Given that matters relevant to race remain confused and divisive in many corridors of American society, it is not surprising that rumors and legends that reflect racial misunderstanding and mistrust frequently circulate. This work focuses on a wide array of tales told in black and white communities across America.
"Fine and Turner present a wonderful exploration into what our seemingly mundane rumor-sharing means for race in our society. Filled with examples that we all can recognize, and superbly written and argued, Whispers on the Color Line will be a classic in the study of race and culture."-Mary Pattillo-McCoy, author of Black Picket Fences: Privilege and Peril among the Black Middle Class
"Fine and Turner have written a disturbing, yet important book. Taking racially tinged (or drenched, as the case may be) rumors as an unobtrusive measure of the state of black-white relations in the U.S., the authors document the yawning social-cultural chasm in the nation. Contradicting the tepid national narrative that celebrates the "before" and "after" racial transformation achieved by the civil rights struggle, Whispers on the Color Line reminds us that the "peculiar dilemma" Gunnar Myrdal wrote about fifty-seven years ago is still very much with us. Until the "whispers" grow into a far more open and honest dialogue, nothing will change."-Doug McAdam, author of Freedom Summer
"Whispers on the Color Line is a logical and necessary extension of the authors' earlier books (Fine's Manufacturing Tales and Turner's I Heard It Through the Grapevine), which work in tandem to explore racial issues through everyday narratives. The authors themselves represent an American cultural dialectic."-Janet Langlois, author of Belle Gunness, The Lady Bluebeard
"Whispers on the Color Line is insightful and thought-provoking, powerfully underscoring the social significance of hearsay, rumors, and legends in everyday life. This rich and poignant narrative reveals and educates--an important contribution to social science understanding and to the ongoing discourse about race matters in this country."-Elijah Anderson, author of Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City
"This book speaks loudly to our most troubling contemporary problem: interactions among the "races" that are carried out in secret. The development of media such as the Internet (with its various aspects, from personal email to screeds sent out through listserves) has helped us recognize that rumors have gone public--and that we need to become involved in managing this process."-Roger Abrahams, author of Singing the Master: The Emergence of African-American Culture in the Plantation South
