in a nutshell

One message I want to convey in my new book, "Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History": Whether it's a jazzy tune coming from the lips of a blackface Jew or a yellow lie told by a ventriloquist Swede, the resilient artistic flower has blossomed in spite of as well as because of racism. This undeniable fact, insulting and sobering, has uniquely defined America.