''Black Rage'' is a book by psychiatrists
William H. Grier and
Price M. Cobbs. Released in 1968 after the
assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and
the subsequent riots in Washington, D.C., the book received significant attention immediately
[New York Times, "As Old as Human Cruelty", Kenneth B. Clark, September 22, 1968][New Republic, "The Rage around Us", Robert Coles, August 17, 1968][New York Times, "Books of The Times", Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, August 7, 1968][Social Science Quarterly, (Southwestern Social Sciences Association), "Black Rage/Urban Riots: Violence and Social Change", December 1969] and in the years since,
[New York Times, "Nonfiction Chronicle", Mark Lewis, Nov 20 2005:
quote: Rarely was a book as well timed as "Black Rage." Written by two black psychiatrists(...) published amid the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., it gave voice and context to the anger behind the violence.] and led to an
ABC television special in 1969 entitled, ''To Be Black''.
[Aug24 1969 "To Be Black", ABC TV show](_blank)
/ref>
The book
The book led to the legal concept of black rage, notably proposed as a defense by the defense attorneys representing Colin Ferguson
Colin Ferguson (born July 22, 1972) is a Canadian-American actor, director and producer.
Yahoo! Mov ...
(Ferguson went against the advice of his legal counsel and represented himself, arguing that he was completely innocent of the charges). Its working title was, ''Reflections on the Negro Psyche''.
The authors
The authors both were psychiatrists who, in the mid-1960s, founded a clinic in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
and later, authored another book together, ''The Jesus Bag'' in 1971.
Price M. Cobbs also wrote an autobiography entitled, ''My American Life: From Rage to Entitlement'' (), about his experiences following the publication of ''Black Rage''. He died on June 25, 2018 at the age of 89. He authored several books and was a resource to many on the topics of understanding cultural stereotyping, prejudice, and race relation
William H. Grier, who died in 2015, was the father of comedian David Alan Grier.
''The New York Times'' review
After Kenneth B. Clark
Kenneth Bancroft Clark (July 24, 1914 – May 1, 2005) and Mamie Phipps Clark (April 18, 1917 – August 11, 1983) were American psychologists who as a married team conducted research among children and were active in the Civil Rights Movement. T ...
published a negative review of the book in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'',[''New York Times'' letter to the editor, signed Grier & Cobbs, Oct 27 1968
quote: "after 62 highly favorable reviews, the 63rd and first critical comment came from a black brother."]
See also
*''White Rage
''White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide'' is a 2016 nonfiction book by Emory University Professor Carol Anderson, who was contracted to write the book after reactions to an op-ed that she had written for ''The Washington Post'' in ...
'', a 2016 book about white backlash
White backlash, also known as white rage, is related to the politics of white grievance, and is the negative response of some white people to the racial progress of other ethnic groups in rights and economic opportunities, as well as their gro ...
*Mark Essex
Mark James Robert Essex (August 12, 1949 – January 7, 1973) was an American serial sniper and black nationalist known as the "New Orleans Sniper" who killed a total of nine people, including five policemen, and wounded twelve others in two ...
, a black serial killer who was inspired by the book[''Mass Murderers'', p. 86]
External links
1968 Interview with William H. Grier
a
The WNYC Archives
References
{{Reflist
1967 riots
1968 non-fiction books
African-American cultural history
African-American-related controversies
Basic Books books
Books about African-American history
Civil rights protests in the United States
English-language books
King assassination riots
Race and crime in the United States
Sociology books