Between the World and Me
Significance of Race / Racism
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The author draws a distinction between race (which he says is a state of being / identity embedded in the bedrock nature of America) and racism (which he suggests is an attitude that reflects, in action and thought and feeling) that state of being. Issues of race have to do with how black and white people each, and differently, view the experience of being in America: racism defines the qualities and values with which people of different races interact.