Ghetto Nation

Image courtesy of Cora Daniels

I actually read this book a couple months ago, but I am only posting about it now. I was a little anxious about buying this book because there are so many new books nowadays that are just pure junk. They put a catchy title on the cover with a great image, but the content never matches your initial thought. This book is not one of those books. I’ll let Ms. Daniels web site do the talking about what the book is about:

How often have you used, heard, thought, snickered, whispered (under your breath), shouted (at the radio): “That’s so ghetto”? We live in a society where shows like Pimp My Ride top cable ratings, babymama has become a family term, pimp and ho Halloween costumes are sold in toddler sizes on the internet, and even Martha Stewart proudly boasts to television viewers that she “can get ghetto when she needs to.”

These days, ghetto no longer refers to where you live, but to how you live. It is a mindset. And a mindset is not limited to a class or a race.

Ghetto is found in the heart of the nation’s inner cities as well as the heart of the nation’s most cherished suburbs; among those too young to understand (we hope) and those old enough to know better; in little white houses, and all the way to the White House; in corporate corridors, Ivy League havens, and, of course, Hollywood. More devastating, ghetto is also packaged in the form of music, TV, books, and movies, and then sold around the world. Bottom line: ghetto is contagious, and no one is immune, no matter how much we like to shake our heads at what we think is only happening someplace else more . . .

The book was short but well thought out. And for a topic that seemed almost impossible to research, I liked that Daniels actually did some pretty decent research. The issues she discusses really apply to anyone. Not just people who live in cities or urban areas. It is a quick read, and I hope that this topic finds it way into more books and articles.