Book Review: ‘America, U.S.A.,’ by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

Why It Matters

Understanding how national commemorations mask racial inequities reshapes public memory and informs more inclusive policy and cultural practices.

Key Takeaways

• Glaude links every U.S. anniversary to underlying racial tensions.
• 1876 centennial excluded Frederick Douglass, reflecting post‑Reconstruction white supremacy.
• 1976 Bicentennial turned into commercial spectacle amid Vietnam and Watergate fallout.
• Trump’s 250th‑anniversary plans aimed to downplay racial reckoning.
• Glaude ends hopeful, urging past as resource for future freedom.

Pulse Analysis

Eddie Glaude Jr.’s latest work, *America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation’s Anniversaries*, reframes the United States’ milestone celebrations as lenses that magnify persistent racial inequities. Drawing on his expertise in Black history and public theology, Glaude argues that each commemorative moment—whether a centennial, bicentennial, or the upcoming semiquincentennial—has been orchestrated to mute uncomfortable truths about slavery, segregation, and ongoing discrimination. The book blends scholarly analysis with vivid archival images, turning the nation’s calendar into a diagnostic tool for collective memory. By exposing the systematic erasure of Black experiences, Glaude challenges readers to rethink patriotic rituals.

The narrative walks through three pivotal anniversaries. In 1876, the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia barred Frederick Douglass from the grandstand, a stark reminder that Reconstruction hopes were already being sacrificed to a white‑supremacist narrative. The 150th anniversary in 1926 coincided with a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan and immigration restrictions designed to preserve a “Nordic” America, while Black World War I veterans were excluded from the parade. By 1976, the Bicentennial had devolved into a commercial spectacle of patriotic paraphernalia, masking the trauma of Vietnam and Watergate. Each case illustrates how celebratory rhetoric masks structural racism.

The book’s most urgent warning concerns the forthcoming 250th anniversary, which the Trump administration attempted to commandeer as a partisan showcase, sidelining any honest reckoning with the nation’s racial past. Glaude’s candid admission that he “does not love America” underscores the depth of disillusionment felt by many Black scholars, yet he also points to historical resources that can fuel a more inclusive vision of freedom. For policymakers, educators, and cultural institutions, the work serves as a call to embed critical race perspectives into public commemorations, ensuring that future anniversaries become genuine opportunities for collective healing rather than superficial pageantry.