Customer Reviews

Understanding and Dismantling Racism: The Twenty-First Century Challenge to White America (Facets)

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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.

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/

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).

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

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.