As America has grown, so has the confusing concept of race. Although strides have been made, in many respects Americans today remain a mess of attitudes and emotions that have trickled down from the Founding Fathers. In his new book, “How to Love People, Regardless of Race, Creed or Color” (published by AuthorHouse - http://www.authorhouse.com), Firman Brown explains the motivations behind the social perceptions that have survived over the centuries, placing his analysis of race relations in the framework of an evolution toward an “Ideal America.” Brown draws on a lifetime of experience to deliver a down-to-earth message that deserves attention, according to ForeWord Clarion reviewer M. Wayne Cunningham, who gave the book four stars. Cunningham writes:
A resident of multiethnic communities for most of his life and now an employee with a major multiethnic corporation, Firman Brown has spent twenty years pursuing multidisciplinary studies in history, geography, sociology, and economics to better understand multiethnic human behaviour … ‘How to Love People, Regardless of Race, Creed or Color’ is the distillation of his studies and his record of recommendations for improving racial and religious relations in the U.S. … Brown’s book is worth pursuing for the insights he offers and his objectivity and forthrightness in dealing with issues that need to be dealt with.
By examining common human attitudes and emotions in specific survival situations over time, “How to Love People, Regardless of Race, Creed or Color” shows how current ideas, perspectives, fears and realities came to be and how they have molded groups and individuals. Brown emphasizes the need for a better understanding of the past, calling out popular misconceptions about Africa and the South. The standard premises used to solve contemporary social problems have lacked insight, according to Brown. “In studying the terms that we use to define our world, we find clarity by understanding the mindsets that created them,” he writes. “The resulting new understanding can socially bring us into the 21st century.” Brown explains the challenge faced by every new ethnic group joining the melting pot since America began:
It then became the choice … [of] optimism and faith or fear and bitterness … Do we commit to the brotherhood of our ethnic group or do we commit to the brotherhood of our planet? Are people good or bad because of their geographical location? … Is it true that the greatest factor shared by people who look like us, is fear like us? That after 40,000 years of evolution is it fear that motivates us the most as opposed to love or intelligence?
Brown hopes readers will develop an enhanced capacity for diversity, which comes from examining and redefining key parts of popular history, language and perceptions learned since childhood. “How to Love People, Regardless of Race, Creed or Color” is his first book.