{"product_id":"overseer-class","title":"The Overseer Class \/\/ A Manifesto","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe author of the critically acclaimed\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Viral Underclass\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e(one of Kirkus Reviews best books of 2022\u003ci\u003e)\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eis back with\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eThe Overseer Class,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003ewhich explores what happens when members of historically minoritized groups are selected for high-visibility positions of power within existing institutions—but under the conditions of a kind of Faustian bargain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur society places so much weight and attention on those who become the first or only of their identifying group that we miss one of the inherent issues in that model. This book is about the kinds of compromises made by a small but influential group of people from minoritized groups in the United States as they have entered segregated institutions in highly visible positions. People in the overseer class wield enormous institutional power, even necropolitical power over who lives and who dies; it’s just that their power is predicated upon repressing other people who look (or speak\/have sex\/come from places) like them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe most obvious contemporary overseer is the Black police officer.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Overseer Class\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ebegins with this quote from James Baldwin from 1967:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The poor, of whatever color, do not trust the law and certainly have no reason to, and God knows we didn't. ‘If you must call a cop,’ we said in those days, ‘for God's sake, make sure it's a white one.’ We did not feel that the cops were protecting us, for we knew too much about the reasons for the kinds of crimes committed in the ghetto; but we feared black cops even more than white cops, because the black cop had to work so much harder--on your head--to prove to himself and his colleagues that he was not like all the other n******.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut this dynamic does not only exist within law enforcement, it exists in many different spheres and\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Overseer Class\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eexplores what it looks like in mass media, universities, corporate America, the military, and government.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Overseer Class\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eaims not only to educate us and start this discussion but to provide a framework for challenging that dynamic. It is a weighty topic but one that Dr. Thrasher is well-equipped to handle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eSteven W. Thrasher, PhD\u003c\/strong\u003e is the author of the award-winning book \u003cem\u003eThe Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide\u003c\/em\u003e, which was a \u003cem\u003eNew York Times's\u003c\/em\u003e Paperback Row Editors' Pick, named one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2022 by\u003cem\u003e Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e, was longlisted for both the PEN\/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction Literature, and won the 2023 POZ Award for Best in Literature. He is also the inaugural Daniel Renberg Chair for Social Justice in Reporting at the Medill School of Journalism and a faculty member of Northwestern University's Institute of Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing. An internationally renowned scholar on race, gender, and infectious disease, Dr. Thrasher's writing has been published by the \u003cem\u003eGuardian\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eAtlantic\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eNew York Times, Scientific American, Literary Hub,\u003c\/em\u003e and in many academic journals. is the author of the award-winning book \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, which was a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eNew York Times's\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Paperback Row Editors' Pick, named one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2022 by\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, was longlisted for both the PEN\/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction Literature, and won the 2023 POZ Award for Best in Literature. He is also the inaugural Daniel Renberg Chair for Social Justice in Reporting at the Medill School of Journalism and a faculty member of Northwestern University's Institute of Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing. An internationally renowned scholar on race, gender, and infectious disease, Dr. Thrasher's writing has been published by the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eGuardian\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eAtlantic\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eNew York Times, Scientific American, Literary Hub,\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and in many academic journals.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePublisher: Amistad\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePublish Date: May 19, 2026\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePages: 240\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLanguage: English\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eType: Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEAN\/UPC: \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e9780063399419\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDimensions: \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e9.0 X 6.0 X 0.0 inches | 1.14 pounds\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBISAC Categories: Politics, Society \u0026amp; Current Affairs, Psychology, Black Studies\u003ca aria-label=\"Link to category page\" class=\"hover:underline\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/categories\/bisac\/psy\/021000\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Steven W. Thrasher","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46667605082347,"sku":"9780063399419","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0253\/4014\/9820\/files\/9780063399419-0.jpg?v=1754197031","url":"https:\/\/rep.club\/products\/overseer-class","provider":"Reparations Club","version":"1.0","type":"link"}