Sunday, January 29, 2017

Radical Chic by Tom Wolfe


Yes, this definitely got my attention in the opening chapter.  Leonard Bernstein has a vision of a black person rising from behind his piano while he is conducting and he decides to host a fundraiser on behalf of the Black Panthers.

“Radical Chic” is the term used for those (highly fortunate, rich, well-off) willing to hold meetings to raise funds on behalf of those who cannot help themselves.  Some of these groups were grape workers who urged a boycott against California grape growers. Another such group was the Panther 21.  These struggles mostly dealt with lower classes of people and may or not involve racial profiling. 

Unfortunately not everyone was in agreement with all this “help”. An interesting peep into the upper echelons of society who try to help the lower echelons and the backlash they receive from other upper echelons.

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