November 9 at 1:00 pm
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson is the novel to be discussed at the November 9th meeting of the Killingworth Library Tuesday Book Discussion Group. Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people—including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others—she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their out-cast of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.
Discussion begins at 1:00, location is presently planned for Parmelee Farm depending on weather. Final location or zoom site will be announced by 11:00 that morning. Books can be picked up in person at the library’s circulation desk. (Masks are presently required in the library.)
