Product Description
A look at the races of the world by a lovable bigot, capturing the proud history and bright future of racism in one handy, authoritative, and deeply offensive volume

Meet “C. H. Dalton,” a professor of racialist studies and an expert on inferior people of all ethnicities, genders, religions, and sexual preferences. Presenting evidence that everyone should be hated, A Practical Guide to Racism contains sparkling bits of wisdom on such subjects as:

· The good life enjoyed by blacks, who shuffle through life unhindered by the white man’s burdens, to become accomplished athletes, rhyme smiths, and dominoes champions
· The sad story of the industrious, intelligent Jews, whose entire reputation is sullied by their taste for the blood of Christian babies
· A close look at the bizarre, sweet-smelling race known as “women,” who are not very good at anything—especially ruling the free world
· A crucial manual to Arabs, a people so sensitive they are liable to blow up at any time. Literally.

Including a comprehensive glossary of timeless epithets, with hundreds of pejorative words for everyone from Phoenicians to Jews, A Practical Guide to Racism is an essential field guide for our multicultural world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Who is the book for?
To be honest, I am not quite sure whom this book is for; it is not a primer in racism, in fact, it mocks racism so it does not seem to be for actual racists.It is also clearly not for your hyper-liberal always-offended person that can be found scolding people for using satire.

It is a laugh-out-loud funny book that takes no prisoners.It can be a valid read for people of all stripes who have a sense of humor.The only negative is that you need a familiarity with racist stereotypes and attitudes to understand and laugh at the book.Unfortunately, these are still all too well known.

To quote John Lennon "The Jews are the ...."
Brilliant - for those that are looking for high brow satire this ain't it but for those who like to look at the world in generalities this is worth the read.

maybe he should
This book is just a run-on of awkward disjointed "jokes" that appear to only be funny to the author. The writer didn't bother to develop the fictitious author's character at all. Its a bit like someone gave a high school kid a good idea but neglected to do the whole project for him.And there is a chapter about merpeople- why not thunder cats? He does write

"I've seen my share of black penises, believe you me. Dozens and dozens of them. Hundreds even... Nevertheless, blacks don't actually have the longest penises of any race. They are outstripped by both the Samoans and the treacherous jews."

It tries to be like adult swim but is more equal to setting stumbleupon to adult humor or reading saucy comments in an online forum.

A great educational tool!
This book killed me.I laughed out loud so many times that my wife thought I was going insane.Of course, I thought about trying to explain to her what was so funny, but being Korean and having limited exposure to American culture, she wouldn't understand.I guess that should make me happy.

The book takes the nine races and looks at each one individually in a faux-19th Century quasi-scientific approach. It examines Hispanics, Jews, Whites, Indians and Injuns, Blacks, Asians, Merpeople, Arabs, and Gypsies.Need I say more?The glory of the book is that it catches you laughing at racist remarks but at the same time reminds you of how utterly ridiculous racism is.

The one thing that I would caution is that this book requires a decent understanding of American culture and history to get all of the jokes.There are some references to 80's pop songs, 60's musicians, and TV shows from the 40's and 50's.

Absolutely hysterical
This book will either turn you into a complete racist or make you completely hate racism but either way, it's an incredibly funny read. ... Read more

Product Description
In the third edition of his highly acclaimed book, Bonilla-Silva continues to challenge color-blind thinking. He has now extended this challenge with a new chapter on ObamaOs election addressing the apparent miracle of a black man elected as the 44th President of the nation despite the fact that racial progress has stagnated since the 1980s and, in some areas, even regressed. In contrasts to those who believe the election of President Obama is a watershed moment that signifies the beginning of a post-racial era in America, he suggests this development embodies the racial trends of the last 40 years including two he has addressed in this book: the rise of color-blind racism as the dominant racial ideology and the emergence of an apparently more flexible racial stratification system he characterizes as Latin America-like.Some material from previous editions, including _Answers to Questions from Concerned Readers,_ _What is to Be Done,_ and an Appendix detailing interview questions, is now available on the Rowman & Littlefield website through the Teaching/Learning Resources link. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

A Modern Classic and a Must-Read For Anti-Racism Activists
In "Racism Without Racists", Bonilla-Silva has effectively argued that, far from being a color-blind society, America is still subjected to an ideology of white supremacy with the traditional ideology of Jim Crow being replaced with, what he calls, "Colorblind Racism". He has demonstrated that most whites believe in the tenets of colorblind racism and have developed communication techniques in order to state their anti-black views as not to appear racist and to provide ostensibly non-racist reasons for their positions. Further, he shows how most white rationalize all white social networks while claiming to be colorblind. In concluding the portion of the book where he discusses how whites are affected by colorblind racism, he identifies the segment of the white population who are least likely to be adherents of colorblind racism.

Moreover, he notes that although elements of colorblind racism has influenced the way that blacks view race in America, he demonstrates that they have developed an oppositional ideology which recognizes that racism, past and present, is largely the reason why blacks are in the position they are today. Lastly, Bonilla-Silva predicts that race relations are becoming Latin-America like with nationalist appeals becoming more common place with discussion of race being totally excluded from public discourse making it harder than ever to combat racism. He also identifies the racial groups he sees will occupy the position of "honorary whites" in the future racial strata which will serve as a buffer between racial conflicts between the groups categorized as "white" and "black". In the penultimate chapter, he responds to criticisms he received from readers of the first addition. He concludes by advocating a new civil rights movement incorporating class and gender with the goal of equality of results as well as offering strategy for how this movement can develop and what they can do to defeat this new ideology of racism.

This book is incredibly important for understanding how modern day racism operates and is maintained in society. This is a must read for those wishing to create a society based on equality and racial equity.

This review refers to the second edition of the book.

A Waste of Time
This book was assigned reading for my social problems class and I found it completely unbearable to read. While racism is certainly a social problem in America, this book does nothing to explain why.

To back up his claims, the author uses countless interviews from "racists." Each chapter of this book is nothing more than a long succession of statements made by interviewees followed by snobbish remarks by the author attacking them until the chapter (finally) ends. Instead of learning about racism and why it is a social problem, I felt like I was getting a lesson on how to attack and insult interviewees in an argumentative and highly opinionated book. If the author had used facts to back up his arguments, I would have been willing to take his points into consideration, but since he used nothing but personal attacks on interviewees to back-up his claims, I was unable to take him (or his arguments) seriously.

Buy this book only if you have to (or if you like elitist "authors" who write books that are filled with nothing but demeaning and derogatory remarks about their "simple-minded" interviewees).

Self fulfulling prophecy

In the Acknowledgments section at the beginning, Mr. Bonilla-Silva quotes his mother as saying, "...that no matter what the 'gringos' said about me, I always had to remember that 'I was as good if not better than them.' He then writes, "Over twenty years later, I fully understand her enormous wisdom. In this country, racial 'others' of dark complexion are always viewed as incapable of doing much;" Finally, Mr. Bonilla-Silva says that "Frida Kahlo was so right about this country!" Frida Kahlo hated America so that's very nice of Mr. Bonilla-Silva to give that kind of a shout out to my culture. As a white man I see Mr. Bonilla-Silva's mother as using 'gringo' like the N-word and I don't much like being referred to as "them". To portray this as "enormous" wisdom is foolish on the face of it. To say that people of "dark complexion are ALWAYS treated as secondary actors" is purest nonsense and eminently racist. These things tell you everything you need to know about Mr. Bonilla-Silva and his 'enlightened' views on whites and things racial. Like his philosophical brother Tim Wise, Mr. Bonilla-Silva projects his own racism, insecurities and obsession with race onto millions of people he doesn't know, namely white people, who he assigns philosophies and characteristics based on the lightness of their skin. In that Acknowledgment to this book, Mr. Bonilla-Silva indicates that he probably grew up expecting to see such things, sees them and then sets out to "prove" his thesis through the most childish manipulation of empty ideas. What does all this personal chaff have to do with millions of white Americans? The answer is: nothing. This book is all but corrupt from an academic and moral point of view and extremely hypocritical. If measuring all things through skin color is a language of racism then Mr. Bonilla-Silva is most eloquent. If ignoring the idea of measuring all things through a lens of race is ignorant then color me stupid. Mr. Bonilla-Silva's thesis that all people and cultures are equal but for opportunity is naive. Mr. Bonilla-Silva and Tim Wise seem to think that white people can't exist without oppressing someone and are in fact, the stupid ones in the world while any person who lacks privilege is an Einstein in the making. Perhaps they both would do well to think about where privilege stems from in the first place and how corrupt and successful value systems come into play; here's a clue: privilege didn't put spacecraft on Mars. The idea of a generational hangover on the part of black Americans because of slavery and Jim Crow is played out; one need only look at how European Jews made a country against tremendous odds only 3 years after coming out of murderous concentration camps against a background of hundreds of years of bigotry to see how played out. Mr. Bonilla-Silva is making an argument he can't afford to win since what he says in going on in fact is not. This is the danger of political correctness because it's childish tenets blind us to any solution we don't like. Under Mr. Bonilla-Silva's hypothesis, Jim Crow and white baseball leagues will fade farther into the past while the problems of black Americans will not and who will be left to blame? I'll tell you who: enablers like Jim Cone, Jeremiah Wright, Roland Martin, Tim Wise, Nikki Giovanni, Cornell West, Mr. Bonilla-Silva and on and on and on. It's not lack of privilege that hurts this book so much but merely empty headed ideas based on the supposition that his own mother's racism represents "emormous wisdom".

Great Read
Great read. Racism in the "post racial" age is colorblind. Its "racism without racists" and it operates in 4 frames:

(1) Abstract Liberalism - says that you cannot give preferential treatment to certain groups to promote racial equality, as equal opportunity is there for all to access.
(2) Naturalization - says that people self select... people will naturally "gravitate towards like."
(3) Cultural Racism - explains the standing of minorities in society as being the result of cultural proclivities.
(4) Minimization of Racism - race is simply no longer a factor. That's ancient history. People of color are hypersensitive.

I wish I could have read this with my students, but it would have may be a bit heavy for undergrads. There are easier introductory reads on the topic, but this one is quite thorough.

In Geat Condition
The book is in great condition as if I went in the store and bought it myself. The delivery was also prompt. I was very pleased with the service. ... Read more

Product Description
The author of the best-selling Illiberal Education offers a controversial challenge to the ubiquitous crusade against racism, arguing that race should not serve as the basis for public policy making. Reprint. 40,000 first printing.Amazon.com Review
"Virtually all contemporary liberal assumptions about theorigin of racism, its historical significance, its contemporaryeffects, and what to do about it are wrong," announces DineshD'Souza in another characteristically thought-provoking andcontroversial book. His scrupulously researched study of the history,nature, and effects of racism will certainly ruffle manyfeathers--particularly those of cultural relativists and liberal"antiracists" whose opinions he aims to discredit. Butthinkers of all political persuasions would benefit from reading thisself-described conservative's eloquently presented views as he"excavates beyond the usual digging sites" to present aunique and troubling vision of the "neurotic obsession" withrace that continues to divide American society.

Much of what D'Souza says flies in the face of liberal doctrine. Hemaintains that there are cultural differences that account fordistinct levels of achievement among races, and that racism cannot beblamed for "black failure." He argues that racism is not auniversal phenomenon but a relatively recent Western intellectualconcept, and because we can trace racism's beginning we can likewisebring about its demise. He deals blow after blow to longstanding"myths" about race, criticizing the "civil rightsindustry," rejecting "misguided" solutions such asmulticulturalism and proportional representation as "fightingdiscrimination by practicing it," and even calls for a repeal ofthe near-sacred Civil Rights Act of 1964.

This is not an easy book to read, but it is an important one. Even ifmore than a few disagree with D'Souza's assumptions and arguments, allshould welcome his well-considered, insightful treatment of thisimmensely difficult topic. --Uma Kukathas ... Read more

Customer Reviews (104)

Nonsense
D'Sousa's country of birth India to this day practices a caste system that treats his Goa tribe as perpetually lower class no matter their accomplishments in life. India has hundreds of millions of dark-skin, downtrodden tribal people. Perhaps he can first start there to end racism.

cissy book3
this book is exciting/ foundation of a multicultural society in a world so divided / Recommend it to everyone

Well documented and sourced
D'Souza does a good job of sighting the sources of the quotations and notes used in the book.D'souza goes back to the origins of racism in the western world - about the same time as the rise of the social-scientific.He gathers together many facts and statistics regarding slavery not only in the United States but throughout history around the world.This is a provocative and challenging book.Well worth the read.

Great Book, but what about this?
Kudos for taking this explosive issue on head-on, and I agree with his basic premise. I tended to lose the forest for the trees, and until the last chapter didn't know what his actual position was. I recommend reading the last chapter first, because it helps you put the rest of the book in perspective.

The book provoked a thought that haunts me, and that's what I really want to write about. Suppose we observe sexism in society, and use the comparison to determine what is and is not true of racism?

1. I think sexism will be a more serious issue long term, because it takes 100,000,000 times longer to separate the races than to mix them together inextricably. Racism will disappear sooner or later because races will disappear. In fact, I think we should seize this window in human history to determine the genetic propensities of the races before the opportunity is lost.

2. We can factor out the effects of culture by looking at women who share the culture of men. White females earn less than black males on average and don't exactly dominate the corridors of power. This discrepancy can certainly in part be ascribed to the fact that we tend to stay home with the kids. But a very cursory look at human history will convince you that there is a natural dynamic in human society that tends to constrain a woman's options before she's out of the cradle. We are physically weaker, though in this society, that probably doesn't affect income much. Intellectually, by all objective standards (GPAs, SATs), we women appear to be about on a par with men once given an education. Being smart isn't what determines wealth and influence, though there are probably differences in our mental propensities. I think that the biggest factor that accounts for the income discrepancy between men and women is precisely genetics. Even if we can maintain the dubious assumption that genetics does not affect the propensities among the races, we certainly can't really believe that about the sexes. Put bluntly, we women have a genetic make-up that results in lower income and less political influence. We're less aggressive and less prone to risk, for example - check out our prisons. Yet our genetics is indispensible, and therefore by definition not inferior. You might say that it is self-evident that women are just as Valuable in God's eyes as men (though the very bravado which contributes in part to a higher income bracket paradoxically allows guys to occasionally and unabashedly maintain the contrary -- just kidding, sort of). What if the same were true of a particular race or nationality? To what degree does society as a whole compensate for that? Even in the case of my son, diagnosed with high-functioning autism, the answer is not clear to me.

My options are considerably greater than my mother's were. This, I maintain, is a good thing, not only for me personally, but for society as a whole, which has benefited from my education in ways I can enumerate. This change has come about as a consequence of two things. One is technology (no one needs to stay home to get the laundry done), and the other is what might be viewed as `sexist multiculturalism'. Women are just as Valuable as men, we maintain. Therefore society has been enlightened enough to acknowledge that if our options are limited, this should be addressed. The comparison with multi-culturalism breaks down crucially in that women are in fact as valuable as men; however, cultures are not all equally good. (It goes without saying that the only sane approach is assume that all races are inherently equally 'good'.) The uncontroversial remedies, which have already been carried out for women and various races are to educate everyone and to enact laws protecting everyone physically. These are the biggies that truly affect one's quality of life and one's power to contribute. Should it go beyond this? I'm inclined to say no in the case of women themselves. We have a powerful hold on the guys that largely compensates for disparities of income. But the question seems trickier in genetic distinctions between races which aren't tied in together like women and men.

And there's something we haven't faced head-on. Educating women, though clearly the right thing to do, is (I'm convinced) the primary factor which gave rise to the exploding divorce rate - a girl realizes she doesn't have to put up with this, so she doesn't -- take the kids and good-bye. That can be a good thing -- she generally won't leave unless the situation is pretty bad. It keeps the guys honest. The conservative values which d'Souza points out have always been held as necessary to avoid the collapse of society compromise women's options and safety more than men's. We're left without the same protections or options when the situation is abusive. We're compromised dramatically when abortion is outlawed, though abortion is obviously wrong, wrong, wrong. And poor, naive women are hurt the worst. I think in our extolling of Romance and True Love, we've failed to adequately communicate that marriage implies a sacrifice of our cherished rights, and even if you are both good people, it is hard. There is no state-sponsored remedy for weak values, but cultural problems don't account for all disparities, and conservative values don't solve all moral crises.

Using with my college students.
I am using parts of this book in a sociology class on Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Gender. Students will be comparing views in this book with those of Dr. West in "Race Matters." ... Read more

Product Description
Continuously at the top of New Society Publishers' best-seller list for five years, Uprooting Racism has been revised and expanded with more tools than ever to help white people understand and stand-up to racism. In addition to updating existing chapters, the new edition explores how entrenched racism has been revealed in the new economy, voting, anti-Arab prejudice, and health care policy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

disappointed.
I searched for books on American History and all I got were books about blacks. Haven't we go more to talk about than something we need to get over.

A much Needed Book for Those who Live in a bubble
I understand what it is like growing up in a white neighborhood while being brown. My mother is white and my father native to my country.I am proud of both sides, but it really annoys me when people see me as one colour even though I have more white in my blood than brown.I have been in the perfect position of knowing what each side feel seeing racisim from both sides.However I amactually hopeful that colour and race and ethnicity are not judged at all, but as Martin Luther King said, let us all be judged by the content of our character.This is a much needed book, and I thank the author for it.

Singling out whites to be the cause of all racism in the US
This book is just plain anti white. Blaming whites for racism in this country, and saying the only way for racism to end is if whites stop being so racist. Are you freaking kidding me?! Singling out one race and blaming and trash talking them IS RACIST! Why does everyone believe racism is a one way street starting with whites and driving right over everyone else?


I'm in the middle of refusing to write an essay praising this book. My teacher tells me to not take it personally. Are you kidding me?! I am white, how can I not take it personally?! He won't give me another book to write on even after I told him how much this book offends me. I'm taking the matter to the campus board and if they tell me I have to write on a subject that racially offends me I am going to press charges.

So much for racial freedom for all.....

More stupid white guilt
I was once very active in "antiracist" action. It took me a while to realize antiracist basically means antiwhite, because you only hear one side of the story: Whites are bad and have caused everyone pain.

If you want to make a stand against racism, you should be able to take a stand against ALL racism in ALL its forms. There is racism happening right now in the world between nonwhite groups who are just as bad, if not worse, as anything seen in America.

To the self-hating white guy who said that "white people who live in all white communities live in a bubble". Wouldn't that apply to Latinos who live in barrios and blacks who live in all-black communities? Or does that not meet the standard of Political Correctness?

"I'm sorry for something that I didn't do
you said I lynched somebody but I don't know who
GUILTY OF BEING WHITE!"
-Minor Threat

Counter productive
This book is an excellant example of Liberal thought taken to the level of complete nonsense. Filled with statements such as"It is difficult for any white American not to have an immediate feeling of fear in the presence of an African-American male."(pg 68) and "We expect men of color to be dangerous." (pg 69) and in the context of challenging racism we might see in other whites, "How can we challenge other whites when we may need them in case of attack?"[by a balck male](pg 68) and "...we are more easily deceived by white leaders who have an aura of trustwothiness simply because they are white." (pg 71). These are just a very small sampling of the silly statements that are evident on each page. In an obvious attempt to conjur deep feelings of guilt, the book rehashes all of the horrible things that whites have done to people of color. This is always, ALWAYS!, counter productive. Many of the solutions that he offers will never be taken seriously by Moderate-Liberal to Conservative persons. And that is the real problem with this book-unless you are a far Left individual already predisposed to believing the largely unsubstantiated opinions he offers you will more than likely dismiss everything he says and throw the baby out with the bathwater. Racism does exist. This book offers very little to uproot it. ... Read more

Product Description
"'We shall overcome,' but how? Derald Wing Sue points us to a path. He invites readers to engage him in dialogues to confront the master narrative of American history— the story that this country was settled by European immigrants and that Americans are white.Taking us beyond the Black and White binary, he illuminates the experiences of Americans of the twenty-first century's society of expanding ethnic diversity." —Ronald Takaki, author, A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America

"This book is intended to provoke and challenge, and it succeeds admirably. Sometimes it even made me angry, but it always forced me to think about myself and assess the way I behave." — Arthur Levine, Ph.D., president, Teachers College, Columbia University

"Dr. Sue is mapping a warrior's path with a compassionate heart.This book will take the discussion of racism in our society to a new level in which we can finally begin to address it in a manner that will bring deep changes and not just more rhetoric." —Eduardo Duran, Ph.D., Apache/Tewa, author, Buddha in Redface

"Most of us have internalized attitudes that affect our actions in negative and unfair ways toward people of color. Sue's book allows us to understand those attitudes as well as the white privilege most White Americans do not realize they possess! All thinking people who wish to increase integrity in their interactions with others should read this book!" —Melba J. T. Vasquez, Ph.D., ABPP, past president, American Psychological Association's Society for the Psychology of Women

"This singular book provides racially clueless and sometimes well-meaning people with the tools and context to liberate themselves— and the rest of us— from their destructive ways. Though the book centers on racism and whiteness, it also gives an insightful approach to other biased behavior, whether based on gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, or other common markers of prejudice. Most important, this book offers all of us the hope that constructive change is not only possible but within our capacity to achieve." —Helen Zia, author, Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of An American People ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Repackaged 70's stupidity/ too bad!
It's unfortunate that this book is so bad. It has so much potential and is taking on a very important topic. We need intellectual champions in the fight against racism in this country. What we don't need is someone who doesn't know the difference between productive conversation and mudslinging. If I wanted blind name calling I can watch Fox news. The problem with this book is that it doesn't benefit from the last thirty years of research in the field of social psychology. Prejudice is based on schemas and heuristics, a natural tendency of human beings to create overly simple representations of the world and how it works, in their mind. This is a very helpful skill which allows us to go into unfamiliar situations and bring our past experience to bear on the present. But schemas also make it more likely that we will treat large groups of objects, including people, as if they are all the same. But here is the thing about schemas. The more threatened you are, the more likely you are to activate schemas. Not only that, but people are more reluctant to change their schemas if they feel attacked. They may even become more entrenched in their beliefs. This is social psychology 101, but evidently, Dr. Sue either doesn't know that or doesn't care. Either way, his is not a helpful contribution to the field because he concludes that just about everyone who is white in America is, in fact, a racist. How unhelpful. He then goes on to develop a model of racial identity development that is more diatribe than anything remotely resembling fact. Most folks never do any of the things he attributes to normal development. It would be laughable if so many rubes weren't listenting to him. He is not as harmful to this country as Rush Limbaugh, but he is not far off. If he could create something resembling a reasonable development arch, or if he could talk about a continuum of bigotry that would allow for a discussion of how we as a people could behave more productively, that would be great. As it is, this is just another avenue to learned helplessness and those of us white folks who actually care about this issue are left demoralized and hopeless. Is that what he was trying to do?

Craptastic on a good day
If there is a God in Heaven, Nirvana or anywhere else, It will be kind enough not to force me to read another pile of manure that the Sue brothers write.He and his brother don't do their research well- 4th edition of their 'class-sick' still gets basic facts wrong- and Sue writes this for the most cretin-like caucasians possible.So, if you crack your gum, think that Michael Jackson was just the coolest black man ever, and wonder how people can buy a Cadillac while collecting welfare checks, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK.
If you are a smug, self-righteous liberal that thinks about social ills and oppression and believe that people like you just need to keep gathering and discussing the proper way to liberate all people so that they can live a comfortable semi-middle-class lifestyle and thus make the world happy, please read this book over and over so that you don't have much time to work, procreate, or talk to anyone who doesn't agree with you.
If you read, have a brain, and can formulate an opinion... never, ever bother with the palp, tripe, drivel of the Sue brothers.Save a tree or find a book where the tree that died can know that it died for a good cause.The Sue brothers slaughters trees for no good purpose.Shame on them!

OUR Racism?
Ok, I bought this book even after reading a review that complained about just more "white guilt".Well it was true, the couple of chapters I managed to get through were sadly reminiscent of the 70s where if you were white you were supposed to admit that you were a racist.And I understand all that BUT, I've been around for well over half a century and I'm pretty sure I've come to grips with my "Racism", not that I can't always improve.
HAVING SAID THAT... I passed the book on to a collogue with whom I am working and she rather liked the book -- Especially the questionnaire sections.Although some of the questions are trite, she thinks we can use it to stimulate some conversation.So, we'll see.

Overcoming Our Racism: The Journey to Liberation
Overcoming Our Racism is an excellent perspective by Dr. Sue who is Asian. It seems that only certain minorities are always called on as using the race card.Sue points out clearly that we have lived and still live in a racist America.A selective perception and sutble type of racism reminicant of "Jim Crow", but nevertheless present in American attitudes towards people that are not Anglo. Sue, a psychologist, presents a very informative view of racism in America.The book is used as part of a graduate course in Universities that teach cultural diversity.To many the surge of Senator Obama to a significant lead in the Democratic Primary election may seem like a turning point for Americans and it may well be part of a history in the making. Nevertheless, the attitudes described by Sue are not part of everyone's perception, but still those attitudes are present and doing damage to human kind.

A Wonderful Book
As a white male working in a student affairs office at a very diverse community college it is important that I take a good long look at myself to be sure I am serving our students the best way I can.This book is incredibly helpful in doing that.Did I get pissed off at things Mr. Sue talked about?Yes, of course.But he does warn his readers that they will get angry.I only got angry because I didn't want to believe what he was saying was about me, but it is.This book taught me a lot about myself, which I think is the point.I highly recommend this book to anyone that is willing to keep an open mind and is willing to go through some self evaluation. ... Read more

Product Description
This book analyzes the historic and current state of institutionalized racial privileges and discrimination in higher education, using an organizational framework. It then provides and critiques examples of innovative efforts that seek to challenge and alter these socially unjust patterns of teaching, learning, leading, and living together. ... Read more

Product Description
"

In 1968, ten thousand students marched in protest over the terrible conditions prevalent in the high schools of East Los Angeles, the largest Mexican community in the United States. Chanting ""Chicano Power,"" the young insurgents not only demanded change but heralded a new racial politics. Frustrated with the previous generation's efforts to win equal treatment by portraying themselves as racially white, the Chicano protesters demanded justice as proud members of a brown race. The legacy of this fundamental shift continues to this day.

Ian Haney López tells the compelling story of the Chicano movement in Los Angeles by following two criminal trials, including one arising from the student walkouts. He demonstrates how racial prejudice led to police brutality and judicial discrimination that in turn spurred Chicano militancy. He also shows that legal violence helped to convince Chicano activists that they were nonwhite, thereby encouraging their use of racial ideas to redefine their aspirations, culture, and selves. In a groundbreaking advance that further connects legal racism and racial politics, Haney López describes how race functions as ""common sense,"" a set of ideas that we take for granted in our daily lives. This racial common sense, Haney López argues, largely explains why racism and racial affiliation persist today.

By tracing the fluid position of Mexican Americans on the divide between white and nonwhite, describing the role of legal violence in producing racial identities, and detailing the commonsense nature of race, Haney López offers a much needed, potentially liberating way to rethink race in the United States.

Customer Reviews (7)

graeat book
This is a great book for anyone wanting to know about chicano/a history and the the way the struggles in communities of color are still going on today.

Required reading if interested in la raza's history
I love this book. Haney Lopez gives us an intriguing description of the history of Mexican-descent peoples in the United States since the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, with a focus on the rise of Chicano identity and the Chicano movement in Los Angeles during the tumultuous 1960s. What sticks with me most about this book is the rupture and transformation in identity politics. From the 1930s to the early 1960s, mainstream Mexican-American organizations advocated a hard assimilationist line, lobbying larger (white) American society to accept Mexican-Americans as part of the Anglo-Saxon cultural core. At the time, such organizations were staffed by and represented the relatively small Mexican-American middle class (which consisted largely of lighter-skinned individuals who were capable of "passing" as white). As part of this strategy to accomodate White America, Mexican-American leaders at the time (again, mainly middle class and mainly light skinned) declared that Mexicans were essentially "white" and thus emphasized Spanish/European heritage of Mexico over its indigenous and to a lesser extent, African, roots. Such persons often looked down on poor, dark, or indigenous persons of Mexican descent in efforts to distance themselves from their "undesirable" co-ethnics. From 1930-1960, the U.S. Census officially classified Mexican-Americans as "white," unless such individuals were visibly "Indian" or "Black."

The efforts of appeasement and accomodation on the part of the lobbyists did not result in the elimination of individual and insitutional discrimination against Mexicans, however. As a result, a new movement arose in the 1960s that thoroughly rejected the older generation's assimilation/accomodation agenda. Three decades of accomodation had been virtually ineffective in eliminating anti-Mexican prejudice, discrimination, and police malpractice. It is within this context, which manifested during the 1960s, that the Chicano identity/movement was born. Ian Haney Lopez provides all the detail you need.

I could personally relate to much of the book's content, as I've been engaged in numerous debates and arguments over the politics of identity labels. I have seen first-hand the adamant demands of people with relatively high levels of cultural and structural assimilation to be called "Hispanic" over "Chicano" or "Latino," while I've seen countless Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, and Dominicans voice just as strong a disgust for the term "Hispanic" as essentially a term of elitism and arrogance. Haney Lopez's book hits hard and strikes home. Be sure to read it.

Ha-Lo scores another success!
An academic text that's also page turner, Racism on Trial is an excellent companion to "White By Law" ... but it has it's own appeal and original ideas beyond Haney-Lopez's past work.As this becomes a more common text in ethnic/chicano studies classes a constitutional and social discussion delves deeper with Professor Haney Lopez provoking new thought and analysis regarding these uniquely American issues.

A Great Book
This book rocks! It's a very well written history of Mexicans in Los Angeles that not only tells their story, but also offers a way to understand why some Mexican Americans say their White, and others that they are Brown. A must read for persons trying to understand race and Latinos.

A powerful rethinking of race and racism
Racism on Trial offers a powerful rethinking of race and racism.
The author looks at how Mexican Americans went from thinking of themselves as white in the 1930s to the 1960s (who knew?), to brown in the context of the Chicano movement (a self-conception that seems alive and well today). This rapid change provides Lopez with an opportunity to further develop the idea that race really comes down to ideas and practices, rather than biological differences. Of course, it's also true that race is not something the Mexican American community had full control over, as they were responding to a legacy of colonialism and conquest that treated them as if they were non-white.

To get at this legacy, the author looks at the way the police and the courts mistreated Mexican Americans, and offers a theory of what he calls "common sense racism."This theory really helps explain how racism is tied into to taken-for-granted ideas as well as the way our world has been structured by centuries of racism. Lopez may overclaim when he says most racism is now of the common sense variety, but he certainly contributes an important way of thinking about how racism continues even when there is no individual racist.

On the whole, this is a great book. It tells an amazing story about Chicano activism. It gives a concise history about how Mexicans have been treated as a race in this country, and about how they have responded. And it offers a sophisticated way of thinking about how race operates as social knowledge, both in the hands of racists and those opposed to racism. I would definitely recommend this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Are antisemitism and white supremacy manifestations of a general phenomenon? Why didn't racism appear in Europe before the fourteenth century, and why did it flourish as never before in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? Why did the twentieth century see institutionalized racism in its most extreme forms? Why are egalitarian societies particularly susceptible to virulent racism? What do apartheid South Africa, Nazi Germany, and the American South under Jim Crow have in common? How did the Holocaust advance civil rights in the United States?

With a rare blend of learning, economy, and cutting insight, George Fredrickson surveys the history of Western racism from its emergence in the late Middle Ages to the present. Beginning with the medieval antisemitism that put Jews beyond the pale of humanity, he traces the spread of racist thinking in the wake of European expansionism and the beginnings of the African slave trade. And he examines how the Enlightenment and nineteenth-century romantic nationalism created a new intellectual context for debates over slavery and Jewish emancipation.

Fredrickson then makes the first sustained comparison between the color-coded racism of nineteenth-century America and the antisemitic racism that appeared in Germany around the same time. He finds similarity enough to justify the common label but also major differences in the nature and functions of the stereotypes invoked. The book concludes with a provocative account of the rise and decline of the twentieth century's overtly racist regimes--the Jim Crow South, Nazi Germany, and apartheid South Africa--in the context of world historical developments.

This illuminating work is the first to treat racism across such a sweep of history and geography. It is distinguished not only by its original comparison of modern racism's two most significant varieties--white supremacy and antisemitism--but also by its eminent readability. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

What is racism?I consulted many dictionaries in several languages
The other Amazonreviews are generally excellent.Two-star through five-star reviews were helpful.

The book focuses narrowly on prejudice by whites against Jews and blacks.There is some logic, in that Western societies have been dominant, and hence most subject to scrutiny over the past few centuries.Still, don't overlook Japanese prejudice against their Korean minority, Chinese when they occupied it prior to the war, or in the atrocities they committed against British and other whites they captured on their march south.Especially, do not overlook Asian prejudice against blacks.It is virulent, and they did not learn it from white colonialists.

What is racism?I consulted many dictionaries in several languages, and this is the distillate It is some combination of beliefs, emotions and individual and group actions.We could all be racists or almost none of us.

A racist society implements discriminatory policies that result in segregation, discrimination and persecution.Those would be Fredrickson's Nazi Germany, South Africa and southern US.This is a thing of the past.

The Germans tell it like it is as far as emotion goes.They define racism as Rassenhaß, literally "racial hatred".Several dictionary definitions bring up the notion of racial purity, which strikes me as an emotional issue.I'd say that prejudice remains in the category of emotion until it is acted upon.

In the belief category, all the definitions agree that it is racism when one believes that there is a natural hierarchy of races, especially if you suppose your own race is better than the rest.A broader definition says you are a racist if you believe that people of different races are different in ability.What ability they don't say.The only way such a claim can have meaning is if it applies to averages, which makes it racism when I notice that great gymnasts are often Oriental, chess players Russian, basketball players black and hockey players white.

Fredrickson's failure is in taking the repudiation of the first definition, racist societies, to mean there is no substance to the third.Xenophobia is natural to the human animal, and we of course feel compelled to look for some logical justification when we practice it.Sometimes, Frederickson should admit, there is some substance.

Germans feared Jewish success in business.Were they wrong?In every society in which they are free to compete fairly, Jews are more successful financially, academically and professionally than any other groups.Amy Chu writes in "Earth on Fire" that six of the seven billionaires who emerged in post-Soviet Russia Jewish.Coincidence?She doesn't think so, and neither do I.Crime, educational attainment and financial success statistics would also indicate that there was some substance to the fears racists cited about blacks.

The fact is that there is usually some validity to a stereotype.Washington D.C., the source of so much anti-segregation legislature, is one of the most segregated cities in the world.No legislator from anywhere in the country would want his kids to attend the DC schools.You could call it racism, but it is no more than common sense.Statistics and our own eyes tell us that predominantly black school systems don't often provide a good education.Instead, Obama's kids, and black legislators' kids attend private schools with white kids, their social and intellectual equals.

Fredrickson's history is good, but his thesis that racism is groundless is false.We have a more difficult problem to overcome.There is some substance to the belief that averages of different races are different, but for the health of our societies we must be tolerant and overcome it.Above all, we must be open to the fact that there are outstanding people as well as scoundrels of every race, and not allow racial prejudices to color our thinking.

Institutional Racism is more than three states (focus on Africa)
George Frederickson stated in Racism: A Short History, that racism reached its peak in the twentieth century with the rise of three "over, racist regimes". Frederickson's three overt racist regimes were the U.S. South during the "Jim Crow era", Nazi Germany, and the apartheid government of South Africa (Frederickson, p. 99). He chose these states because they effectively enforced racism through the mechanisms of the state rather than through custom. Frederickson's criteria included regimes that bureaucratized a racial ideology, codified racism by law, excluded "other" groups from power, and forced those excluded groups into poverty (Frederickson, p. 100). While Frederickson acknowledged the racist ideologies of European colonial regimes during the "scramble" for Africa, he did not refer to those states as "overtly racist" because they allowed native elites to have some access to power.Frederickson viewed World War Two and the Cold War as key components in the dismantling of overt racism worldwide, the decolonization of Africa (and Asia), and the dismantling of the apartheid regime of South Africa.While Frederickson acknowledged that subtle racism continues, he argued that overtly racist regimes have become extinct in the twenty-first century.

Throughout Racism: A Short History, Frederickson used simplistic arguments and showed a misunderstanding of the complexities of ethnic strifeto write a short book which packaged the "greatest hits" of racism. Too often, Frederickson failed to differentiate between institutional racism; racism enforced by the state, and basic racism; in which individuals commit acts of hatred against those that are different. Frederickson also viewed racism as simply a white western phenomenon and failed to consider that racist regimes have been ruled by European, African, and Asian peoples. While the most famous racist regimes have been in the context of white domination over darker skinned peoples, Frederickson failed to account for racist acts committed by other ethnicities. A cursory study of twentieth and twenty-first century Africa will show that Frederickson's list of overt racist regimes should be expanded, and that racism is far more complex than the author's analysis.

South Africa was not the only overt white minority regime in twentieth century Africa. In 1965, Ian Smith and other white nationalists declared unilateral independence from Great Britain as the southern half of Rhodesia seceded to become the Republic of Rhodesia. Rhodesia, like South Africa, was a white led regime which excluded blacks from power, land, and high sector jobs, which caused native Africans to suffer. This regime, lasted until 1979 when pressure from Britain and the United States, UN economic sanctions, and an African insurgency caused the white nationalist republic to fall. Robert Mugabe took control of a new Zimbabwe nation and reached an agreement that allowed white Rhodesians, the business and agricultural elite of the nation, to stay. While some white Rhodesians, known as "Rhodies", fled the country, many whites, called "Zimbos", stayed and became Zimbabweans. Since 1980, Mugabe's policies of land seizures have forced many white farmers from their land. British and African newspapers have documented Mugabe's policies as "racist". Many whites who chose to remain African and farm have been welcomed by states such as Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, and Nigeria.

The case of Zimbabwe as a black racist state is not an argument to deny the overt racism of white Africans in Rhodesia, but to caution the optimism of Frederickson's analysis of South Africa. Many of the elite Rhodesians who ran the farms that exploited black workers fled the nation decades ago. The remaining white Zimbabweans are often those who have tried to integrate into a black led society or who were too poor to emigrate. Those whites most guilty of constructing the white racist regime of the past have escaped retribution, while those whites with less means have witnessed acts of violence and economic oppression against them. Likewise, in South Africa, Frederickson placed more blame on white Afrikaners , white South Africans whose largely Dutch ancestors immigrated to South Africa in the 17th century, than on British white South Africans. Frederickson correctly analyzed the racist motivations of many Afrikaners as they established apartheid in 1910 and 1948 (Frederickson, p. 117, 132). Afrikaners operated under a "never again" mindset as they blamed the British and their African tribal allies (such as the Zulus) for their defeat in the Boer War in 1902. Frederickson however, failed to document the atrocities committed against the Afrikaners by the British government. While he made a connection between the Nazis and the South African state, he failed to mention the British concentration camp policies which killed thousands of Afrikaners as an example of ethnic cleansing and an influence on Nazi Germany. While Nelson Mandela provided over a peaceful multi-racial transition to power as apartheid fell in South Africa, Fredrickson failed to note that Mandela's successors have been less successful integrating the country. Anti-white farmer violence committed by radical ANC elements and the rise of white neo-Nazi style Afrikaner militia groups spell Zimbabwe like problems for South Africa if racial reconciliation continues to regress.

Frederickson also failed to account for numerous acts of racism committed against Africans and Asians by those of African descent. He briefly mentioned the ouster of Asians by Idi Amin in Uganda in 1979 but discounted that act as overtly racist. Frederickson also failed to account for the ethnic violence and murders of African religious and ethnic minorities in nations such as Nigeria, Rwanda, and Sudan. These acts have also echoed the regime of Nazi Germany and showed that genocide and overt state led racial hatred did not end with the victory over fascism in World War II. This ethnic violence is both black led and a legacy of European states which drew boundaries across ethnic lines in order to divide and conquer native African peoples.

Another missed opportunity for Frederickson was an analysis of the history of Liberia. Liberia was founded as a series of six colonies by white American colonization societies as a homeland for emancipated slaves. Liberia declared its independence in 1849 and established an American style constitutional government. Americo-Liberians, the descendents of the freed slaves, made up, and continue to make up, less than 5% of the nation's population. Yet Americo-Liberians ran the nation as an elite class, holding power until 1980. Native Africans were excluded from power and prevented from organizing rival parties by a regime led by American descended blacks. These Americo-Liberians were often lighter-skinned than their neighbors and adopted white Southern American customs. The Americo-Liberians churches, plantation style homes, agricultural practices, missionary zeal, attire and attitudes reflected the culture of the white plantation owners of Dixie. Liberia is a strange case of black institutional racism against other blacks.

Frederickson should be commended for attempting to write a short history of such a difficult topic. But perhaps racism is one topic than cannot be touched on so lightly. Racism like a cancer has eaten at the world for centuries. But like a cancer in remission, it has the potential always to return. Racism and even overt racism, is more complex than the history of South Africa, the US South, and Nazi Germany. It is more complicated than the traditional narrative of a white elite's domination of black peoples. It has destroyed Africa and continues to divide its peoples (of all colors) today. Were racism as short and simple as Frederickson made it out to be, it truly can be said to be a problem that has been largely solved. Sadly today's television, newspaper, and internet news coverage, tells a much different story.

disappointing
Unfortunately I was disappointed with "Racism: A Short History" because its title is misleading compared to its actual content. This book primarily only discusses Jewish peoples in relation to so-called race and racism. While this is a very good, important, and interesting topic it is not what I expected.

Not the most thorough book ever written, but important nonetheless
Georg M. Fredrickson is, among other things, a scholar at the Research Institute for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity as well as author of several books about the history of race and race ideology. In other words, it's safe to assume that he knows what he's talking about, and with Racism he's put together a short, yet informative and thorough, study of the history of Western racism; from its origins at the end of the Middle Ages up until the present.

However, it's not only Western racism from the late Middle Ages and onwards that Fredrickson deals with. Several different types of racism from different eras and aimed towards different groups of people are brought to light. And that's a good thing (this way of displaying different beliefs from different eras, I mean), because racism is a phenomenon that's a whole lot stranger and definitely more complicated than most people know or assume. It's not just a case a some group hating some other group. The fear/hatred/contempt aimed towards certain groups of people come in numerous different shapes and forms and are based on more factors than one could even imagine, and religious teachings and doctrines have been directly or indirectly responsible for way too many horrible clashes throughout history, not only in the West.

Still, the real focus is on the comparison of two different kinds of racism; white supremacy with its ideas about the white "race" (whatever that is) and its supreme qualities, and anti-Semitism with the continuous hatred of the Jews. These two manifestations of racism are dealt with quite extensively, and the comparison made between the two is tremendously interesting, original, and more than anything well presented.

And also of importance in today's world. After all, the Jews probably have the not-so pleasant title of being the most persecuted people in the history of the world, and the American slave trade with its extremely cynical and brutal view of humans with African descent is still a burning issue. This latter example could sometimes be of such a bizarre nature that it almost bordered on the comical: "Some racial environmentalists in the early American republic fully expected imported Africans to turn white in the more temperate climate to which they were now exposed, but the process seemed to be taking a very long time." (pg.58).

But only almost. Because obviously there's nothing funny about such a stupid worldview. It's a nuisance, that's what it is. And Fredrickson is the man to expose it. Regarding the never-ending conflict between "white" and "black" people (I've never felt very comfortable talking about people as colors), he compares and reveals disturbing parallels between Nazi Germany and America, and these breath-taking sections are sure to make a great deal of Americans quite upset. How about this sentence: "When the Supreme Court declared in the Dred Scott decision of 1857 that free blacks could not be citizens of the United States, because the framers of the Constitution had assumed that they had 'no rights which the white man was bound to respect,' the racist foundation of the American polity was laid bare." (pg.80-81)

Again and again, Fredrickson is able to demonstrate mankind's creepy, and profound, tendencies to condemn fellow humans on reasons that are, well, simply stupid. At a time when ethnic conflicts, racism, and violent xenophobia rages in countries all over the world, a book like Racism is tremendously important. From time to time though, it does feel somewhat thin. For example, no mention is made of the fact that some of the German soldiers in World War I were actually German Jews, and even though the infamous Jim Crow laws are mentioned repeatedly throughout the book, the reader is never treated with an explanation to what the "Jim Crow laws" actually were and how they came into existence. A lot of non-Americans could really need explanations to that.

But Racism is, on the other hand, meant to be a short description (which doesn't mean it never digs quite deep into certain topics). If you're a racist, this won't be your favorite book of the year, but anyone with an interest in, or hatred of, racism should definitely purchase a copy immediately. Because, as Fredrickson reminds his readers: ""A culture of racism, once established, can be adapted to more than one agenda and is difficult to eradicate." (pg.93)

This book sucks
As a black man I can truthfully say that every word is b.s. I didn't finish reading it, but I didn't have to either. This book is rascist. ... Read more

Product Description
More than 15 years have passed since Joe Barndt wrote his influential and widely acclaimed Dismantling Racism (1991, Augsburg Books). He has now written a replacement volume - powerful, personal, and practical - that reframes the whole issue for the new context of the twenty-first century.

With great clarity Barndt traces the history of racism, especially in white America, revealing its various personal, institutional, and cultural forms. Without demonizing anyone or any race, he offers specific, positive ways in which people in all walks, including churches, can work to bring racism to an end. He includes the newest data on continuing conditions of People of Color, including their progress relative to the minimal standards of equality in housing, income and wealth, education, and health. He discusses current dimensions of race as they appear in controversies over 9/11, New Orleans, and undocumented workers. Includes analytical charts, definitions, bibliography, and exercises for readers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Barndt's text is very readable AND an excellent graduate level resource
As a white graduate student I've found Barndt's text incredibly useful in writing papers for the following classes: psychology, theology, philosophy, and community praxis.He does not personalize racism, but invites white readers to analyze and work to dismantle racism as a systemic issue which we can do much about.One of the most helpful aspects is his teaching by example that undoing racism must be done by people of color and white people working together; that we have different pieces of the puzzle, but each is needed at the table.I felt the book was engaging and thorough, analytical and easily readable, theoretical and practical.I agree with the previous reviewer who found the book carefully organized.This is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding racism in its 21st century manifestations, and it will give you new hope if the topic has discouraged you.An excellent companion text for the undergraduate or graduate level is Dr. J. Kameron Carter's Race: A Theological Account (2008).

excellent historical background
An excellent in -depth review of the causes of racism and those who benefit from its systemic structure.

Being Honest About the Velvet Glove of Racism
Joseph Barndt introduces several metaphors to unpack a major issue for the 21st century. One compelling metaphor is the use of the "Happy Machine and Dross" - dross being the cost of making "happy"- the real life happiness machines are the institutional systems of US society. With this beginning hook Barndt introduces the reader to the subject of the book, racism; and, the unhappy people in the US - people of color.

Racism = racism prejudice + the misuse of power by systems and institutions

Barndt writes the book for white people; however, he invites people of color to decide whether his understanding of racism corresponds to their experiences and understanding. The purpose of Understanding and Dismantling Racism, using another strong metaphor, is to expose the velvet glove covering the iron fist. The iron fist is the reality of racism in America, which since the act of measuring began in 1981 reveals that hate crimes and violent forms of racism has not declined.

Barndt takes the reader on a review of history exposing the two main forms of this evil, the genocide of indigenous peoples and the enslavement of African peoples. Since the 1960's through the courage of white people and people of color the largess of overt evil has changed, however, this partial success is "disguising the unfinished task of dismantling racism." Barndt's attempts at truth telling are stunning and courageous. He poses the question, "What to do?" At one end of the spectrum are those who advocate more of the same, (e.g., civil rights movement); and, at the other end those who view the continued pursuit of the present path as a stumbling stone, and are seeking new strategies for change. Barndt suggests a strategy for those who advocate the second latter, posing laboratories for dialogue to obtain a common understanding of racism before attempts at dismantling racism. First those who seek to dismantle racism must come to a shared understanding that race was imported into the US, adopted and adapted, and then used to justify a national political and societal structure of white supremacy through genocide and land acquisition. Second, agree on a definition of racism informed by that understanding starting with the fact that race is an arbitrary social/biological construct, created to justify colonial expansion, and kept alive specifically by political and institutional structures to assign human worth and social status. Third, understand that Power is neither evil nor neutral, power is good but it can and is misused to control dominate, hurt, and oppress others. Lastly, that white power and privilege is inherited thus white people cannot claim credit, "for earning (this) ill-gotten inheritance." Hence, until this institutional character is changed, every white person remains individually racist.

Barndt goes on to describe the state of affairs in the US as a prison for both whites and people of color, and asking the reader to consider the reality that this prison only exists because white people and people of color allow it to exist. Racism strips one of humanity, no differently than incarceration strips the inmate of humanity, similar to a child cut off from the touch of another will fail to thrive. The path out of the prison and into freedom, is leaving the prison for laboratories of learning. For more on such a laboratory contact http://www.crossroadsantiracism.org/

A Classic in the Sociology of Racism
In recent years an ideology that Sociologist Eduardo Bonilla Silva from Duke University calls "color-blind racism" has permeated United State's popular culture. Most white Americans now report in surveys that race is no longer a feature of U.S. political, social and economic realms. As if they lived in two separate but unequal nations, particularly Latinos and African Americans note the intractability of race and racism in this country. The explanation is simple: in a white supremacist country unless you are a person of color you don't "see" racism because that is not part of your daily experience. The color-blind ideology that permeates our major institutions puts a veil over the eyes of white Americans (and some persons of color) blinding them to the reality of racism in this country. Incidents like the racist comments of Don Imus or the recorded racist diatribes of Duane "Dog" Chapman, host of A & E television series are then dismissed as anomalies rather than just the tip of the iceberg. Fortunately, Joseph Barndt is one white male who is not color-blind, this book is an outstanding contribution to understanding race and racism in this new era.

The main strength of Joseph Barndt book is that he provides a logical, reasoned, and theoretically sound analysis of institutionalized racism in the United States today which allows us to make sense of the racism of the 21st century. Even more outstanding is that he is able to accomplish this without the exclusionary jargon of many previous treatments of the subject.

This a carefully organized book, and one that can and should be used in classrooms around the nation. This will become another classic from one of the most articulate white anti-racist intellectuals of our time.

ANOTHER; 'always blame whites' book
I just don't know why these authors think this subject hasn't been covered and covered and covered and covered.The growing number of Hispanic's has proven that they have no love for blacks and no white guilt.Same with Asians.The number one enemy of blacks, however, is other blacks.The never-ending 'blame whitey' has led to a dead end street that is only building white resentment.Don't even bother.The author wrote this book for his ego and nothing more.You'll find no solutions here. ... Read more

Product Description
A remarkable study revealing that answers might be more startling than could be imagined. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Lively Read For Me!
Unlike the reviewer for Publishers Weekly who wrote that "no one browsing this book would mistake it for a lively read," I found this book to be entertaining, enlightening and provocative. In short, it was a lively read for me! I am an intellectual particularly interested in issues pertaining to race and so I understand that what I find to be appealing is often dismissed in mainstream discourse as is demonstrated by the somewhat negative review. The Publishers Weekly review also stated that a weakness of this study was that it did not mention the frequency of racist incidents. Of course the underlying assumption here is that racism is not really a serious problem and that the authors must have overexaggerated the racist actions of the children. Anyone who is progressive realizes that racism is a serious problem which manifests itself daily in a number of ways in all kinds of settings. As much as I enjoyed reading the book, I also found it distressing as a future parent of black children. At the beginning of the book the authors relate an incident in which a three year old biracial (white/Asian) child referred to another four year old black child as a "nigger" and didn't want to sleep beside her during naptime because "niggers are stinky." Van Ausdale's and Feagin's analysis of this incident is excellent. Can you imagine being the parent of that black child and having to talk with her (a four year old, if you will) about what happened? The burden of dealing with race should not be placed solely on the shoulders of children and parents of color.For this reason I recommend THE FIRST R to all parents.

Examing The First R
The premise of the study done by Van Ausdale and Feagin was that from an early age children conceptualize race and racial identity. Their suggestion is that from a very early age, people's perceptions of race and ethnicity become impregnated into their psyche. Through various social exchanges children learn and regurgitate what is learned. These perceptions can be developed from any area of social interaction.
Throughout history it has been thought that children were not active participants in any of these spheres. It had been thought that children were imitators of adult and are the initial recipients of these ideas and perceptions. Van Ausdale counter these popular conceptions about children and how they acquire information. The study, which seeks to show that children actively form and interpret concepts of race at very early ages, used 58 children from the ages of three to six as subjects. Through their work the authors emphasize the social space (the daycare) as a microcosm of America's racial pecking order.
Chapter one the authors give a literature review of child development theory thoroughly examining the pros and cons of these theories as they relate to children's acquisition of race. The author's challenge how these theories fail to delve into how children learn and perpetuate social constructs. An area of primary concern is the fact these theories take responsibility away from the children.
The author introduces a concept called "adult-centered" orientation, which is a research technique that rules out any serious cognitive qualities in children. It merely looks at children as adults with deficits, and lacking the realist ability to be engaging in abstract concepts such as race, class and ethnicity. The authors go on to say that most analysis of the socialization of children says that children primarily imitate and mirror adult behavior rather than actually processing adult instructs.
The authors use the inadequacies of these child development theories to establish the premise of the study. The shift is from the "adultcentric" researching technique to a research technique that sees the children as able to understand the complexity of their social environment.
Van Ausdale the primary fieldworker between the authors. She spent 11 months studying the subjects at a multicultural day care. She says of her observation style that she functioned an invisible observer. This approach allows Van Ausdale to take very passive role in the subject's lives.
In Chapter Two there is significant empirical evidences to support Van Ausdales assertion that children understand concepts or race and ethnicity. The children continue show how they define themselves along with the precarious social exchanges that directly mirror society's racial hierarchy. This chapter lays the cement in terms of the premise; which are children are not the unreceptive, egocentric figures that adults assume they are. The major themes of this chapter are vivid, the idea that children develop solid ideas of what the white identity means chiefly from excluding others.
These children on various occasions keenly process the concepts of race and the institute of racial hierarchies. The authors move on to say that children at "very early ages invented complex combinations of racial meaning, for themselves and for others, and incorporated social relationships and physical characteristics to produce explanations for how their world was racially constructed and maintained"(pg.48). This point further supports the premise that children are not the inert recipients of information, but rather children are seen as beings that conceptualize complex ideas and judge its validity in a social setting.
In chapter three the author discusses the ins and outs of out children's group association. The playgroups serve as outlets for social exchanges that aid in developing social standards. The interactions of these children cannot be typecasted but they showed profoundly that children used racial concepts to exclude one another or to humiliate each other. A very striking example was when one child excluded another child from play in a sandbox and compared her complexion to rabbit feces, she even goes on to say that "your skin is shi**y"(109). This statement had extreme importance in regards the authors premise. This child had to recognize the social significance of her statements. The author moves on to rectify the social structure that sees these types of statements as a means of creating and reinforcing division and subjugation. This is one of many noted examples of how children absorb racist attitudes. These children repeatedly showed clear how children use racial-ethnic differences to define themselves and others.
The idea of race consciousness in children is certainly exemplified in this chapter. This chapter showed that children usually separated by race or made clear race distinctions in judging their space or play groups. The idea of race being conceptualized by children at such an early age examines the social strata of the lives of children. Then the author develops the idea of white adults who continue to harbor deeply racist images and stereotypes and practice racial discrimination in settings they traverse in their daily lives (127). It is also stated that neither children nor adults experience race as an abstract concept but rather in concrete form through social exchanges. This approach to how race is transmitted solidifies the assertion that race is understood and processed by children.
In chapter Four the authors examines to what extent children use racial concepts to define other people. Somewhat mirroring the sophisticated examples of how children comprehend the dynamic of race. The authors go on to say that race and skin color play lead roles in how children identify others. The various incidents in this chapter force the authors to determine outright that young children can and do make extensive use of racial and ethnic concepts and understandings (153). This chapter focuses on how children have a basic understanding of the significance of race, and how children develop associations based on physical composition.
In Chapter Five the point is driven in that adults view children as unable to synthesize racial distinctions. Throughout the study we notice overwhelmingly that parents, teachers and volunteers underestimate the scope of the children's understanding of the role of race. To examine how children process race the authors make elaborate points of how adults recognize or fail to recognize the extent of children' racial-ethnic knowledge. This can be problematic to minority children because the racial comments can tear at their esteem while majority children go without reprimand, under the guise of being considered naïve. This lack of assigning blame to children who offend other children with race also leads to the children espousing the social appropriateness of this clearly out of line behavior. This is the cycle that stagnates race relations in later years; clearly neglecting to challenge these behaviors at an early age creates the existing social order.
What and how children learn about race and ethnic matters is examined in chapter six. Children learn from what they are exposed to along with the directives from those who are their caretakers or provide for them. Society influences children's learning, as children adjust and readjust volleying for social position.According to the authors "all Americans both majority and minority are influenced in thought and action by the larger racialized context in which they live"(177). Another very important piece of information is this quote "From an early age children are immersed in a pervasive and informal system of racism the, during various exchanges with others they acquire the techniques of dealing with other members of other racial and ethnic groups"(178). This quote positions children as coinsures of race and shows the level of experience children have with dealing with race. Young children learn to manage and understand their social exchanges through various means, but it is understood that they do so by deciphering complex social clues.
In chapter seven the authors move on to ponder potential anecdotes. Initially the authors challenge the idea that racism is impossible for young children, then the authors move on to note that racism is not a fading societal reality (197). Destroying these two barriers permit racism to be dealt with in an intelligent manner and work to reverse the effects and residue of racism. They continue to illustrate how racism affects most areas of life and that racism is a definite social reality. The authors go on the say "Children are not immune to racism nor unaware of its power"(198). So we must be honest with children and acknowledge that race exist, follow up with sincere dialogue to process racism. Many parents believe children develop racial attitudes similar to those held by their parents. Some believe children learn racially tolerant behaviors by observing their parents' positive interactions with people of color and, conversely, learn intolera

BEFORE THE HURTFUL CONFRONTATION!
Young children are capable of learning facts if you break them down to their level,authors Van Ausdale and Feagin write, and the soonerthis open and honest dialogue occurs,the better little children can develop a strong sense of fairness.Age 3 is not too young to introduce basics- things children visualize and can touch like skin color, eye shape and hair texture.Waiting for middle school is too late, so the burden of teaching differences in a positive way falls to parents.The authors emphasize if diversity, tolerance and fighting bigotry are taught at home with parents imparting their values there will be no room for misunderstanding when children begin to interact with others. Much of the data presented comes from studies made at several multiethic child-care centers where children had little interaction with people of other ethnic groups, and probably had not been taught about race.Their revealed misconceptions and attitudes were often disconcerting. This book offers a comprehensive look at America today, the issue of race, and how to help our children better understand and cope with the reality of racism before the "hurtful confrontation".Interested readers, not only parents and teachers, will learn a lot from this book.It is a step in a positive direction. ... Read more

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Racial discrimination is cruel—and especially so to younger children. This title encourages kids to accept and be comfortable with differences of skin color and other racial characteristics among their friends and in themselves. A First Look At… is an easy-to-understand series of books for younger children. Each title explores emotional issues and discusses the questions such difficulties invariably raise among kids of preschool through early school age. Written by a psychotherapist and child counselor, each title promotes positive interaction among children, parents, and teachers. The books are written in simple, direct language that makes sense to younger kids. Each title also features a guide for parents on how to use the book, a glossary, suggested additional reading, and a list of resources. There are attractive full-color illustrations on every page. (Ages 4–7) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

The Skin I'm In
I like the fact that this book gives an example of how to address a hiden racist behavior while at the same time teaching how to seek for advice and help. My 4 year old loves this book.

Excellent
This book is an excellent addition to achild's library. I have a different perspective fromthe previous reviewers, in that I think it is correct to say that althoughall people can express prejudice -"racism" is an oppressive act committed within a dominant culture and creates real barriersour institutions as well as our personal lives - and has a very different effect on peoples lives than hurtful personal expressions of prejudice from members ofminority communities. Althoughprejudice and racial teasing and bullying are certainly hurtful and destructive - I think the book, and itsdirect questions to the readers, and itsillustrations do an excellent job describing such complicated subjects to young children.

There are illustrations of kids of color looking at magazines of blond-haired, blue eyed princesses, there are images which show an Islamic man uncomfortable with his grandson playing with children of Euro-american children, there are illustrations which depict subtler forms of racism other than explicit racist bullying (a man giving more ice cream to a child of the same race)

I am a clinical social worker who works with adoptees, and a white adoptive mother to Korean American children, and my kids found this book extremely helpful through pre K and kindergarten, when awareness of difference and race begins to be experienced on the playgrounds. They often asked to read it, and both asked for help from a grown up right away when they were teased about their race in pre-school.Our family has been very grateful for this book and I highly recommend it.

Feel Ok About the Book
While I happen to work with Black students (only 1 white student) I know that Black children go through racism on a daily basis, more than any other racial group. However, even my 8yr. old Black students are aware and have said aloud there ARE Black, Latino, etc. racists. I was disappointed again to see a book where only white males are the racists, not a Latino man or a Black female. It was nice the text said any1 can be racist, but the illustrations did not support this.

Great Book
It shows we are all different but yet all alike and can get along.

What I Expected and What I Got Were Two Different Things
The artwork is really nice.However, for a book about racism I expected to see someone other than a white male showing prejudice.I, personally, have had to work with very prejudiced non-white people.I know the prejudice is real.

There is one complete white family checking out a man with a spiked hairstyle and his family.Of course, they are lookingat this family with disdain.

The one and only example of relgious predjudice is someone from the middle east ... Read more

Product Description
In The Everyday Language of White Racism, Jane H. Hill provides an incisive analysis of everyday language to reveal the underlying racist stereotypes that continue to circulate in American culture.

• provides a detailed background on the theory of race and racism
• reveals how racializing discourse—talk and text that produces and reproduces ideas about races and assigns people to them—facilitates a victim-blaming logic
• integrates a broad and interdisciplinary range of literature from sociology, social psychology, justice studies, critical legal studies, philosophy, literature, and other disciplines that have studied racism, as well as material from anthropology and sociolinguistics

Customer Reviews (2)

Clear and insightful
Jane Hill's book is amazingly clear and approachable.Though the message is simple, it was still an eye-opener-- that racism is not what we commonly think it is.The systematic breakdown of how language use embeds racism is very interesting.I highly recommend this book for anyone in sociology, culture studies, linguistics, or related fields.

Good book with Good points!
Jane Hill makes several good points about how racism is related to white culture and how all cultures reiterate discrimination towards opposing races and identities.This book will sure make you think twice about what you say unconsciously and how you act towards others. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Fascinating Read
This is an exceptionally stimulating book.The level of erudition on display -- the sheer range and volume of material that Isaac has subjected to analysis -- is staggering.Though there is some repetition, Isaac's style is clear and his conclusions are forcefully argued.He helpfully prints most of the ancient sources in the original, so that those with even a smattering of Latin and Greek can see how he is reading his evidence.

Three features made the book a success.The first is isaac's effort to articulate a definition of racism to apply to the ancient world.While one may quibble with his definition, it is consistently thought-provoking; for me, this alone was worth the price of admission.The second is Isaac's tracing of "proto-racist" thought developed in antiquity as it was picked up by early modern and enlightenment thinkers.Indeed, one wonders if there is another book to be written spelling out the transmission of these ideas to the modern era.The third is Isaac's treatment of the interplay between proto-racism and ancient imperialism.He provides a fascinating new perspective on imperialism that can usefully be considered alongside such recent (and very different) contributions as Susan Mattern's "Rome and the Enemy" (Berkeley, 1999).

Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Nearly fifty years after his death, Albert Einstein remains one of America’s foremost cultural icons. A thicket of materials, ranging from scholarly to popular, have been written, compiled, produced, and published about his life and his teachings. Among the ocean of Einsteinia—scientific monographs, biographies, anthologies, bibliographies, calendars, postcards, posters, and Hollywood films—however, there is a peculiar void when it comes to the connection that the brilliant scientist had with the African American community. Virtually nowhere is there any mention of his relationship with Paul Robeson, despite Einstein’s close friendship with him, or W.E.B. Du Bois, despite Einstein’s support for him.

This unique book is the first to bring together a wealth of writings by Einstein on the topic of race. Although his activism in this area is less well known than his efforts on behalf of international peace and scientific cooperation, he spoke out vigorously against racism both in the United States and around the world.

Combining the scientist’s letters, speeches, and articles with an engaging narrative that places his public statements in the context of his life and times, this important collection not only brings attention to Einstein’s antiracist public activities, but also provides insight into antiracist struggles in America. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Einstien on Race and Racism
A friend of mine told me about the book.I was very pleased to find someone had asked one the most brilliant minds his views on race.I am impressed and very grateful for the observations of Mr. Einstein.I hope others will read and learn how riduculous the idea of racial superiority or inferiority has affected millions of people.

Einstein's shines the light on racism in 1930's America
Members of Turning Pages Book Club found,"Einstein On Race and Racism"to be written withhistorical facts that truly show the compassion and contstant activism, of the genius we know as " Albert Einstein". This is a part of American history regarding the African American community and "Einsteins" involvement and friendships,that has somehow been deleted, lost or left out of history, until this book; which should be required reading of all school age children age 12-adulthood.
The setting for this book is while "Einstein" was living and teaching at the prestigious "Princeton University" and the surrounding township which during this era was very,very racist;however, this book shows an entirely different light on the way American has portrayed "Einstein" and how he viewed "racism".This book has shown us a positive part of history from an era that was very negative and demoralizing for African Americans.
Einstein On Race and Racism, details his close friendships with everyday,African American people on his journeys through the Princeton neighborhood along with controversial African Americans such as, Paul Roberson and W.E.B.Du Bois who constantly fought against the racial injustices during their era.
Albert Einstein is well know for his humanitarian efforts, through his speeches,lectures to the world; now it will be known through this excellently researched book, that "Einstein" also constantly fought against racism throughout the world!

Einstein's Sense of Justice
This volume is a tremendous piece of writing on a subject little known to the general public.It's an important contribution that adds to Einstein's genious, his humanity, his sense of justice for all people living in the narrow straits of prejudice.

It's authors have done a permanent service for both Paul Robeson and Einstein, Princton's African American community and the history of a period probably hidden from view on purpose.

Einstein on Race and Racisn by Jeerome and Taylor should be required reading for high school, college and the general public.It's just that important.

Common Ground...Einstein on Race & Racism
This book is a timely, fascinating and important read about thecommon ground between Albert Einstein and members of the African American community of Princeton, NJ in the 40's. This book should be a requirement in every public library and recommended reading in many college & high school history curriculums. The example of fearlessness of Einstein, Robeson, DuBois and others in their activism against racism in America and abroad is one that needs to be emulated in today's society... if change is to come. The authors, Jerome and Taylor have produced and excellent literary work.

Einstiein on Race and Racism
This book presents a revealing, fascinating and compelling side of Albert Einstein relative to the Black community.The story is totally unknown and undocumented anywhere else.It provides an example ofhow racism is treated in our society.Denial of the existenceof racism and overlooking the impact of the problem will never leadto a appropriateway to address,and certainly not solvethe reprecussions suffered because of racism.It is an impotant work that should awaken a sleeping society. ... Read more

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From subtle discrimination in everyday life, to horrors like lynching in the Old South, cultural imperialism, and "ethnic cleansing", racism exists in many different forms, in almost every facet of society. Despite civil rights movements and other attempts at progress, racial prejudices and stereotypes remain deeply embedded in Western culture. Racism takes a frank and objective look at why these notions exist. It explores how racism has come to be so firmly established, and looks at how race, ethnicity, and xenophobia are related. This book incorporates the latest research to demystify the subject of racism and explore its history, science, and culture. It sheds light not only on how racism has evolved since its earliest beginnings, but also explores the numerous embodiments of racism, highlighting the paradox of its survival, despite the scientific discrediting of the notion of 'race' with the latest advances in genetics. As encompassing as it is concise, Racism is a valuable guide to one of the world's most destructive problems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great Read
I'm a huge racist and I feel like this book covers my mindset and the systems of control that I use pretty well. Awesome read, especially because there is nothing anyone can do to stop me! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Great introduction
I thought that, as far as a highly sensitive topic goes, this was the best possible way to address it in an intelligent and sensitive way.The book is up to date on recent scientific developments and maintains, rightly, that race can never be seriously treated as anything but a social construct.That being said, the author does not dismiss the power and relevance of the social category of race, and talks about the complex ways in which racism(s) play a role in our everyday lives.One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the way the author suggests that labeling someone a "racist" can in some ways be as essentializing and unfair as racism in practice is.The Rattansi does not say this in order to dismiss the power or brutality of many forms of overt and covert racial hatreds; on the contrary, he suggests that racism is far too complex a historical and cultural phenomenon to be dismissed as one person's individual pathology.A very good introduction and a good brief historiography.I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone. ... Read more

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Systematically illustrates the inescapable racism of American conservatism. ... Read more

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White Logic, White Methods shows the ways that a reigning white ideological methodology has poisoned almost all aspects of social science research. The only way to remedy these prevailing inequalities is for the complete overhaul of current methods, and a movement towards multicultural and pluralist approaches to what we know, think, and question.With an assemblage of leading scholars, this collection explores the possibilities and necessary dethroning of current social research practices. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Racism Then.... and Now?
This book is a facsinating view of how racism, policy, and science converged into state practice in the Third Reich. The depth of research is overwhelming;yet, inspiring. Some of the practices remain in our own society today. Practices which act to seperate and identify us as different from each other. The book echos to many issues we currently face.

A powerful indictment of Third Reich "science"
This book is a combination of carefully researched historical analysis, biographical vignettes, and personal memoir written by medical anthropologist Gretchen Schafft.It documents work done by German anthropologists employed by foundations, academic institutions and the German government from the 1930s until the end of World War II.These anthropologists apparently embraced Nazi ideology so thoroughly that they left behind their scientific methods and ethics to become co-opted into the processes undertaken by the Nazi party, the SS and other government officials to eliminate political opponents, people of color, homosexuals, Roma, Polish, and Jews from German and German-occupied territory.Their ability to deceive themselves into believing that their work in categorizing people destined for death camps was scientifically valuable is astonishing.The fact that they were never punished for their complicity in the Final Solution is extremely sad.

Dr. Schafft has done an extremely thorough job of reviewing holocaust literature and newly available archival materials from both the Smithsonian Institution and sources in Europe to bring the reader extensive understanding of this co-option.She places the activities of the Third Reich's anthropologists in the context of other well known events from the rise of Nazism and the war.This convincing saga has, as Schafft says "no smoking gun" pointing to the crimes (including euthanasia, trafficking in body parts, and unethical torture filled medical experimentation) that these anthropologists very probably were complicit in.

I bought this book because I am interested in the moral lessons of the holocaust.As an applied anthropologist myself, this disturbing and detailed story awakened in me a desire to deeply evaluate my own work as an applied anthropologist.The book is well written, although some of the translated German memos have a stuffy bureaucratic sound--attesting to their authenticity, no doubt.I recommend this book to general readers as well as professional specialists in history, anthropology, and the history of science.It will change how you think about the German public's awareness of the evils perpetrated by Hitler's regime.

by Charlotte Miller, Ph.D.
... Read more

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"Feagin and Sikes . . . effectively drive home the point that 'mere' slights, racist jokes, common stereotyping-the myriad minor acts of prejudice and discrimination to which blacks are subjected even when separated by days or weeks-can gradually leave a sediment of bitterness and despair in the souls of black folk that makes normal interaction with whites very difficult."-The Texas Observer ... Read more