Self-Portrait in Black and White

Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race is a 2019 book by Thomas Chatterton Williams. It was published by W. W. Norton & Company on October 15, 2019.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race

First edition cover
Author	Thomas Chatterton Williams
Audio read by	Thomas Chatterton Williams[1]
Cover artist	Jaya Miceli[2]
Language	English
Subjects	race, identity
Publisher	W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date	October 15, 2019
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages	192
ISBN	978-0-393-60886-1
Dewey Decimal	305.800973
LC Class	E185.97.W7345 A3 2019

Thesis

Thomas, the son of a black father and a white mother, who grew up identifying as black, explains in the book how he has come to unlearn his racial identity.^[8][9]

Publication and promotion

The book was published by W. W. Norton & Company on October 15, 2019.^[10] Williams appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher on October 18, 2019 to promote the book.^[11]

Reception

Andrew Solomon praised the book in The New York Times, writing, "He is so honest and fresh in his observations, so skillful at blending his own story with larger principles, that it is hard not to admire him. At a time of increasing division, his philosophizing evinces an underlying generosity. He reaches both ways across the aisle of racism, arguing above all for reciprocity, and in doing so begins to theorize the temperate peace of which all humanity is sorely in need."^[12]

At the review aggregator website Book Marks, which assigns individual ratings to book reviews from mainstream literary critics, the book received a cumulative "Mixed" rating based on 12 reviews: 2 "Rave" reviews, 3 "Positive" reviews, 4 "Mixed" reviews, and 3 "Pan" reviews.^[13]

References

1. "Self-Portrait in Black and White (Audiobook) by Thomas Chatterton Williams". Audible. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
2. Thomas Chatterton Williams (October 15, 2019). Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-393-60887-8.
3. Sewell, Summer (October 15, 2019). "Is it time to unlearn race? Thomas Chatterton Williams says yes". The Guardian. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
4. Friedersdorf, Conor (November 5, 2019). "Unraveling Race". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
5. "Nonfiction Book Review: Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race by Thomas Chatterton Williams". Publishers Weekly. July 18, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
6. "Self-Portrait in Black and White by Thomas Chatterton Williams". Kirkus Reviews. July 8, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
7. Henderson, Cinque (October 15, 2019). "Black No More?". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
8. Lozada, Carlos (October 11, 2019). "How to become an ex-black man". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
9. Solomon, Andrew (October 14, 2019). "How Moving to France and Having Children Led a Black American to Rethink Race". The New York Times Book Review. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
10. "Self-Portrait in Black and White". W. W. Norton & Company. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
11. Stockly, Ed (October 17, 2019). "What's on TV Friday, Oct. 18: 'Charmed' on the CW". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
12. Solomon, Andrew (14 October 2019). "How Moving to France and Having Children Led a Black American to Rethink Race". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
13. "Book Marks reviews of Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race by Thomas Chatterton Williams". Book Marks. Retrieved May 7, 2020.

External links

• After Words interview with Williams on Self-Portrait in Black and White, December 28, 2019