Our Hidden Conversations (Unabridged)
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4.5 • 6 Ratings
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Peabody Award–winning journalist Michele Norris offers a transformative dialogue on race and identity in America, unearthed through her decade-long work at The Race Card Project.
The prompt seemed simple: Race. Your Thoughts. Six Words. Please Send.
The answers, though, have been challenging and complicated. In the twelve years since award-winning journalist Michele Norris first posed that question, over half a million people have submitted their stories to The Race Card Project inbox. The stories are shocking in their depth and candor, spanning the full spectrum of race, ethnicity, identity, and class. Even at just six words, the micro-essays can pack quite a punch, revealing, fear, pain, triumph, and sometimes humor. Responses such as: You’re Pretty for a Black girl. White privilege, enjoy it, earned it. Lady, I don’t want your purse. My ancestors massacred Indians near here. Urban living has made me racist. I’m only Asian when it’s convenient.
Many go even further than just six words, submitting backstories, photos, and heirlooms: a collection much like a scrapbook of American candor you rarely get to see. Our Hidden Conversations is a unique compilation of stories, richly reported essays, and photographs providing a window into America during a tumultuous era. This powerful book offers an honest, if sometimes uncomfortable, conversation about race and identity, permitting us to eavesdrop on deep-seated thoughts, private discussions, and long submerged memories.
The breadth of this work came as a surprise to Norris. For most of the twelve years she has collected these stories, many were submitted by white respondents. This unexpected panorama provides a rare 360-degree view of how Americans see themselves and one another.
Our Hidden Conversations reminds us that even during times of great division, honesty, grace, and a willing ear can provide a bridge toward empathy and maybe even understanding.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Get a glimpse into America’s continual struggle with race and identity in this unique nonfiction experiment. Over the past decade, journalist Michele Norris engaged in a project in which, through social media and direct mail, she asked Americans of all colors and creeds for their thoughts and experiences when it comes to race. There was just one catch: They could only use six words. What emerges is a brilliant peek into the heart of America, with countless stories of people contemplating and experiencing racism. With a full cast of narrators—including both professionals and the voices of the everyday people who contributed to the project—the book explores racism in many forms, from white privilege to mixed-race identity to harmful Hollywood tropes like the meek Asian man or the strong Black woman. This important and eye-opening audiobook will have you questioning your own preconceived notions.
