The Thursday Book Club discussed the book CASTE – by Isabel Wilkerson. It was a “heavy” read in terms of subject matter, researched detail, and shocking truths. Wilkerson compares the centuries old caste system in India, the time bound ‘caste’ system the Nazis imposed on Jews in the 30’s and 40’s, to the caste system beginning with slavery in the US before the US was a country and continuing today.

Her liberal inclusion of horrific stories and historical facts is shocking and disturbing. For example, blacks were still being lynched in the American South up to 1972! She differentiates between caste, race, and class. There is potential for movement with race and class – but within caste – you will never be able to change your position as seen by society.

In spite of the deeply disturbing content, every member at the discussion group agreed that this is a book that needs to be read to help understand the continuing systemic caste system at play in the US today. One observation was it offered a better understanding of why there was such a backlash against Obama compared to the seemingly blind loyalty to Trump.

Wilkerson, a Pulitzer Prize winner journalist, was the first woman of African American descent to receive the Pulitzer Prize for journalism. Her thesis in Caste is that American culture and economics even today is still built on slavery and its impact. Whereas Germany, shamed by the holocaust, has taken extreme steps to acknowledge, apologize, and honour the victims of the holocaust, many Americans still applaud and honour the Confederate flag and generals who fought to keep millions of blacks enslaved and treated as less than human.

The book opened for our readers insight into this dark side of American history. Though disturbing, they were grateful to have this more fulsome understanding. Conversations included questions about our own treatment of indigenous peoples, the internment of the Japanese, and questions of racial profiling by the police here. As a final question we looked at where we – white privileged women – saw ourselves in the caste system. We all agreed we were pretty much at the top of the heap – the only ones above us were white men…

This is not a book for light reading – but it is a book to help us understand, think about, and respond to current and disturbing issues around systemic racism in American society and politics– and sadly in many other societies around the world.

PS – the book has been made into a movie – ORIGIN by Ava Duverny. Hopefully it will be here soon.

Janet K and Linda T