The End of White Politics: How to Heal Our Liberal Divide

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In the entire history of the United States of America:

We've never elected a woman as our president.

We've only had one president who is not a white man.

With two presidential campaigns under her belt, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, MSNBC's political analyst and SiriusXM Host Zerlina Maxwell gained first-hand knowledge of everything liberals are doing right--and everything they are doing wrong to make progress. Barack Obama's eight-year presidency unearthed what had always been right beneath the surface, a racism that America has struggled to leave behind. We watched as President Donald Trump effectively ran a campaign on white identity politics. He exploited race and class privileges, and successfully tapped into a white male angst. In an unvarnished, impassioned assessment, Maxwell's book lays bare, what now, liberals

In the 2020 race, with the most diverse presidential candidates of our time having run in the primary elections, THE END OF WHITE POLITICS dismantles the past and present problems of the Left--challenging the discriminatory agendas of the "Bernie Bros" and centrist thinkers like Joe Biden--to address the liberal framework that has traditionally focused on the white working-class, specifically male. The biggest issue, Maxwell argues, is that the "liberal-minded" party still struggles to engage communities of color, even though the population majority will be non-white by 2045. Historically public policies, even those enlisted by the Left, have valued certain people's needs over others and there remains a one-sided representation at the top. But times are changing.

Ultimately, in a page-turning analysis, Maxwell skillfully examines how progressives can use factors that Trump exploited during his rise to power in 2016 to heal the liberal divide. A gradual transition of power over to those marginalized groups who haven't traditionally had one has created a shift and a growing demand for equity across all areas of American life, which is the central tension in American politics in the Trump era. Instead of turning away from identity politics, progressives can lean into it to unite in a common vision, and make progressive politics into a winning movement.

Everyone post-the 2016 presidential election has shared their "analysis" of what went wrong and what went right for liberals. Everyone is wrong but the answers are staring us right in the face.

Reviews

***TIME, "100 MUST READ BOOKS OF 2020" and "Best New Books of July"***

*The Root, "100 most influential African Americans of 2020" (Zerlina Maxwell)*

*EBONY, "Black Books List"* *O MAGAZINE, "Best Books of August 2020"* *Ms. Magazine, "Best of the Rest 2020" and "July 2020 Reads for the Rest of Us"* *Fortune, "7 New Books to Read in July"* *Project Censored, "Summer Reading List (2020)"* *LibroFM, "Hot New Releases"*

*Rewire News Group, "10 Last-Minute Holiday Gifts"*

*Glamour UK, Five brilliant political books by Black women*

*Womanly Live, 10 powerful books written by Black women*

"[This book shows exactly how] uniting under a common vision... will benefit us all."--New Books Network
"[This] book aims to confront the inherent whiteness at the heart of America's politics on both sides of the aisle... [it is] so current and immediate and gripping that reading it feels like someone let Maxwell peek at summer 2020's headlines before she sat down to write it."--Glamour
"As an analysis of the current state of America's political system, The End of White Politics - How to Heal Our Liberal Divide is an important book that reads like the future, like an awakening, like common sense. Written with passion and commitment, Zerlina Maxwell presents her argument persuasively and unapologetically, and with enough anecdotes to lift it above the political thesis."--Manhattan Book Review
"In her classic truth-telling, no-holds-barred style, Zerlina flips the 'identity politics' debate on its head, laying out why Democrats should reject the notion that it's a politics of social division, and instead embrace it as a bridge to social cohesion and inclusion. The book underscores a powerful truth: centering the voices and experiences of those too long marginalized in our politics--including women of color and particularly black women--will not only strengthen our democracy, it will win elections."--Maya L. Harris, civil rights advocate, former seniorpolicy advisor to Hillary Clinton, and author of Women of Color: A GrowingForce in the American Electorate
"Maxwell has produced a worthwhile blueprint for a party that seems to have lost its way."--Booklist
"With a style that is as infectious as it is cogent and accessible, the author outlines and defends her recommendations and strategies so thoroughly that the only possible dissent is a willful disregard for the future of not just the Democratic Party, but the future of all but the most privileged Americans."--Kirkus, Starred Review
"... An imperative read for our times. Arguing we need to lean into identity politics, Maxwell explains what we need to do--now--to move the Democratic party, and the nation, forward. "
--Ms. Magazine
"A clear-eyed critique of the racism and sexism corroding American politics."--The Atlantic
"Along with bringing #BlackGirlMagic to our screens on Peacock TV, Zerlina Maxwell breaks down everything wrong with our current political system and how to center true equity as progressives navigate the political landscape."--EBONY
"Witty and piercing."--TIME

Author Bio

ZERLINA MAXWELL is an MSNBC political analyst, commentator, speaker, and writer. She is also the Senior Director of Progressive Programming for SiriusXM and the cohost of the award-winning radio show, Signal Boost.