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President’s Bookshelf / What We’re Reading

Book choice and conversation, plus president’s presence, pleased participants in first-ever book club

More than 40 alumni and parents of alumni participated Jan. 13 in the firstever President’s Book Club, a Zoom gathering in which they discussed Isabel Wilkerson’s “Caste: The Origins of our Discontents.”

The participants represented a large swath of DePauw graduates – from the Class of 1964 through the Class of 2016.

According to its publisher, the book “examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.”

President Lori White said she chose the book because she had read Wilkerson’s previous bestseller, “The Warmth of Other Suns,” and “found Wilkerson to be an incredible storyteller who provides well-researched, historical context for issues of race.”

White opened the discussion by asking the participants to summarize their impressions of the book in one word. “Overwhelmed,” said one. “Enlightening.” “Timely.” “Appalled.” “Provocative.” “Thought-provoking.” “Powerful.” “Humbling.”

Melinda Haag ’81 recalled that, as a political science and English major at DePauw “who took a ton of philosophy and ethics and history” courses, she participated in many class discussions about “class,” but not “caste,” a distinction Wilkerson makes in the book.

“Every institution we’ve created, whether it is secular or sacred, has this caste system embedded in it in some way,” Haag said, causing her to wonder “does it mean we have to blow all of it up and start over again?”

María Garriga, parent of a 2016 alumnus, was dismayed that the author said Nazi Germany patterned its system after America’s caste system and also found similarities between the American and Indian caste systems.

“The average American out there thinks it’s horrible – that Nazi Germany was horrible and the Indian caste system is incomprehensible – but then I had never thought to compare it to our own history,” she said. “That is the biggest gift that I got from the book – to think of it on those terms.”

Said Anne Ballentine ’86: “It makes it feel like it’s going to be hard for Black people to overcome that level that they’ve been forced into, like the caste system in India. It made me feel like the work was going to be even more difficult and challenging, but, hey, we’ve got to embrace it.”

The book club met a week after the riots at the U.S. Capitol, causing participants to draw comparisons to Wilkerson’s observations.

“What we have seen is the dominant gender of the dominant caste, although not the highest of the caste – more middle and low – reacting to the subordinate caste. Period,” said Kate McQueen ’71.

Deep in her book, Wilkerson noted that historian Taylor Branch asked, “if people were given the choice between democracy and whiteness, how many would choose whiteness?” “That just nails it,” said Cindy Tibbetts Frey ’84. “That’s what happened last week.”

Craig Adams ’90 said that reading the book caused him to recognize that “I suffer from an incomplete history … that I have to work hard to understand so that I better understand the issues.” Black history should be taught in high school civics classes or in courses at DePauw, he said. As a

DePauw student, he studied in Hong Kong and he later lived in China, experiences that “helped me look at things through a different lens.”

A participant asked White if she had experienced subtle racism like that described in the book; White said she had experienced that during her lifetime, and provided several examples. However, “I’ve been so warmly welcomed by the DePauw family,” she said. Several participants said they were pleased that DePauw had chosen White to be its 21st president.

“Your appointment has given me renewed hope for my alma mater,” said Rick Born ’83.

“We need you,” Ballentine said. “ … I think this is a really important point in time to have a strong, smart Black woman at the helm.”

Afterward, several participants said the hourlong format was too short but that the experience was valuable.

“I think our first book club was a smashing success,” Born said. “Even before it began, I was just thrilled that the new president of my alma mater was willing to sit down with l’il ol’ me and talk about a book! We had a lively and meaningful discussion, and, as an added bonus, we all got to see firsthand many of the qualities that will make Dr. White an outstanding president: First, she’s a reader! But beyond that, she thinks deeply, has a wonderful, positive energy about her, a great sense of humor and is an excellent listener.”

Both Heidi Hunsberger McFadden ’84 and Margarita Villa ’12 said the event made them feel like they were back in class discussions like they had at DePauw. “I loved being able to discuss such a thought-provoking book with the new president and much older alums,” Villa said. “I wish more of my fellow alums of color would have participated.”

Mercedes Condy ’65 said “Caste” was “a painful book to read, but so necessary to have a more clarified understanding of our history so that we can participate more effectively in the healing of individuals and our nation today.”

The discussion, said Bob Steele ’69, “was stimulating and substantive. It was enhanced by Dr. White connecting her personal experiences and professional journey to Isabel Wilkerson’s thesis on the influence of a caste on our society.”

Rick Ferrell ’65 found it “so good that everyone was on a first-name basis across generations; that’s the way it should be among friends. I have long believed that one of the great attributes of higher education is that we are all students and we are all teachers. This event was a great example!”

The Book Nook features notable, professionally published books written by DePauw alumni and faculty. Self-published books will be included in the Gold Nuggets section.

Deborah Douglas, Eugene S. Pulliam distinguished visiting professor of journalism “Moon U.S. Civil Rights Trail: A Traveler’s Guide to the People, Places, and Events that Made the Movement” Priscilla Pope-Levison ’80 “Models of Evangelism” Doug Riley ’91 and Sheryl Teeguarden Riley ’92 “Killer Lead: A Duplicate Bridge Club Mystery” Susan Diamond Riley ’85 “The Sea Island’s Secret: A Delta & Jax Mystery” Joe Sanders ’62 “Michael Bishop and the Persistence of Wonder: A Critical Study of the Writings”