John McWhorter is a linguist by trade and his career as a writer of books on current issues was unexpected. His first major book (the first one I'd heard of at least) was Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America. He was interested in issues regarding race and it became a second career. He brings an interesting perspective in that he is not a conservative but nevertheless goes against the grain of the conventional wisdom of black intellectual circles. In particular, his aforementioned book talks about disturbing trends in black culture that contribute more towards the deprivation of blacks today than institutional racism. He explains and tackles the rampant and popular victimology of many blacks.
In All about the Beat: Why Hip-Hop Can't Save Black America McWhorter again challenges popular sentiments by debunking the fantasy that hip-hop is this deeply intellectual art form that will drive major changes in society. He doesn't do with disdain either since he points out that he enjoys the music. It's just that he doesn't make more out of it than what's there.
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