Customer Reviews

Being White: Finding Our Place in a Multiethnic World

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I picked up this book at a recent evangelical conference as a gift for a friend, but started reading and couldn't stop until I'd finished! This is a great book to introduce issues of race in America to white evangelicals.

As a conservative white from Middle America, I've often felt hurt by racial issues and by the sharply negative critiques of white people that are put forth by racial activists.

Harris and Schaupp's book is a gentle yet prodding exploration of what it means to be white, how to really engage with minority issues, how to follow Jesus in regards to racial issues, how to develop a positive white identity, and ways to work towards reconciliation and respectful understanding of people of color.

They ground their discussion in the experience of 'displacement,' which means not only having a few friends of color, but actually committing to live in a work, school, or church setting in which you as a white person are the minority. This allows a window into the challenges that minorities face everday.

I wish that they had gone further in trying to develop a positive white identity, because some of the 'cultural' characteristics that they list for white people seem trite and not necessarily as life-filled as one might hope. Overall, though, a good book for white Christians trying to sort out the complicated and painful issues of race in our country.

Harris and Schaupp speak pointed words to Whites, but they are the "wounds of a friend" that can be trusted (Prov 27:6)-they speak to Whites loyally encouraging them forward in their efforts to build bridges of understanding and personal relationship with people of color. They present a model of cross-ethnic friendship and multi-ethnic community that is winsome and not condescending, and they hold out needed hope for these things. Their insights are not borne simply out of sociological principles or "PC" fad, but out of thoughtfully examined scripture and their own varied lived experience.
I did not find myself agreeing with everything they said, but I was challenged and affirmed by their conclusions and invitation for Whites to go deeper in this journey that, unfortunately, seems only optional to many. The reality is that for people of color multi-ethnic understanding is non-optional, which is why a book specifically for Whites is needed in the first place, as the authors acknowledge early on. While I am sure this book was not meant to be the final word on the topic, I believe it is an important contribution to the conversation-one well worth reading for Whites who would like more insights for the journey, and hope to keep them at it.

An interesting perspective on white privilege and striving to connect with people of other cultures and ethnicities. I found it personally valuable and thought-provoking.

Paula Harris and Doug Schaupp are onto something big. Their personal experiences in cross-ethnic relationships have led them to discover a major paradigm for how God shapes people to understand and experience others who differ from themselves racially and culturally. They have identified five stages involved in the important process of learning to adjust to others in our multiethnic world. Their concept of displacement and how it works is worth the price of the book. I am going to highly recommend this book to all my fellow professors who are teaching any kind of course dealing with crosscultural relationships. This book is a winner. God has shaped me personally as I interacted with it."
J. Robert Clinton, Professor of Leadership, School of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary

As a white woman, I really apreciated this book. It is a great way for white people to dive into the arena of racial reconciliation.

I also loved that it is written by a man and a woman, that doesn't happen very often.

"Being White provides testimony that is as challenging as it is inspiring. Unlike the cover illustration that shows a white jigsaw piece at a safe distance from the other interlocking colored pieces, Paula Harris and Douglas Schaupp have placed themselves right in the picture. They each have experience of a crosscultural marriage, and they write from their involvement with people of many ethnicities with candor, humility and discernment. They are prepared to make themselves vulnerable in telling the stories of their struggles and of the rewards of seeing understanding grow, barriers tumble and trust building to the point that relationships are mutually enriching. They challenge their readers to share their experience."
Eddie Gibbs, Professor of Church Growth, School of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary

We desperately need this book. Paula and Doug have done the improbable: they've issued a call to whites that is not only comprehensive and specific and scriptural, it is utterly full of both grace and truth. I am grateful for this book both as a missionary who will use it often on college campuses and as a white man wanting to find my place in this wonderfully multiethnic world.

"Paula's and Doug's personal stories and practical illustrations challenge us without overwhelming us with unachievable ideals. They advocate humility but never leave us feeling that we have nothing to offer. They exhort us to be responsible in racial healing without burying us in paralyzing guilt.
The authors have presented us white folks with a wonderful resource to help us discover where we 'fit' and how we can grow in the changing ethnic context of our lives."
*Paul Borthwick, Senior Consultant, Development Associates International*

Harris & Schaupp provide a decent introduction to race relations and multiculturalism in Being White.

The book is extremely boring.

It's just about the younger life experiences of the authors coupled with texts from the Bible.

1.) Why did they have to relate the experiences to Bible texts so many times for?
2.) Like I said before, it's about the experiences of the authors when they were younger and hence those years are not relevant to our years now.

Bad, bad book.