The Karma Of Brown Folk

A kaleidoscopic critique of the complexities faced by members of a model minority, who are often portrayed as both inherently successful and pliant, and consistently deployed as a weapon in the war against black America. This book challenges those stereotypes and explores the birth of the model minority myth, placing it firmly in the context of the struggle for Black Liberation. With irony, humor, razor-sharp criticism, personal reflections, and historical research, the author traces South Asians' long engagement with American culture, and the impact of India on American thinkers such as Cotton Mather and Henry David Thoreau. The Karma of Brown Folk locates the place of collective struggle and multiracial alliances in the transformation of self and community--in short, how Americans define themselves.