White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide – Carol Anderson

White Rage by Carol Anderson traces the persistent backlash against Black advancement in America from Reconstruction to the Trump era. Through detailed historical scrutiny, Anderson argues that each time African Americans made political or economic gains, a wave of white resistance — fueled by laws, policy, and violence — stifled progress. The book weaves together the Black Codes, Jim Crow, school closures, the southern strategy, mass incarceration, and voter suppression to reveal how racial inequality is reinforced not just by individual hatred but by systemic mechanisms. Sharp, haunting, and essential, White Rage reframes the modern conversation on race by showing how the “kindling” of resentment and reaction has shaped the American story.