Ralph Remington Explores Race, Art and Empathy at Book Launch
Ralph Remington’s new book, Penetrating Whiteness: How White Supremacy Built America, gathers years of essays on race, power and empathy. At a book launch, Remington shared excerpts and discussed art’s role in navigating today’s divided political moment.
Ralph Remington did not set out to write a book; he wrote simply to get the words out. After reading “The Price of the Ticket” by James Baldwin, a hero of his, Remington was inspired to gather years of his writing and place it into one volume.
“Penetrating Whiteness: How White Supremacy Built America” was published this month. The collection of essays, written between 2006 and the present day, explores Remington’s childhood, his time on the Minneapolis City Council and both Trump presidencies.
Remington, now the director of cultural affairs for the city of San Francisco, traveled to Minnesota to launch the book. The West Philadelphia native held several events in the Twin Cities. Minneapolis is Remington’s adopted home, he said.
On Feb. 5, Remington hosted an intimate book launch at Black Garnet Books in Saint Paul with community members. He read five essays from the book, including “Freedom From Being Black,” “Exile,” “The Human Experience” and “I Have a Nightmare.” A founder of Pillsbury House Theatre and a graduate of Howard University’s School of Fine Arts, Remington performed each excerpt, playing with voice, volume and song.
Remington then opened the floor for conversation and questions from attendees. The evening touched on the emotional and tangible effects of white supremacy, as well as the importance of teaching empathy over apathy.
At 63, Remington said he believes he now has perspective on the world. He hopes “Penetrating Whiteness” can serve as a map readers use to help navigate the current moment.
“I think we’ve been fighting a cold Civil War for a long time and now it’s gotten hot,” he said. “As soon as the shooting starts, that’s when it’s getting hot. And so I hope that what readers can find in this is a source of inspiration, pride and hopefully navigation as they navigate these perils that lie ahead.”
A recently retired college professor who attended the book launch complimented Remington on his imagery. The longtime educator said the excerpts resonated with him personally as a Black man who has had similar experiences.
“Artists create art in the moment, not for the moment, but for the people who receive it in the future,” he said. “What you’ve written here may not land on many ears, but the beauty is that it will land on those who need it, not saying we don’t need it now, but that’s the power. The nature of art is that it really hits people when we need it.”
Remington is also working on a memoir expected to be released within the next two years, along with a book titled “Reclaiming Our Love Story.” That book, Remington said, will explore how multicultural communities lived in unity before race was invented.
“My book, that book, is about how do we give back to that?” Remington said. “I think the key, personally, to that is white women. White women have to see that their marginalization and disenfranchisement is the same as people of color. When they see that and really digest it … then the whole cart falls down. All this sh** that we got going on, if white women had voted for Hillary [Clinton], we wouldn’t be in it. If white women had voted for Kamala [Harris], we wouldn’t be in it.”
Damenica Ellis welcomes reader responses at dellis@spokesman-recorder.com