Sellout: The Politics of Racial Betrayal (Vintage)

An incisive and unflinching study from the national bestselling author of Say it Loud! that tackles a stigma of America's racial discourse: selling out. “Brisk and enjoyable, no small feat given the density of its ideas.”— Los Angeles Times Randall Kennedy explains the origins of the concept of selling out, and shows how fear of this label has haunted prominent members of the black community—including, most recently, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and Barack Obama. Sellout also contains a rigorously fair case study of America's quintessential racial “sellout”—Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. In the book's final section, Kennedy recounts how he himself has dealt with accusations of being a sellout.

in This Incisive And Unflinching Study, Randall Kennedy, Author Of nigger: The Strange Career Of A Troublesome Word, tackles Another Stigma Of America's Racial Discourse: “selling Out.” He Explains The Origins Of The Concept And Shows How Fear Of This Label Has Haunted Prominent Members Of The Black Community—including, Most Recently, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, And Barack Obama. sellout also Contains A Rigorously Fair Case Study Of America's Quintessential Racial “sellout”—supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. In The Book's Final Section, Kennedy Recounts How He Himself Has Dealt With Accusations Of Being A Sellout After Meeting Fierce Criticism At Harvard Upon The Publication Of His Book, nigger.

the New York Times - Jill Nelson

kennedy Is Adept At Pulling Together Multiple Sources And Reinterpreting Information To Illustrate His Points.

Kennedy grapples with a stigmatized phrase: "selling out," or racial betrayal, a subject of much anxiety and acrimony in Black America. He atomizes the changing meanings of the term and shows how its usage bedevils blacks and whites. He begins his exploration with a historical definition of the "black" community, accounting for who is considered black and who is not. He looks at the ways in which prominent members of that community--Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and Barack Obama, among others--have been stigmatized as sellouts. He outlines the history of the suspicion of racial betrayal among blacks, shows how current fears of selling out are expressed in thought and practice, and offers a case study of the quintessential "sellout"--Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, perhaps the most vilified black public official in American history.--From publisher description The author of Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word addresses the meaning and issue of "selling out," as he analyzes the ways in which the term is used by both blacks and whites, as well its influence on both individuals and society as a whole. Reprint. 17,500 first printing.