Book Review: ‘Created Equal: The Painful Past, Confusing Present, and Hopeful Future of Race in America’

Book Review: ‘Created Equal: The Painful Past, Confusing Present, and Hopeful Future of Race in America’
In his book, "Created Equal: The Painful Past, Confusing Present, and Hopeful Future of Race in America," Dr. Benjamin Carson tackles today’s seemingly omnipresent topics with what could be called critical caring. centerstreet
Anita L. Sherman
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Dr. Ben Carson has been celebrated in a variety of arenas. He is the former secretary of housing and urban development, a 2016 Republican presidential candidate, and the former director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. He is also a bestselling author having penned several books before this one. In 2008, under President George W. Bush, he was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the land. He holds more than 70 honorary doctorate degrees. He’s also black, a Christian, and a conservative. He’s been married to his wife, Candy, for nearly 50 years. They have three grown sons.

(L-R) Honoree Robert Redford, Jackie Robinson Foundation Founder Rachel Robinson, and honorees Dr. Benjamin Carson Sr. and Robin Roberts attend the Jackie Robinson Foundation Annual Awards Dinner on March 16, 2009, in New York City. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for The Jackie Robinson Foundation)
(L-R) Honoree Robert Redford, Jackie Robinson Foundation Founder Rachel Robinson, and honorees Dr. Benjamin Carson Sr. and Robin Roberts attend the Jackie Robinson Foundation Annual Awards Dinner on March 16, 2009, in New York City. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for The Jackie Robinson Foundation
When he was growing up, he got tagged a “bookworm” for his avid reading and pursuit of knowledge. He gives much of that credit to his mother, who instilled a strong work ethic in both him and his brother, Curtis. She had them doing weekly book reports outside of any class assignments. Growing up in poverty, he dreamed of being middle class and was determined to make it happen for himself and his future family. He has far exceeded those expectations and now enjoys a more-than-comfortable lifestyle. He has a great love and admiration for this country and despairs at the current destructive divisions that threaten to undermine and unravel a democracy that he holds dear.

Tackling the Tough Topics

In “Created Equal: The Painful Past, Confusing Present, and Hopeful Future of Race in America,” Carson doesn’t pull any punches. He tackles today’s seemingly omnipresent topics: the history of slavery, racism in America, white guilt, victimhood, critical race theory, media and big tech and their powerful narratives, Judeo-Christian values, education, the 1619 Project, and classism. These are a few of the hot subjects about which he expresses his views. And he does it with what I’d call critical caring. He went to Yale University. His professional career was as a neurosurgeon. He’s very well educated, but on top of his academic prowess, he is foremost a Christian and takes his guidance and comfort from God. It’s his faith that allows him to speak out against what he sees as destructive forces in America being pushed by the progressives under the cloak of social justice when, in his view, it’s a push to socialism.

Celebrate Rather Than Criticize

Because humans have no control over the color of their skin, Carson celebrates the gift of our racial and ethnic diversity and abhors groups that seek to use diversity as a wedge to divide us.
Dr. Ben Carson is interviewed during a live streaming of "Wake Up America" in 2014 in Scottsdale, Ariz. Carson is a retired neurosurgeon whose latest book, co-authored with his wife, Candy, opposes the push toward socialism that is happening in America today. (Laura Segall/Getty Images)
Dr. Ben Carson is interviewed during a live streaming of "Wake Up America" in 2014 in Scottsdale, Ariz. Carson is a retired neurosurgeon whose latest book, co-authored with his wife, Candy, opposes the push toward socialism that is happening in America today. Laura Segall/Getty Images

Slavery in America officially ended in the 1860s. Certainly, vestiges of that institution remain in our country today, causing victimhood for some and guilt for others. Carson uses his own life experiences as a black man to provide an example of what is possible to achieve in America. He would rather applaud all the progress that blacks have made over the last decades than use race as an excuse to remake America into something far from what the Founding Fathers envisioned. Carson errs on the side of faith and forgiveness when dealing with many forms of racial discrimination. He believes that much of the discrimination of the past was due to ignorance rather than maliciousness. He writes: “Once that ignorance was erased, the discriminatory behavior disappeared. When people behave unfairly out of ignorance, the faith-based principles of forgiveness should be on display.” While not dismissing past sins or the imperfect nature of America’s past, Carson would prefer that we influence our environments in a positive rather than negative way. “We can be a victim or a victor. We can be guilt-ridden or happily guilt-free. We should never let others determine our state of being.” Engaged and outspoken, Carson warns against an apathetic populace. He encourages readers to be on their guard against the “slippery slopes of Marxist tendencies.” Precious freedoms that we take for granted can be lost. “Many people think that the United States of America is impregnable with respect to the overthrow of its capitalistic society and the imposition of socialism or communism. People would do well to remember how quickly the Soviet Union dissolved and how quickly Venezuela went from the most prosperous to the poorest nation in South America in a very short period of time. Once the erosion of freedom begins, its progression is frequently like a blitz-krieg.” Media and big tech do not escape his scrutiny. They can be a force for good or bad depending on the narrative they are advocating. These institutions can shape the definitions of morality or appropriate behavior. They wield huge power and, in many cases, are contrary to the freedom of speech, thought, and expression. His book is not long. It’s a fairly fast read, but it’s packed with thoughtful, passionate, and insightful opinions about where we are in America and shows the potential of where we could be. It’s an uplifting and hopeful analysis. Carson chooses to celebrate America’s strengths rather than its historical weaknesses.

Dr. Ben Carson, a black conservative Christian, has been in the public eye for several decades. His latest book speaks of his great love of his country and against the forces that seek to destroy it. (CenterStreet)
Dr. Ben Carson, a black conservative Christian, has been in the public eye for several decades. His latest book speaks of his great love of his country and against the forces that seek to destroy it. CenterStreet
‘Created Equal: The Painful Past, Confusing Present, and Hopeful Future of Race in America’ By Dr. Benjamin Carson with Candy Carson Center Street; May 17, 2022 Hardcover: 272 pages
Anita L. Sherman
Anita L. Sherman
Author
Anita L. Sherman is an award-winning journalist who has more than 20 years of experience as a writer and editor for local papers and regional publications in Virginia. She now works as a freelance writer and is working on her first novel. She is the mother of three grown children and grandmother to four, and she resides in Warrenton, Va. She can be reached at [email protected]
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