He Talk Like a White Boy: Reflections of a Conservative Black Man on Faith, Family, Politics, and Authenticity - Softcover

Phillips, Joseph C.

3.79

61 ratings by Goodreads

9780762435562: He Talk Like a White Boy: Reflections of a Conservative Black Man on Faith, Family, Politics, and Authenticity

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0762435569 ISBN 13: 9780762435562

Publisher: Running Press, 2009

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Actor and social commentator Joseph C. Phillips speaks powerfully about the topic of life as a conservative African-American actor, husband, father, and citizen. In today's political climate, with race such an issue, this collection of essays is not only timely, but thought provoking.

Like Democratic candidate for President Barack Obama, Phillips has had his authenticity as a black man questioned by members of his own race, for trivial reasons such as the way he speaks, his choices in music, politics, faith, and family. Also like Obama, Phillips has often been accused of not being black enough,” while, as an actor, he has encountered even more pointing fingers for not being liberal enough. With a frank voice, this brilliant and outspoken author presents a series of witty and provocative essays that examine life as a conservative African-American, and the simple fact that authenticity is far more complicated than one's choice of words.

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About the Author:

Joseph C. Phillips is an actor, writer, lecturer, and social commentator best known for his role on The Cosby Show as the character Denise's (Lisa Bonet) husband, Lt. Martin Kendall. As a social commentator, Joseph's writing has appeared in Newsweek, Los Angeles Daily News, Essence, Upscale, USA Today, and more. He writes a weekly syndicated column, The Way I See It,” and lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children. Please visit him at www.josephcphillips.com.

From Publishers Weekly:

Phillips is not your typical Republican: he's a television actor, a sometime stay-at-home dad—and a proud black man. At his best, riffing on the difficulties of not conforming to stereotypes in a nation that refuses to shed them, Phillips is thought provoking and moving. With a memoirist's eye for incident, he writes about sitting out eighth-grade pickup football games, caught between the team of white boys he'd grown up with and the team of black boys who complained he lived in "Honkyville."He's acute on the absurdity of racial perceptions, as when he gets scripts that call for "an African-American neurosurgeon with street smarts." But his political essays often read like blog entries, heavy on outrage and rhetoric (the latter sometimes snappy), and feather-light on nuance and evidence (the latter sometimes dubious). They may draw cheers from those who share his faith in G.W. Bush, but won't persuade those who don't. Phillips's opinions (e.g., on faith, character and the pitfalls of affirmative action) may be the driving force behind his writing, but it's his lived experience that is likely to persuade readers of all colors—black, white, red or blue—that he has something to say. (May)
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