In her new book, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson presents an examination of what she sees as America’s often disguised, but very real, caste system. The book compares America’s system with those in India and Nazi Germany, and delves into how America betrays its ideals of meritocracy by instead cultivating an insidious hierarchy based on race. “Caste” is a much anticipated follow up to Wilkerson’s 2011 book “The Warmth of Other Suns,” which detailed the decades-long migration of black people from the South to other regions of the country. Wilkerson joins Forum to discuss her new book and how America’s past relates to its future.
