This extraordinary book by Derald Wing Sue, a highly-regarded academic and author, helps readers understand and combat racism in themselves. It defines racism not only as extreme acts of hatred, but as "any attitude, action or institutional structure or social policy that subordinates a person or group because of their color." This landmark work offers an antidote to this pervasive social problem.
Shows how each of us has a role in the oppression of others, and what we can do about it
Offers a way to overcome racism on a very intimate level
Outlines specific guidelines and suggested activities
This uncompromising anti-racist manifesto written for a white audience is concerned less with Klansmen and skinheads than with the white woman clutching her purse when minority teenagers draw near; the white man flinching at getting in an elevator full of black men; even the well-meaning but patronizing liberal teacher in a ghetto school. Sue, a Chinese-American psychologist, argues that the countless daily slights inflicted by such "unconscious and unintentional racists," do more harm to minorities than the occasional hate-crime. He reveals the subtle but pervasive bias against minorities in the economy, the media, school system, even the subconscious mind (whites have involuntary negative reactions when flashed subliminal images of black faces), and shows how the "invisible whiteness of being" allows whites to remain oblivious to the privileges they enjoy. The book demands that whites "accept responsibility for their whiteness," and includes suggested readings, videotapes, and exercises to help whites unearth and deal with their biases and learn to mingle with minorities. It includes a seven-phase program for reconstructing a non-racist white identity, culminating in a conversion experience, complete with emotional catharsis and adoption of a "second family" of minorities and other "liberated whites." Whites may bridle at Sue's accusatory tone and find the recovery-movement tone of his remedy off-putting. But many will feel a painful shock of recognition at his subtle but unsparing analysis of everyday racism, and find this provocative book a compelling challenge to their complacency. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Inside Flap
If you are white and live in America, the odds are— no matter what your economic status or educational background— you are a racist! However painful and embarrassing to admit, we all have innate, long-standing, and instinctive attitudes, stereotypes, and prejudices toward other ethnic and racial groups.
Overcoming Our Racism is an extraordinary book that helps you— no matter what your race or ethnic origin— make an honest appraisal of yourself and your biases and prejudices and guides you on your journey to becoming a person who truly values inclusion, respect, fairness, and the upholding of social justice. Written by Derald Wing Sue— a pioneer and highly regarded leader in the field of multicultural psychology, counseling, and therapy— this much-needed book shows how each of us has had a role in the oppression of others and outlines the steps we need to take to overcome our racism.
Using this book as a guide, you can clearly see your own racism and overcome your prejudices on a very personal level. You can learn to take responsibility for your most intimate attitudes and understand where they came from. Once reaching this point, you can go on to discover the various cultures in the United States by reading and by associating with strong and healthy individuals of color. Then you can experience the reality of their lives, personalize your understanding with guides and advisers, and eventually transform yourself to become an ally, activist, teacher, and student, working toward mutually shared goals in equal-status relationships.
This exceptional and challenging book will inspire you to take this rewarding journey and become less afraid and intimidated by differences, learn to communicate more openly with family, friends, and coworkers, increase your appreciation of people of all colors and cultures in our pluralistic society, and feel a sense of unity and interconnectedness with all humanity.
Derald Wing Sue is Professor of Psychology and Education in the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology at Teachers College and the School of Social Work, Columbia University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon, and has served as a training faculty member with the Institute for Management Studies and the Columbia University Executive Training Programs. He was the Co-Founder and first President of the Asian American Psychological Association, past presidents of the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues (Division 45) and the Society of Counseling Psychology (Division 17). Dr. Sue is a member of the American Counseling Association, and a Fellows of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Sue has served as Editor of the Personnel and Guidance Journal (now the Journal for Counseling and Development), is Associate Editor of the American Psychologist, Editorial Member to Asian Journal of Counselling, and has been or continues to be a consulting editor for numerous journals and publications.
Derald Wing Sue can truly be described as a pioneer in the field of multicultural psychology, multicultural education, multicultural counseling and therapy, and the psychology of racism/antiracism. He has done extensive multicultural research and writing in psychology and education long before the academic community perceived it favorably, and his theories and concepts have paved the way for a generation of younger scholars interested in issues of minority mental health and multicultural psychology. He is author of over 150 publications, 15 books, and numerous media productions. In all of these endeavors, his commitment to multiculturalism has been obvious and his contributions have forced the field to seriously question the monocultural knowledge base of its theories and practices. As evidence of his professional impact, Dr. Sue's book, COUNSELING THE CULTURALLY DIVERSE: THEORY AND PRACTICE, 2008, 5th Edition (with David Sue - John Wiley & Sons Publishers), has been identified as the most frequently cited publication in the multicultural field; since its first edition, it has been considered a classic and used by nearly 50% of the graduate counseling psychology market.
Because of a personal life-changing experience with racism directed toward his family, Dr. Sue's research direction has progressively turned to the psychology of racism and antiracism. When he was invited to address President Clinton's Race Advisory Board on the National Dialogue on Race and to participate in a Congressional Briefing on the "Psychology of Racism and the Myth of the Color-Blind Society", Dr. Sue realized that the invisibility of "whiteness" and ethnocentric monoculturalism were harmful not only to People of Color, but Whites as well. These experiences and activities have resulted in his critically acclaimed book OVERCOMING OUR RACISM: THE JOURNEY TO LIBERATION, 2003 (Jossey Bass Publishers). Written primarily for the general public, it directly confronted White Americans with their White privilege, inherent biases and their unintentional oppression of Persons of Color. As expected, the book aroused intense feelings and generated difficult dialogues on race.
These reactions led Dr. Sue and his research team at Teachers College to undertake a 10-year study on the causes, manifestations and impact of racial microaggressions. Their groundbreaking work resulted in a taxonomy of racial microaggressions that empowers People of Color by making "the invisible, visible," by validating their experiential realities, and by providing them with a language to describe their experiences. Dr. Sue is currently broadening research on microaggressions to include religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation and other marginalized groups. Contrary to the belief of most White Americans that microaggressions create minimal harm, his studies suggest that these daily assaults and insults are responsible for creating inequities in education, employment and health care and for producing emotional distress in People of Color. His most recent book, MICROAGGRESSIONS IN EVERYDAY LIFE: RACE, GENDER AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION (John Wiley and Sons Publishers) has already generated much excitement and research. It was awarded the 2010 National Diversity and Global Inclusion Book Prize Award by UnityFirst.Com. His forthcoming book MICROAGGRESSIONS AND MARGINALITY (John Wiley & Sons) extends the concept of microaggressions to many socially devalued groups in our society (race, gender, sexual orientation, class, disability, religion, etc.).
Dr. Sue's services have been widely sought by many groups and organizations. He has also done extensive cultural diversity training for many Fortune 400 companies, institutions of higher education, business, industry, government, public schools, and mental health organizations. In that capacity, Dr. Sue has worked with mental health practitioners, university faculty, teachers, students, community leaders, senior executives, and middle-level managers. His work is recognized not only on a national level, but on an international one as well. Dr. Sue has presented and traveled in Asia (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Macau, the Philippines, and Singapore), New Zealand and Europe. He is frequently sought as a spokesperson on issues of racism, multiculturalism, and diversity by the press and other media outlets. Dr. Sue has been interviewed on many radio programs, television specials, and is frequently quoted in the press.
As recognition of his outstanding contributions, Dr. Sue has been the recipient of numerous awards from professional organizations, educational institutions, and community groups. He has been honored by the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development with the Professional Development Award and the Research Award; by the Asian American Psychological Association with the Leadership Award, Distinguished Contributions Award and President's Award; by the Third World Counselors Association with the Leadership and Distinguished Contributions to Cross Cultural Theory Award; by The Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues with the Mentoring and Leadership Award; by Center for the Study of Teaching and Learning Diversity with the Diversity in Teaching and Learning Lifetime Achievement Award; by the California Psychological Association with the Distinguished Scientific Achievement to Psychology Award; by the American Counseling Association with the Professional Development Award; by the Society of Counseling Psychology, Sage Publications and The Counseling Psychologist for the Outstanding Publication of 2001; by California State University, Hayward, Alliant University and Teachers College, Columbia University for Outstanding Faculty or Teaching Awards; by the American Psychological Association with the Career Contributions to Education and Training Award and a Presidential Citation for Outstanding Service; by the National Multicultural Conference and Summit with the Dalmas A. Taylor Award; by the University of Oregon with the Outstanding Alumnus Award, by the American Psychological Foundations with the Rosalee G. Weiss Outstanding Psychologist Award, by the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues with Lifetime Achievement Award and by the Los Angeles County Psychological Association for the Distinguished Service to the Profession of Psychology Award. As evidence of Dr. Sue's stature in the field, a national study of multicultural publications and scholars concluded that "Impressively, Derald Wing Sue is without doubt the most influential multicultural scholar in the United States".
This review is from: Overcoming Our Racism: The Journey to Liberation (Hardcover)
There is no greater healing for the spirit than the healing of the divisions within ourselves. This is the huge task taken on deftly by Derald Wing Sue in Overcoming Our Racism. The book is addressed directly to white people though it is beneficial to anyone interested in improving race relations. Sue calls to task those white people who are unintentional racists, those people who have unconsciously bought into and act out racist ideas in subtle ways. He does an excellent job of outlining what white privilege is and how all white people benefit from it. In relating the pain people of color suffer, he illuminates the pain that is caused for white people when they are confronted with their whiteness. Most white people are in denial of their "whiteness" because of the unpleasant truths they would have to face. Sue shows that all of us (meaning white people too) defining ourselves as racial/cultural beings is instrumental to overcoming racism.
Throughout the book, Sue states that the (white) reader might get angry, feel guilty or experience unpleasant feelings. He encourages the reader to go through the process to the end for the rewards are great. Sue explains that while people of color have soul wounds connected to racism, white people do too. Racism keeps white people from seeing what is real. While people of color have prejudices, white people have the power to use their prejudices to oppress others. In oppressing others, they create for themselves an undeniable advantage that they keep in denial. And they deny themselves of the experience of being all that they can be by denying this right to people of color.
Instead of seeing a person of color for who he or she really is, a white person tends to rely on the false perceptions they form from the media and their environment. Most people of color are forced to interact with white people on a daily basis, while most white rarely deal with people of color on an equal-to-equal basis. While most white people do not actively engage themselves in getting to know or understand people of color, most people of color understand white people as a matter of survival.
Racism is defined in distinct and concrete terms. For people of color, institutional racism is obvious. For white people, because they benefit directly from institutional racism, they are complacent about doing anything to change it. Sue's book is divided into two parts. Part One clearly defines the problem while Part Two outlines how to overcome the problem. The keys to changing the effects of racism lie in the hands of white people. It will take a great amount of inner work on the part of white people for there to be real change. Overcoming Our Racism is a handbook for doing this work.
Derald Wing Sue is an Asian American professor. He moves the focus of racism from being black/white to being a truly multicultural discussion. The subtitle of this book says it all: Overcoming Our Racism: The Journey to Liberation
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This review is from: Overcoming Our Racism: The Journey to Liberation (Hardcover)
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.
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This review is from: Overcoming Our Racism: The Journey to Liberation (Hardcover)
One of the problems that this book addresses is the fact that quite a lot of white people have a hard time comprehending others' attachment to a strong racial and/or ethnic identity. Since so few use whiteness as a source of identity (and those that do are usually loathsome!), white folks like myself are inclined to see something suspicious in celebration of, say, black culture or Latino community. This is compounded by decades of violent history and harsh rhetoric, a culture that encourages contemptible treatment of immigrants, and (let's face it) quite a lot of smoldering class conflict. I'd go on more about these things, but the book does a better job of it than I could.
Unfortunately, Dr. Sue's analysis of the problem and the solution falls prey to a similar myopia, but in another direction. The book is unwilling to take seriously the possibility that some people may truly not want a strongly asserted racial identity. Instead, it zeroes in on theories and anecdotes suggesting that (usually but not exclusively white) desires for a post-racial identity are dangerously self-deceptive at best and a cynical cover for sinister motives at worst. Sue asserts that white people really do have a complex set of cultural ideas associated with whiteness that they rarely question or consciously think about. While I can't really argue with that (and some of the examples the book cites as evidence hit hard), Sue's reasoning becomes dubious when he argues that the inevitable outcome of honestly confronting and questioning those assumptions is the creation of a (non-racist, but...) strongly asserted white identity. Just as many white people can't understand why others would want to overtly embrace black, Latino, etc. identity, this book can't understand how anyone could consciously question the subconscious beliefs of their society and afterwards still be uninterested in an overtly asserted racial self-identification. Reasons for avoiding such white self-identification are caricatured when they are mentioned at all, and the possibility that some may avoid them for their role in getting us all into this mess is not given consideration.
While many of the problems addressed in this book are real and serious, the solution that it advocates lies too close to the problem.
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