Why do black people only read books by black authors?

B

Bob B

New member
I don't want to sound racist but its true. It seems like all black women and black men read books that are african american authors and have paintings in their house of black people decorations and especially, they would have playing cards with black people on it! Older black people especially do.

Why is that? It's like they don't like white people and they don't even like seeing a figure of a white person. and they wonder why people are racist to african americans and its because black folks just act weird like that and they just wanna read about Martin Luther King and they could care less if its a cacausion actor who is white like John Ritter as an example but if its Damon Waynes or a black comedian, they admire them better. Why is that?
 
Whatever your intentions, it is a remarkably racist and short sighted question. How many white folks have white paintings and read books by white authors and decorations, playing cards? Just doesn't make any sense, and how many black houses have you visited to even come up with this?
 
I don't know why people are getting so 'up themselves' about this - so long as it is purely your own observation with people you know then there's nothing wrong with this and in that case I don't think you are being a troll.

I live in Asia and it is much the same here, people are comfortable with their Asian things around them (actors, authors, pop stars). But I'm Caucasian and I'm probably the same - I don't think I've ever read a book by a writer who was black, but I have read a few by Asian writers - however, the trouble with that is that they tend to write more serious, race issue books and not just pure fantasy/horror/thriller. I've got books like the Kite Runner and Brick Lane, but books like that aren't in the same realm as things like the Da Vinci Code or Jurassic Park, they're much more serious most of the time.

But if anyone has got any suggestions of good fiction written by a black writer, then I'd be happy to read it - as far as I'm concerned, it's always good to broaden your literacy circles.
 
well personally i've read books from all kinds of authors but i prefer black books because they address issues pertaining to my community that are important to me && really can only best be explained by a black person. i'm always looking to be educated about my history and my people && white authors seem to cover the truth because they are afraid of painting a negative picture of "the white man". && when im reading for entertainment i find books by black authors to be more appealing to my particular sense of humor && interests && the content is often more relatable than what i read in white books.
 
You might not want to sound racist or anything but you do. I will read what ever I want to read and will not ask my neighbour, white or black, permission. Why?; because I enjoy reading what I read.
 
I assume from your comments that you are a white american. Look around your home and tell us how many books by black authors you have, or how many african pistures you have on the wall. Do white folks "act weird"?
Think about the history of black amercians. Segregation was not too long ago. Black people were hardly ever seen on television in a positive role until twenty years ago.
Most black people in the US are descendants of people who were taken from Africa, put into slavery and oppressed for 400 years. Now there is freedom, but racism still exists.
Black americans should be proud to display paintings and books and listened to the words of other black americans, who are now free to express themselves and their ideas.
Only when white people and black people can understand and relate as one nation, will their be a common understanding in literature, art and even comedy.
 
I think they're trying to make up for what they perceive as too many "white people" in white people's culture. For example, perhaps they think the opposite is true and that white people only read books by white people, have paintings of white people in their houses and have playing cards with white people on them.

I think what you are doing is a generalization though, and if some black people think the same they are also making generalizations of white people.

It seems artificial to me when a company ad or a book will have so many different races and just one white character because I don't think it's a realistic representation of Americans and just strikes me as being annoyingly politically correct. But the opposite is true too, all white people is inaccurate, America is made up of many different types of people.

So, maybe black people like to try to create a "black culture" because they feel they have been robbed of their heritage when their ancestors were forcibly removed from Africa.

Nothing wrong with that, but I think we all need to understand that it's not about black vs. white. We ultimately all come from the same place.
The point I'm trying to make (and I know, it's not coming across very clearly) is that we are all people. We don't need to identify ourselves as being this label or that label. We don't need to surround ourselves with black or white or asian or any other type of culture, but just accept that we are all the same inside.

Racism isn't just hating people of another race. Racism is identifying yourself as the body and all it's external labels.
 
Cause they want to read interesting and inspiring information about their own people? Get over yourself. Not all blacks read books written by their own people.
 
I don't think that is quite true. There may be a few African Americans trying to trace their roots back to Africa. I know there are many African Americans who read John Grisham and all that stuff (books) on the New York Times Best Seller List. They also watch movies by white actors. They watch drama/action on television (Prison Break, Grey Anatomy, 24, Lost, Heroes, Desperate Housewives and many other programs featuring white actors. As for comedy shows maybe they enjoy more comedies featuring African Americans comedians.
 
Every ethnic group have a sub group that prefer literature or arts within their own culture. This is not just African Americans. Asians, europeans, and caucasians are also this way. It does not mean that they are racist, it just means that they are closed minded.
 
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