social media, the fall from Obama to Trump, and the twinned crises of COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd, Williams documents the extent to which this transition has altered media, artistic creativity, education, employment, policing, and, most profoundly, the ambient language and culture we use to make sense of our lives.Williams also decries how liberalism—the very foundation of an open and vibrant society—is in existential crisis, under assault from both the right and the left, especially in our predominantly networked, Internet-driven monoculture.Sure to be highly controversial, Summer of Our Discontent is a compelling look at our place in a radically changing world.

The son of a “black” father and a “white” mother, Thomas Chatterton Williams found himself questioning long-held convictions about race upon the birth of his blond-haired, blue-eyed daughter—and came to realize that these categories cannot adequately capture either of them, or anyone else. In telling the story of his family’s multigenerational transformation from what is called black to what is assumed to be white, he reckons with the way we choose to see and define ourselves. Self-Portrait in Black and White is a beautifully written, urgent work for our time.

A reckoning with the way we choose to see and define ourselves, Self-Portrait in Black and White is the searching story of one American family’s multigenerational transformation from what is called black to what is assumed to be white. Thomas Chatterton Williams, the son of a “black” father from the segregated South and a “white” mother from the West, spent his whole life believing the dictum that a single drop of “black blood” makes a person black. This was so fundamental to his self-conception that he’d never rigorously reflected on its foundations—but the shock of his experience as the black father of two extremely white-looking children led him to question these long-held convictions.It is not that he has come to believe that he is no longer black or that his kids are white, Williams notes. It is that these categories cannot adequately capture either of them—or anyone else, for that matter. Beautifully written and bound to upset received opinions on race, Self-Portrait in Black and White is an urgent work for our time.

The Sunday Times Bestseller'Provides a way of understanding what happened to us that preserves the humanity of all parties and points the way forward toward renewal' Jonathan Haidt 'Makes moral and cultural sense of a profoundly perplexing time... This is an essential book' Yuval LevinPainting a clear and detailed picture of the ideas and events that have paved the way for the dramatic paradigm shift in social justice that has taken place over the past few years, Thomas Chatterton Williams provides an incisive, culturally observant analysis of the evolving mores, manners and taboos of social justice orthodoxy.Exploring what has shaped the ways we think about diversity and freedom of expression, Williams unravels the ideology of critical race theory. Examining the rise of an oppressive social media, the fall from Obama to Trump and the twinned crises of COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd, he documents the extent to which these events have altered the ambient language and culture we use to make sense of our daily lives.Showing how liberalism - the very foundation of an open and vibrant society - is experiencing an existential crisis, under assault from the right and the left, this is an essential and compelling examination of our place in a radically changing world.

In this provocative book, Thomas Chatterton Williams, one of the most revered and reviled social commentators of our time, paints a clear and detailed picture of the ideas and events that have paved the way for the dramatic paradigm shift in social justice that has taken place over the past few years. Taking aim at the ideology of critical race theory, the rise of an oppressive social media, the fall from Obama to Trump, and the twinned crises of COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd, Williams documents the extent to which this transition has altered media, artistic creativity, education, employment, policing, and, most profoundly, the ambient language and culture we use to make sense of our lives.Williams also decries how liberalism - the very foundation of an open and vibrant society - is in existential crisis, under assault from both the right and the left, especially in our predominantly networked, Internet-driven monoculture.Sure to be highly controversial, Summer of Our Discontent is a compelling look at our place in a radically changing world.

A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR A TIME 'MUST-READ' 'An extraordinarily thought-provoking memoir that makes a controversial contribution to the fraught debate on race and racism . . . intellectually stimulating and compelling' SUNDAY TIMESA reckoning with the way we choose to see and define ourselves, Self-Portrait in Black and White is the searching story of one American family's multi-generational transformation from what is called black to what is assumed to be white. Thomas Chatterton Williams, the son of a 'black' father from the segregated South and a 'white' mother from the West, spent his whole life believing the dictum that a single drop of 'black blood' makes a person black. This was so fundamental to his self-conception that he'd never rigorously reflected on its foundations - but the shock of his experience as the black father of two extremely white-looking children led him to question these long-held convictions.It is not that he has come to believe that he is no longer black or that his daughter is white, Williams notes. It is that these categories cannot adequately capture either of them - or anyone else, for that matter. Beautifully written and bound to upset received opinions on race, Self-Portrait in Black and White is an urgent work for our time.

Liberties - A Journal of Culture and Politics features new essays and poetry from some of today’s best writers and artists, along with introducing new talent, to inspire and impact the intellectual and creative lifeblood of culture and politics.This inaugural issue of Liberties includes: Michael Ignatieff on liberalism and the environmentLaura Kipnis cheers transgressionDavid Grossman on literature and peaceRamachandra Guha on the Indian tragedyThomas Chatterton Williams on the real James BaldwinMark Lilla on the power of indifferenceHelen Vendler on Yeats' The Second Coming; Sean Wilentz on abolition and American originsAdam Zagajeweski on Gustav MahlerJames Wolcott on America’s modern JacobinsAndrea Marcolongo on how language defines usEli Lake on the birth of American unexceptionalismSally Satel on the riddle of addictionMoshe Halbertal on creating a democratic Jewish stateDavid Thomson on the wonder of Terrence MalickJulius Margolin’s memoir confronting hatredClara Collier on plague literatureShawn McCreesh’s personal look at a youthful community of addictionNew poetry from the most recent winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Louise Glück, Joshua Bennett, and Hannah Sullivan; And Leon Wieseltier (editor) and Celeste Marcus (managing editor)