Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution, by Elie Mystal

Mystal’s take on the Constitution of the United States is essentially this: it was written by white male supremacists interested in codifying white male supremacy, and then interpreted and enforced by further white male supremacists interested in retaining said supremacy; this has continued right up through to the current day, with only occasional hard-fought moments of relief. He backs this up with quotations, facts from the historical record, and examples from current events. Mystal does not spare liberals either, excoriating them for working within a system designed to promote inequality, instead of fixing the racist foundations. His tone is educated, snarky, occasionally profane, and incredibly readable; the only reason I couldn’t devour this in one go is because there is only so much rage I can handle (and corroborating examples from the news) before I need to give my brain a break.

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