Rock My Soul : Black People and Self-Esteem
by bell hooks

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Book Reviews of Rock My Soul : Black People and Self-Esteem

Book Review: Looking within for a reason to believe!
Summary: 5 Stars

Lest we forget the importance of feeling good about ourselves, bell hooks, the quintessential black feminist writer has added yet another tome to the many outstanding references to the literary canon of African-American culture. Here, she gives us Rock My Soul: Black People and Self-Esteem. No less provocative, but ever so poignant, the panache is intact as she talks with passion on a highly debated topic that is always at the cutting edge of discussion in our communities. There's no book that this author has contributed that doesn't get the overall treatment with candid and insightful analogy. Self esteem and what it means to people of color will always be high profile and a force to be reckoned with due to the scars of slavery and unbalanced scales . Without self-esteem everyone loses his or her sense of meaning, purpose, and power. For too long, African Americans in particular have been unable to openly and honestly address the crisis of self-esteem and how it affects the way they perceive themselves and are perceived by others.

In her most challenging and provocative book to date, bell hooks gives voice to what many black people have thought and felt, but seldom articulated in a way where doubt would hold sway. She offers readers a clear, passionate examination of the role of projecting positive images and having the confidence to allow the playing field to be equaled to play in the African-American experience. This is essential in determining whether success is individual or collective. In gathering research for the project, the author delves into the methods and reasons why she used the paradigms to construct this project. She painstakingly listened to the stories of her students, peers, and people from different walks of life and heard the same arguments, including deep feelings of inadequacy and despair. With critical insight and a fervor bent on finding answers, the author exposes the underlying truth behind the crisis. In her estimation, it has been extremely difficult to create a culture that promotes and sustains a healthy sense of self-esteem in African-American communities...and this book gives all the reasons and supportive analogies thereof.

What I found interesting and gave me such a positive vein with this book, is how she rigorously examined and identified the barriers -- political and cultural -- that keep African Americans from emotional well-being and a sense of belonging. She looked at historical movements, the role the community plays in this issue, gave introspective analogy why self is just as important at arriving at conclusions, and how the family came to be so involved. She also discusses the revolutionary role preventative mental health care can play in promoting and maintaining self-esteem. The question will always be asked: Why is self-esteem so on the forefront of our societal emanation? This book does quite a bit to understand how racism has been abated, relative to how often-negative reaction to integration has crippled the black community leaving deep psychological scars and extremely low self-esteem as blacks compete by imitating whites. I recommend this book to give compelling arguments and subsequent solutions for a far better understanding of the issue than has been given to us up to now.

Summary of Rock My Soul : Black People and Self-Esteem

World-renowned scholar and visionary bell hooks takes an in-depth look at one of the most critical issues of our time, the impact of low self-esteem on the lives of black people.

Without self-esteem everyone loses his or her sense of meaning, purpose, and power. For too long, African Americans in particular have been unable to openly and honestly address the crisis of self-esteem and how it affects the way they perceive themselves and are perceived by others.

In her most challenging and provocative book to date, bell hooks gives voice to what many black people have thought and felt, but seldom articulated. She offers readers a clear, passionate examination of the role self-esteem plays in the African-American experience in determining whether individuals or groups succeed or self-sabotage. She considers the reasons why even among "the best and brightest" students at Ivy League institutions "there were young men and women beset by deep feelings of unworthiness, of ugliness inside and outside."

She listened to the stories of her students and her peers -- baby boomers who had excelled -- and heard the same sentiments, including deep feelings of inadequacy. With critical insight, hooks exposes the underlying truth behind the crisis: it has been extremely difficult to create a culture that promotes and sustains a healthy sense of self-esteem in African-American communities. With true brilliance, she rigorously examines and identifies the barriers -- political and cultural -- that keep African Americans from emotional well-being. She looks at historical movements as well as parenting and how we make and sustain community. She discusses the revolutionary role preventative mental health care can play in promoting and maintaining self-esteem.

Blending keen intellectual insight and practical wisdom, Rock My Soul provides a blueprint for healing a people and a nation.

Self-Esteem Books

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