James L. Sherley, MD, PhD
The Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, MA, USA

Series: Social Justice, Equality and Empowerment
BISAC: SOC031000

If there can be poetry found in racism, then it and its dark irony are captured in the pages of James Sherley’s new first book, Sounding Out Continuing Racial Discrimination in 21st Century America: A Compendium of Opinion-Editorials and Letters-to-the-Editor to Redress Racism. In Sounding Out, Sherley reveals his life as a black citizen wading daily through the deep muck of American racism by sharing a collection of candidly personal public writings that span 20 years of his life and career as a scientist and professor in U.S. independent biomedical research institutes and elite universities. In Sounding Out, Sherley presents a chronology of 82 letters-to the-editor and opinion-editorials written and submitted with the purpose of publicly redressing many examples of America’s continuing racism reported and revealed in U.S. magazines and newspapers in his sphere of reading.

Instead of a work of reproductions, Sounding Out is a unique viewing of originals – not just original raw responses by one person to his daily assault by racism, but also original views of reflections from a beleaguered psyche struggling to maintain a rebuff against racism that is as persistent as racism itself. Only sixteen of the chronicled 82 submissions were ever published by recipient newspaper and magazine editors, leaving 66 others possibly fated to inform only the editors who decided not to publish them. By publishing a compendium of the remaining 66 commentaries in their original form, Sherley now achieves his mission of public dissemination of perspectives that contradict attitudes and actions that prevent the ending of racism in America, if not the world.

Sherley’s insistence that racism be exposed when it is ignored and that all Americans be charged to act collectively to end racism spares no one. From celebrated entertainers to lauded politicians, Sounding Out chides all, right up to President Barack Obama, for their roles – intended or not – in fostering and promoting racist attitudes and actions against members of presently racially-defined minority groups in American society. In particular, Sherley sounds out the alarm against passivity, inaction, and resignation. These are the enablers of racism that Sounding Out seeks to disrupt. Sherley writes, “Let the majority end its complacency and once again put on the mantle of virtue, take the high moral ground back, sound once again the clear bell of freedom, and insure America’s future as a truly free nation, which means no tolerance for racism.” (Imprint: Nova)