The White Peril

Reviews

“[A] searing adult debut . . . Moses nimbly orchestrates the interplay between his and his ancestors’ voices, bringing the book to a moving conclusion that looks forward to what his own son might accomplish. The result is a stirring blend of family history and coming-of-age narrative.”
—Publishers Weekly

“The White Peril is . . . astonishing, beautiful, courageous, luminous, heartrending, inspiring, fierce, sympathetic, provocative, necessary, unflinching, and, above all else, true.”
—Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction recipient and author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

“For those who need to be inspired during these bleak days, this book is just what you need.”
—Pedro Noguera, the Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean of the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education

“Intricately crafted, and a riveting read, this unputdownable whirlwind journeys through five generations of a Black family fighting for Black liberation, and a young man’s fight to traverse the rocky distance between father and son.”
—Lisa Delpit, MacArthur Fellow and author of Other People’s Children and “Multiplication is for White People”

“An evocative and enlightening journey through America’s troubled past and hopeful future, seen through the eyes of a remarkable family.”
—Jeremy Dennis, lead artist and president of Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio, Inc.

“This book is a powerful experience. The intergenerational story laces Omo’s personal narrative with archival documents and the extraordinary histories of his father and great grandfather. . . . A beautiful book. I didn’t want it to end!”
—Rachel E. Harding, co-director, Veterans of Hope Project

“A tender exploration of the spirit and flesh of one Black man and his forebears, the book is both a sweeping indictment of an old problem and an expansive call to action.”
—Margaret Burnham, author of By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners

“The White Peril is searing, honest, vulnerable, profound, and undeniable. I loved it. In the distance between Omo’s experience and mine, in the same place, at the same critical age, is the distance perhaps between black and white America.”
—Ben Affleck, actor, writer, filmmaker, and CEO, Artists Equity

“The White Peril is such an important book for this historical moment! Moses masterfully uses being a child of the Civil Rights Movement, as the eldest son of civil rights icons Bob and Janet Moses, to brilliantly contextualize this now moment!”
—Belvie Rooks, human rights advocate Expand reviews