summary ofCasteBook by Isabel Wilkerson

first KEY POINT

The past has played a prominent role in recent American events

In 2017, New Orleans became the stage for an unusual event. At night, trucks and cranes approached the monument downtown. Drivers hid their license plates and company names. When people got out of the vehicles, nothing indicated their identity — they wore masks. Were they committing a crime?No, they carried out the mayor's orders. After deciding to remove monuments to Confederates — defenders of slavery during the Civil War — he met fierce resistance. One by one, companies refused to cooperate with the city administration. The reason was anonymous pro-Confederates, who threatened construction companies and even firebombed a contractor’s car. The mayor found only one firm that agreed to help New Orleans; it belonged to African-Americans.Eventually, workers removed all these statues, the last one even in daylight. The crowd cheered the result. It symbolized a complete victory of democracy over slavery — a belief all in the USA seemed to support. Yet what were the causes of resistance, then? They are rooted deeply in the caste system of the past. Although Americans might doubt this term, it was clear to Indians.

Martin Luther King and his wife went to India in 1959. They had dinner with Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's prime minister. Afterward, the couple visited the school for children of the Untouchables (Dalits). They were the lowest, fifth caste in India: even their shadows couldn't fall on those with higher status. Introducing the King to the pupils, the school principal called him “Untouchable.” The famous American was astonished, but he considered this characteristic accurate after consideration.Are you ready to discover how the caste sheds light on American success and Trump's victory? Let's investigate it together.