What's Going On

Current Affairs / African American Studies

"Filled with essays that challenge America's myths.... His easy reading style unsuspectingly pricks the conscience."?? --USA Today

ith the same personal authority and exhilarating directness he brought to his account of his passage from a prison cell to the newsroom of The Washington Post, Nathan McCall delivers a series of front-line reports on the state of the races in today's America. The resulting volume is guaranteed to shake the assumptions of readers of every pigmentation and political allegiance.
In What's Going On, McCall adds up the hidden costs of the stereotype of black athletic prowess, which tells African American teenagers that they can only succeed on the white man's terms. He introduces a fresh perspective to the debates on gangsta rap and sexual violence. He indicts the bigotry of white churches and the complacency of the black suburban middle class, celebrates the heroism of Muhammad Ali, and defends the truth-telling of Alice Walker. Engaging, provocative, and utterly fearless, here is a commentator to reckon with, addressing our most persistent divisions in a voice of stinging immediacy.

"[These essays] reinforce the moral authority McCall [brings]
to the issue of America's racial schisms."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Straightforward, quick-moving [and] erudite."
--Philadelphia Inquirer

Former Washington Post reporter Nathan McCall won critical acclaim for his autobiographical Makes Me Wanna Holler, the story of his troubled youth, his criminal career as a young man, his three-year prison sentence for armed robbery, and his struggles to put his life together after his release. In this collection of essays, McCall addresses social issues and problems, filtering his comments through the lens of his own experience. Thus his commentary in "Gangstas, Guns, and Shoot 'Em Ups," recalls his youthful infatuation with The Godfather, and criticizes the dead-end fantasies of gangster rap. In "Men: We Just Don't Get It," he recalls the times he sexually assaulted women and looks at his own daughter with love and fear. He hopes she'll find someone who loves her, but is afraid she'll meet men who don't treat women with love and respect.