Anthony Walton with Dr. Rohit Chandra: The End of Respectability

Name: Anthony Walton with Dr. Rohit Chandra: The End of Respectability
Start: 2025-01-21T19:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-01-21T20:00:00-05:00
Location: Brookline Booksmith

Schedule

Tue Jan 21 2025 at 07:00 pm to 08:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Brookline Booksmith | Brookline, MA

Read on for important details for this live, in-person Brookline Booksmith event.
About this Event

In person at Brookline Booksmith! Celebrate the release of The End of Respectability with author Anthony Walton, in conversation with Dr. Rohit Chandra.

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Livestream!
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Event Photos

The End of Respectability: Notes of a Black American Reckoning with His Life and His Nation

American Blacks are entering a new phase in the struggle against white supremacy. Standing firmly in the African American tradition, Walton believes in the possibility of reconciliation with those whites who desire it, offering a hand of friendship and pragmatic ideas for paths forward.

Born into the Civil Rights Movement, author Anthony Walton observed firsthand the opening of opportunity for racial reconciliation. He also saw systemic racism and the vicious backlash against Black progress embodied in the Southern Strategy, Tea Party, and MAGA. Over time, Walton came to believe that moving forward requires a "Third Reconstruction" to accomplish what remains: better health outcomes, secure voting rights, and sustained economic and educational opportunity. Only this approach, he believes, will accomplish what remains unfinished for true African American equality.

Blending social history, bracing analysis, and autobiography, this dazzling collection includes essays published in The New York Times and The Atlantic--including "Willie Horton and Me" and the much-anthologized "Technology vs. African Americans"--as well as new work that probes Walton's earlier thinking. Throughout, the author delivers insights that wrestle with the hydra-headed, ever-changing realities of an American society in which the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The End of Respectability illuminates recent American history as experienced by a writer who has remained open to hope, unfazed by failures, and unflinchingly dedicated to the truth. This book will leave you changed. And just may incite you to be a part of the change we need.

Anthony Walton received a Whiting Award for his non-fiction work Mississippi: An American Journey. His essays, poems, and reviews have appeared widely in magazines, journals, and anthologies, including The New Yorker, Harper's, Notre Dame Magazine, Oxford American, the New York Times, and the BBC. He is currently a professor and senior writer-in-residence at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.

About Brookline Booksmith

We are one of New England’s premier independent bookstores, family-owned and locally run since 1961. We offer an extensive selection of new, used, and bargain books; unique, beautiful gifts; award-winning events series; and specialty foods. Every day, we strive to foster community through the written word, represent a diverse range of voices and histories, and inspire conversations that enrich our lives. Find more at brooklinebooksmith.com!

EVENT ACCESSIBILITY

This event will take place at street level. If possible, the event will be livestreamed to YouTube. ASL interpretation may be provided (based on the availability of interpreters) but must be requested at least 2 weeks in advance of the event. Seats are limited. Please email us at [email protected] as soon as possible if you require ASL interpretation, guaranteed seating, or other accommodations. We will do our best to serve your needs!