Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo.  Racism without racists: color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in the United States.  Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.  213p bibl index afp ISBN 0-7425-1632-6, $68.00.  Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2004jan CHOICE.
41-3121  E184  2002-15538 CIP 
 
Bonilla-Silva’s book is long overdue. Many North Americans claim to be colorblind, and because of their self-proclaimed color-blind status, they view themselves as nonracists. This view of a color-blind society has led to the dangerous belief that widespread racism no longer exists, and because racism no longer exists, preferential treatment and productive discussions about race are not needed. Bonilla-Silva (Texas A&M Univ.) does an excellent job shattering the above-mentioned notions. He examines the ideologies of color blindness and new or modern racism, demonstrating how these ideologies help whites justify contemporary racial inequality and allow them to contradict themselves. Further, answers to the questions “Are All Whites Refined Archie Bunkers? and “Are Blacks Color Blind, Too?” are given. The author’s use of survey data adds rich examples to his scholarship. This excellent book–suggested for more than just social scientists–is one of the few that provides ammunition for those who are seriously interested in breaking away from nonproductive discussions of race and ethnic relations. This is a must read for all. Summing Up: Essential. All libraries. — A. A. Hodge, Buffalo State College 

Browne-Marshall, Gloria J.  Race, law, and American society: 1607 to present.  Routledge, 2007.  377p bibl index afp ISBN 0-415-95293-X, $100.00; ISBN 0415952948 pbk, $36.95; ISBN 9780415952934, $100.00; ISBN 9780415952941 pbk, $36.95. Reviewed in 2008feb CHOICE.
45-3371  KF4755  2006-23277 CIP

Attorney and professor Browne-Marshall (John Jay College of Criminal Justice) has compiled an impressive array of historical and legal materials detailing the persistent legally sanctioned terrorism perpetrated by the majority culture against African Americans. In eight thematic chapters, the author chronicles the well-known denial of equal protection of the law in educational opportunity and voting rights and the less well-publicized areas of race and US foreign policy. Relying largely on court decisions, legal records, and law codes, Browne-Marshall recounts numerous instances, including 21st-century decisions by the US Supreme Court, that perpetuate the subordination of African Americans through the criminal justice system and diversity programs that permit affirmative action only when it benefits white students. Given the contemporary focus on external terrorism and a reemerging legal formalism in dealing with the intersection of race, law, and social class, this book, useful to scholars and schoolteachers, is a welcome reminder of the centrality of racism to US history, especially as it impacts discussions of policy. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. — E. R. Crowther, Adams State College 

Darder, Antonia.  After race: racism after multiculturalism, by Antonia Darder and Rodolfo D. Torres.  New York University, 2004.  187p bibl index afp ISBN 0-8147-8268-X, $55.00; ISBN 0814782698 pbk, $19.00. Reviewed in 2005apr CHOICE.
42-4944  HT1521  2004-5810 CIP
 
This book joins a growing body of work that challenges essentialist ideas about race while also rejecting the colorblind and end-of-racism theses of conservative commentators. It shares an intellectual lineage similar to the recent work of Omi and Winant, Gilroy, and Goldberg, among others, though the single most influential precursor is Robert Miles. Like Miles, the authors offer an explicitly Marxist account of racism and racialized inequalities by emphasizing class over race. After a cogent and evenhanded positioning of their own theoretical contribution, Darder (educational policy and Latino studies, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Torres (Chicano-Latino studies, Univ. of California, Irvine) move on to chapters wherein they apply their “after race” perspective to discrete topics. These include discussions of the ethnic identities of new immigrants in metropolitan settings, the significance of language rights in the “empire of capital,” the politics of educational testing, a critique of critical race theorists for failing to adequately account for the role of capitalism, and an analysis of Latino studies. Taken as a whole, the authors have done an excellent job of articulating the implications of what it means to bring class back into critical race theory. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries. — P. Kivisto, Augustana College (IL) 

Encyclopedia of race and racism, ed. by John Hartwell Moore.  Gale, part of Cengage Learning, 2008.  3v index afp; ISBN 9780028660202, $345.00. Reviewed in 2008jun CHOICE.
45-5340  E184  2007-24359 CIP 
 
In an age when students often consult Wikipedia (CH, Mar’06, 43-3736) to find basic information, a resource like this encyclopedia may appear unnecessary. However, it offers focused, concise articles written and edited by authorities on race, ethnicity, sociology, and other social sciences, making it a much more authoritative and relevant starting point. This three-volume set contains almost 400 articles, with an emphasis on biographies and historical events ranging from the abolition movement to the zoot suit riots. The alphabetically arranged articles include cross-references and a bibliography. A thematic outline located at the beginning of the set also may help students identify related topics. Teachers and professors may find the annotated filmography at the end of the third volume useful in their classes. Additionally the set includes excerpts from monumental court cases and laws that should be helpful to students and professors seeking to ascertain the major points on a particular topic rather than reading these often-lengthy documents in their entirety. The full text of influential civil rights speeches and other relevant documents is included. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates. — T. S. Ching, Seattle University 

Feagin, Joe.  White men on race: power, privilege, and the shaping of cultural consciousness, by Joe Feagin and Eileen O’Brien.  Beacon Press, 2003.  275p afp ISBN 0-8070-0980-6, $26.00.  Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2004feb CHOICE.
41-3748  E184  2003-11632 CIP 
 
Sociologists Feagin (Univ. of Florida) and O’Brien (SUNY Brockport) provide a fascinating, complex, and brutally honest look at how a segment of society has the ability to affect, both positively and negatively, policy and treatment of people involving race. Specifically examined are the views of influential white men from the upper- and upper-middle classes, all of whom have varying degrees of power at local, state, and national levels. The authors relay views on the impact of whiteness, interracial dating and marriage, “othering,” and discrimination. Particularly outstanding is the chapter on affirmative action. While this book is, by far, one of the best this reviewer has read, two points should be examined. First, more attention could be paid to intersections of race–for example, with gender and sexual orientation–and how these impact the group of white men being examined. Second, a comparative study of white women in similar positions would be interesting to see if the responses mirror those of the white men. This book is highly recommended and should be widely read. Compares favorably to Race Matters, by Cornel West (1993), and The Truly Disadvantaged, by William Julius Wilson (CH, Apr’88). Summing Up: Essential. All libraries. — K. M. Jamieson, Ashland University 

Glasgow, Joshua.  A theory of race.  Routledge, 2009.  172p bibl index; ISBN 9780415990721, $115.00; ISBN 9780415990738  pbk, $34.95. Reviewed in 2009aug CHOICE.
46-6729  GN269  2008-2689 CIP
 
Glasgow (Victoria Univ. of Wellington) has written a very readable and useful book on race theory. He has created a work that allows philosophy students to analyze issues of race by looking at different philosophical concepts. Chapters are titled “The Race Debate,” “Dispatches from the Armchair: Thinning Out the Concept of Race,” “Methodology: How Should We Figure Out the Shape of Racial Discourse?” “The Contours of Racial Discourse,” “Breaking Nature’s Bones,” “Constructivism, Revisionism, and Anti-Realism,” and “Reconstructionism.” In each section he gives definitions and explanations that are helpful and insightful. This is an important book for introducing the concepts, theories, and methodologies involved in race discussions. The use of explanatory boxes in each section helps to summarize material and keep the reader focused. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and graduate students. — L. L. Lovern, Valdosta State University 

Jackson, John L. Jr.  Racial paranoia: the unintended consequences of political correctness: the new reality of race in America.  Basic Books, 2008.  274p index afp; ISBN 9780465002160, $26.00. Reviewed in 2009jan CHOICE.
46-2965  JK1726  2007-42052 CIP
 
In this provocative and insightful book, Jackson (communications/anthropology, Univ. of Pennsylvania) explores complexities of contemporary racism. In his view, de jure and de facto racism have been replaced by “de cardio” (of the heart) racism, which is harder to see and provokes “racial paranoia” (suspicions of hidden racial hostility) among African Americans. De cardio racism is concealed, covert, and harder to prove. Jackson covers broad territory, from incidents around Dave Chappelle to conspiracy theories circulating in numerous black communities. While he shows significant familiarity with social science research, his argument would be strengthened by more attention to research (some cited in his notes) that contradicts his thesis that white-imposed racism has changed dramatically and completely from the recent past. Social science data reveal that whites’ racial hostility and discrimination today have great continuity with that racist past, not a major rupture (e.g., Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Racism without Racists, CH, Jan’04, 41-3121; Leslie Houts Picca and Joe Feagin, Two-Faced Racism: Whites in the Backstage and Frontstage, 2007). No bibliography. Substantial notes and index. Summing Up: Highly recommended.  All public and undergraduate libraries. — J. R. Feagin, Texas A&M University 
 
 
Malik, Kenan.  Strange fruit: why both sides are wrong in the race debate.  Oneworld, 2008.  341p bibl index; ISBN 9781851685882, $24.95. Reviewed in 2009may CHOICE.
46-5340  HT1521   MARC
 
British social critic Malik (Univ. of Surrey) navigates between the iron-headedness of racial essentialism and the cotton-headedness of cultural essentialism. On the one side lies a small group of right-wing racists and some geneticists, and on the other lies a larger group of left-wing multiculturalists and some geneticists. The geneticists effectively cancel each other out, and Malik gives a very valuable exposition of the history and construction of race and its fundamental unnaturalness. What we are left with, he argues, is opposite political poles making similar errors, with the Left reifying cultural difference as the Right reifies racial difference. He draws on examples from the US and the UK, and on diverse research and recent history. Ultimately, he makes a plea for multilateral rationalism; but that still leaves the wildly unequal credibility of scientific claims about race in the modern world, with only minimal guidance for distinguishing among them. Nevertheless, this is certainly one of the most thoughtful recent discussions of the subject, both erudite and accessible. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. –
J. Marks, University of North Carolina at Charlotte 

Measuring racial discrimination, ed. by Rebecca M. Blank, Marilyn Dabady, and Constance F. Citro.  National Academies Press, 2004.  317p bibl index ISBN 0-309-09126-8, $44.95. Reviewed in 2005apr CHOICE.
42-4949  HT1523  2004-2885 CIP
 
The National Research Council charged a panel of notable experts and scholars to define racial discrimination, review the methodologies for measuring discrimination, and identify future directions for research. This text is the result of this collaborative effort. The panel defines the concept of race from a social science and biological perspective; a historical analysis of race and racial categories follows. Racial discrimination is operationalized and treated as a dynamic cumulative process; examples of the effects or outcomes of racial discrimination in select major institutions are provided; modern racism and racial profiling are addressed; and theories and types of discrimination are laid out. Sources of data and data collection, research methodologies, and tools are described, and the strengths, limitations, examples of past research, and recommendations of each type are covered thoroughly. The strength and best feature of this work is the use of boxed information or examples of previous research studies. This text is a great resource. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. — A. A. Hodge, Buffalo State College 

Race and ethnicity: across time, space and discipline, ed. by Rodney D. Coates.  Brill, 2004.  501p bibl index afp  (Studies in critical social sciences, 2) ISBN 9004139915, $105.00.  Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2005apr CHOICE.
42-4951  GN495  2004-48565 CIP 
 
As a pluralistic society, the US continues to grapple with race and ethnicity. However, as Coates (Miami Univ.) and his fellow authors demonstrate, these terms are not static but instead are continually being remade across time, space, and discipline. This provocative, well-researched volume includes studies of the role of ex-Confederates as police forces in the post-Civil War South; the role of the state in producing racial classifications; multiple ways of viewing black identity; and the persistence of racial antipathy in coded “race talk,” despite proclamations about the end of racism and the arrival of the color-blind society. Various authors explore themes such as feminism, nation, race, and class in both US and international contexts. Charles Gallagher offers fascinating interviews with white respondents who explain their views about affirmative action, while Judith Blau and Elizabeth Stearns describe survey results by race on the importance of honesty, integrity, and “following the rules.” Their data suggest that the recipients of historical privilege may feel exempt from having to comply with the rules. This volume also contains important insights into the crisis of the urban working class. It makes an important contribution. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All academic levels/collections. — W. Glasker, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Camden 

Smith, Mark M.  How race is made: slavery, segregation, and the senses.  North Carolina, 2006.  200p index afp ISBN 0-8078-3002-X, $29.95.  Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2007jan CHOICE.
44-2992  E185  2005-22833 CIP
 
Little work has been done on “sensory history,” or the exploration of how behavior is shaped not only by what people see, but by what they smell, hear, touch, and taste. In this pathbreaking study, Smith (Univ. of South Carolina), an experienced scholar of US slavery and racism, makes a valuable contribution to the understanding of how whites developed sensory stereotypes about blacks. He explores how southern whites did not rely on their eyes alone to confirm that black slaves were inferior; they confirmed that perception by concluding that blacks smell, sound, look, feel, even taste different from whites. This construct of sensory inferiority was sustained in the postemancipation era, strengthened by generations of segregation that drew on deep visceral understanding of racial identity. The 1954 Brown decision, which ushered in integration, brought to the surface these profound gut-level sensory perceptions. Thus, the depth of racist belief was more than a reasoned perception of what whites saw in blacks; it was a visceral confirmation of black inferiority. Smith’s well-written study is based on meticulous research, including 50 pages of notes serious students will find useful when pursuing primary and secondary sources for further study of sensory perception and racial stereotyping. Summing Up: Highly recommended. University and public libraries alike. — R. Detweiler, California Polytechnic State University–San Luis Obispo 

Wang, Lu-in.  Discrimination by default: how racism becomes routine.  New York University, 2006.  187p index afp ISBN 0-8147-9379-7, $40.00. Reviewed in 2007jan CHOICE.
44-2773  KF4755  2005-2072` CIP 
 
Wang (law, Univ. of Pittsburgh) draws extensively on social psychological studies to argue that most US racial and gender discrimination does not arise from malice and hatred, but from taken-for-granted societal “defaults.” Just as computer software comes equipped with default settings that shape the parameters of its performance, the default settings of US society transmit and reinforce entrenched racial and sexual biases. Societal inequities are embedded in numerous structural disparities, unconscious racial myths, and widespread failures of imagination. US law is an ineffective tool for redressing complex discrimination injuries because it is designed to punish intentionally inflicted harms rather than systemic injustices carried out in conformity with mainstream values and assumptions. Wang advocates institutional reforms to create a more race- and gender-neutral legal system. For example, she believes that putting jury instructions into clear language, rather than legal terminology, would help jurors resist falling into the “discriminatory default habit.” Attorneys should explicitly discuss racial issues when exposing unconscious belief structures is necessary to prevent injustice. This book is very clearly written and does a fine job of revealing hidden social, medical, and legal inequalities. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. — T. H. Koenig, Northeastern University 

Yancy, George.  Black bodies, white gazes: the continuing significance of race.  Rowman & Littlefield, 2008.  265p bibl index afp ISBN 0-7425-5297-7, $75.00; ISBN 0742552985  pbk, $29.95; ISBN 9780742552975, $75.00; ISBN 9780742552982 pbk, $29.95. Reviewed in 2009jun CHOICE.
46-5544  E185  2008-26700 CIP
 
Yancy (DuQuesne Univ.) has created an important work in the field of racial studies. His philosophical argumentation indicates a clear need to examine the significance of race. His use of personal experiences and of examples from the lives of Ossie Davis, Frantz Fanon, Malcolm X, and W. E. B. Du Bois adds a forceful dimension to the discussion. His book will allow for and support important classroom interaction. The most powerful part of the text, however, may be in chapter 7 where he addresses a student’s dismissal of black male experiences. This chapter borders on brilliant as it examines the all-too-often-unaddressed response by white students that the experiences reported by people of color are “bullshit” or exaggerated. This much-needed discussion is rarely touched on in racial studies texts. Although faculty will find the writing style delightful, it may be too advanced for lower-level students. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduate through faculty/researchers. — L. L. Lovern, Valdosta State University 

Editor’s note: Other pertinent title with review forthcoming in the October issue:
Encyclopedia of race and crime, ed. by Helen Taylor Greene and Shaun L. Gabbidon.  Sage Publications, CA, 2009.  2v bibl index afp, ISBN 9781412950855, $315.00

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