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White writer eviscerated for 'disguising himself as black' to write book about racism
A Canadian journalist is currently getting excoriated on X after announcing that his forthcoming book, 'Seven Shoulders,' is about his experience disguising himself 'as a Black man' and traveling throughout the US.
The author, Sam Forster, is white, and is now meeting the wrath of multiple corners of the internet who have deemed the project ridiculous and offensive.
Reactions to the announcement ranged from facetious to disgusted as the post revealing the book's premise went viral - it has now been viewed some 11million times.
In it, Forster wrote: 'Last summer, I disguised myself as a Black man and traveled throughout the United States to document how racism persists in American society.
'Writing Seven Shoulders was one of the hardest things I've ever done as a journalist' he said, before linking to the book's Amazon page.
The book cover for Canadian journalist Sam Forster's book, for which he says he disguised himself as a black man in America
The Amazon blurb describing the book reads, 'Six decades after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, award-winning journalist Sam Forster performs a daring transformation in order to taxonomize the various types of racism that persist in modern America. Seven Shoulders is the most important book on American race relations that has ever been written.'
It is not clear who wrote the blurb.
Responses rolled in to the announcement - including commentary from Portia McGonagal, who wrote: 'I cannot. Black people exist. We do not need you aspirational savior, to cosplay our realities. I don't suppose it occurred to you that a book outlining stories from and about our lived experiences ever crossed your mind. Not when you can put on blackface.'
An account called Bad Writing Takes, wrote: 'For too long, the discussion of racism has been unfairly dominated by the feelings and experiences of actual black people.
'Thank goodness for brave writers like Sam Forster for finally shedding light on the ordeals of white people in black face.'
Forster (pictured) has opted against sharing pictures of himself disguised as a black American, which are obviously what most respondents are most eager to see
Imani Gandy wrote: 'You're a journalist. You could have just interviewed some Black Americans.
'This is wild especially considering some other white dude already did this and there's no way your book is the most important book ever written on race relations. That's a comical statement.'
Others insisted that the book overview presented on Amazon had to be 'satire.' Some merely responded: 'You did what now.'
Some pointed out that the book sounds similar in concept, though occurring at a much different time, to John Howard Griffin's Black Like Me - a memoir published about the white author's time living in the Deep South as a black laborer.
But mostly, people wanted to see the disguise Forster used to research what he seems to believe will be an earth-shattering account of racism in America.
John Howard Griffin's 'Black Like Me,' follows the story of the author as he travels through the Deep South living as an African American laborer - it was published in 1961
Unfortunately, that photo seems like the one thing we may not be getting from Mr. Forster.
Tim Gill, a sociology professor, posted to X that Forster 'decided not to release pictures of him in blackface for his new book, because he says it’s offensive to view and that he’s opposed to showing White folks in blackface.
'However, he believes as long as you’re truly trying to pass yourself as Black, it’s permissible.'
Journalist Katie Herzog posted a screenshot from what appeared to be part of a manuscript of Forster's book that read: 'In any case, I have decided against releasing images of myself,' presumably referring to himself 'in disguise' as a black man.
The book, which bears the full title, 'Seven Shoulders: Taxonomizing Racism in Modern America,' will be out Thursday, May 30.