Faces At The Bottom Of The Well: The Permanence Of Racism

This is a very interesting and engaging book. The book is a collection of fictionalized, race themed, stories that challenge common beliefs about race. For instance, what if there were an Atlantis style utopia that only African Americans could live? What would be the reactions of whites? Would whites be glad to be rid of the 'black problem'? Would blacks want to leave the US to populate the utopian society? Bell takes an interesting and unexpected approach to this idea. Overall a good read that stimulates fresh approaches to race relations.

This is a challenging but flawed book. This book is well researched and uses court cases to show the permanence of racism within American society. He brings up this points in a narrative style that is meant to challenge the reader not only on the basis of his facts but how those facts fit in with American society.
However, his characters become stereotypes themselves. One can see the roles that each of the characters in the story is supposed to play. His fiction continues the beliefs that he attempts to criticize.
Even with this flaw, this book is an important book and should be read by those who are concerned with racism.

Bell is a true storyteller. He possesses the ability to capture your attention and keep you riveted and engaged. This book provides powerful, enlightening "accounts" of racism in America. Every American of every race, nationality, religion, creed and sexual orientation should read this book.

Harvard Law Professor Derrick Bell's book, Faces At the Bottom of the Well defines America's racial divide in terms of the book's subtitle; "The Permanence of Racism". Throughout the book, he uses fictional settings to illustrate his theory.

Derrick Bell was a controversial professor at Harvard Law, until he left over the school's refusal to hire a black female law professor. Harvard argued that other applicants had much stronger backgrounds and credentials, but Bell, a strong proponent of race based preferences, claimed that "diversity considerations" outweighed any "purely academic requirements."

After leaving Harvard, Bell was subsequently hired by NYU's Law School, where he continues his dual career as law professor and writer/activist.

Two of Bell's most vivid fictions involve blackmailing Space Aliens and a fictional land call Afrolantica. In the first scenario, the Aliens demand that all the blacks in America be handed over to them, so that they can be taken back to their planet. They refuse to divulge what they intend to do with America's black citizens. In exchange the remaining Americans will be given enough gold to eliminate taxes for a year and the technology needed to eradicate all of the effects of pollution. There is also the hint of violence if America's blacks aren't turned over.

In the second scenario, a fantasy about a fictional land called "Afrolantica," an island upon which only black people can survive and where white people can't even breathe, starts a controversy. Some blacks argue that all American blacks should move there and start their own nation, many whites support that plan.

Bell asks some interesting questions with this book, "How deep are the ties that bind us a nation?"..."How close to the surface are our grievances and distrusts?"

The problem with Bell's thesis is that it is limited by its complete one-sidedness. To Bell an Irish-American who seeks to live in a predominantly Irish neighborhood, or a Chinese-American who decides to reside in China Town, NYC are suspected "racists," while a black-American who chooses to reside in Harlem is not.

Contrary to Bell's assertions, the fact that most people identify with one ethnic group or another is merely a fact, not an indictment. That many people feel more comfortable among people more "like them" than not, is not an indictment either. What Derrick Bell is most guilty of is "Special Pleading" or perceiving anything that benefits "his side" or his point of view, as "good" and all that runs counter to that, "bad." As a result his writing takes on a harsh and bitter tone that often makes him appear as guilty of the bigotry he condemns in others.

If Bell's intention was to use the image of "the well" as a mirror, in order to force his readers to examine the racism that continues to exist, he has failed, because his own bitterness colors his arguments with decidedly racist observations and attitudes.

Bells' strength lies in asking questions, his weakness is that he offers no answers and in fact accepts the inevitability of racism. His writing pales in comparison to other contemporary scholars who've dealt with the isue of race in America, such as Thomas Sowell and Walter E Williams.

After reading this book, Professor Bell became one of the main reasons I chose to attend NYU School of Law. Bell poignantly tells the story of an oppressed race through allegory that at once is entertaining and educational. Two stories in particular made such an impact that I still feel it a full 5 years after reading the book. The first, Afrolantica, focused on the accomplishments that African Americans can make when working toward a common goal. The ending points out that if African Americans focus and produce we can achieve anything, even the seemingly impossible by using cooperation and productivity. The last story literally reduced me to tears. Though the premise was a little far-fetched it brought home to me the realization of African Americans' importance (or lack their of) as people with hearts, minds and souls to those that form the majority in this country. At first it left me feeling hopeless, but then it made me want to fight harder. And after having met the Professor Bell and sat in his classroom I am certain that my later reaction is what he was after. The other stories are definately worthwhile also, but I point to these two because of the profound emotional effect they had on me. A must read for the believers and non-believers of the theory that racism is so ingrained in American society that it can never be eradicated.