A review by ksinclair04
Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1990s by Michael Omi

5.0

this is a review of the original, first edition - although i sort of wish i'd realized that they'd published a third edition before i started reading the first one. doh! regardless, this book rings incredibly true even nearly 30 years later - truly a classic text that argues why/how race is a fundamental organizing construct of US american political and social life. particularly appropriate/interesting to read in the context of the current racial climate, ferguson protests, etc. this book offers useful language/concepts for understanding the media's and politicians' responses to the protests - for example, their use of strategies of "absorption" and "isolation" amidst an ongoing battle to re-articulate the meaning of race in the US.