Customer Reviews

Unraveling the White Cocoon

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Unraveling The White Cocoon is ably written by a white American male who asks what white people want from persons of color - and then presents informative, cogent, challenging chapters which probe issues of racial distinction, racial ancestry, the idea of "colorblindness" in contemporary society, as well as the 'white cocoon' phenomena which exists in a wide variety of scenarios ranging from housing and education, to social organizations, recreational resources and public transportation. Many eye-opening ideas will be food for thought and discussion for school and community groups and Black Studies based curriculums and reading lists.

As President of the Association of MultiEthnic Americans, I was particularly impressed with Jeff Hitchcock's groundbreaking book "Unraveling the White Cocoon.". He talks about "White Americans as racial beings" and sheds light on their intra- and intergroup workings. Hitchcock takes pains to be respectful of all, then moves quickly into the hard discussion of White people and their innocent perpetuation of racism. He knows about this dynamic intimately as he is a White person himself. Hitchcock states that he believes White people are in fact trying to achieve a unified American society where race does not determine a person's standing. He goes on in "Unraveling the White Cocoon" to address how White people's intentions are undermined by their natural inclination to look at life through the privilege status of a White person, which without a great deal of effort, makes it impossible to compehend daily life as a person of color might experience. A multiracial society is the positive end result for America as described by Hitchcock. As long as Whites are the center of America versus being just another race in America, it will be impossible to achieve the multiracial society that Hitchcock speaks about. Power, institutionalized discrimination, monoracial thinking generally will need to be examined and corrected in order to attain the society in which race does not determine a person's standing. Overall Jeff Hitchcock's book takes one through a journey that unravels the White cocoon, thread by thread. It is required reading for all people seeking to achieve a racially just American society.

Levonne Gaddy, President Association of MultiEthnic Americans April 16, 2001

REVIEW OF UNRAVELING THE WHITE COCOON BY JEFF HITCHOCK Kathleen Korgen, Ph.D. (Author of From Black to Biracial, Praeger 1998, 1999)

"Decentering whiteness" is at the center of Unraveling the White Cocoon, a new book by Jeff Hitchcock. Unlike much recent academic literature that focuses on whiteness, Hitchcock provides a straightforward, personal, and often moving argument for the need to study whiteness as one culture among many race-based cultures in the United States. Hitchcock lays out a vision of a multiracial America in which white culture will no longer be seen as simply "normal" but one of a mosaic of racial cultures each occupying decentered positions in a society with a multiracial/multicultural center.

Unraveling the White Cocoon will be an essential tool for academic classes covering issues of culture and racial/ethnic diversity in the United States, activists, and all persons seeking to understand whiteness as one of multiple race-based cultures in American society. Hitchcock provides an excellent overview of the history of whiteness in U.S. society and the still recent birth and development of examinations of whiteness by both academics and activists. His captivating description of his own transformation from a "colorblind" young man to a leader in the field of white studies provides lively as well as informative reading for readers of all backgrounds. Rather than preach, Hitchcock shares frank and often brutally honest reflections on his own struggles with racism. In doing so, he eloquently drives home the point that an examination of white culture is, while at times painful, possible and worthwhile for all white Americans.

Although the topics might be dificult for some, I found it to be easy to read and something I could reccommend to someone "starting out". It's short and not too academic. There are a lot of good points and interesting facts which help to destroy some of the myths of being white (meaning things white people often took for granted which are not true). It was the first book I read (thanks Cessie) that empowered me as a white person that I needed to do something about racism. Before one of the myths which I held (eventhough I didn't realize it) was that racism was an African American problem and not mine.
It has been many years since I read the book and started on this journey, but I am so grateful I did. This book will not give you all the answers, but it will get you thinking. It is also alot better to read books like this than to corner an African American and ask them to speak on behalf of their race (which we white people often do in some form). I grew up in a colorblind house, which was better than some alternatives, but if you think that you should be colorblind this book will help you understand that we need to see more. If your African American, this is a great book to give a white friend. If your white- read it and pass it on!!!!

While Jeff Hitchcock's motives are laudable, his discourse lacks any semblance of a basis in current American social reality. Like most of the other "White Studies" literature, this piece too suffers from being too abstract and suspended in the unreality of not knowing from whence the real power of whiteness lies: It lies in the fact that all of the fruits of white supremacy have been "grandfathered-in." We cannot connect the dots from here: "good-feelings," "more racial tolerance," and better "cross-racial communications (including even marriage)" alone won't get us there. The span is too great.

The very ground in which the author's well meaning feet are planted to make his grand gestures of racial magnanimity is "consolidated and consecrated white supremacist ground." Not that I have anything against grand gestures. For sure they are very much to be desired, but when they fail to chop away at the real root causes of racism, sometimes they just have the unintended consequence of making matters worse.

Whites, who have had the luxury of being racially innocent, that is who have had the luxury of pretending to ignore their own profound and exquisitely sensitive "race consciousness," (or white tribalism based on a "false race consciousness,") cannot suddenly wake up; get the anti-racist religion -- as Hitchcock has done; marry a black woman and then declare that racism would be over, if only everyone would follow his example?

Would that it were so.

But the true evil of racism lies not just in "pretend white racial ignorance," but the fact that whites continue to "live off the illicit land," off the illicit fruits of racism, all the while pretending that the problem of race is just one of better communications, and being more tolerant towards darker skinned people; that is pretending that it is not a deep systemic psychological problem with white people themselves, but one of better communication, etc.

No sir: It is not true. Awareness and changing white consciousness is just Step 1, of a three-step process. Step 2 is teaching whites how to live without all of the "grandfathered-in" and otherwise built in advantages of white privileges, perks, and prerogatives. And step 3 is dismantling and eliminating all of those accumulated advantages. Without steps 2 and 3, as well meaning as Hitchcock's motives are, his formula is just more whistling pass the racist graveyard, once again.By marrying a black woman, he has just turned himself into a black, nothing more. He has just lost his white voice.

There are deeply moral and psychological issues here that white America must inevitably face up to about its reliance on a fraudulent identity based on dehumanizing others. This is a conversation that each white must first have with himself, and then one that all whites must have with each other. And this time, we will be patiently and willingly awaiting outside the room to hear what your verdict is. This book is a good fist step.

Five stars

Great book. I especially appreciate the wisdom and humility you bring to the subject. The book is engaging and I have already shared it with several friends. Keep up the good work!

So what is Hitchcock really trying to say? First of all he is a white male whose guilt is so great that he marries a black woman and adopts 2 multi-racial children. Hitchcock's statement that "whites have a natural inclination to look at life through the priviliged status of a white person" is just another racist piece of rhetoric. It reminds me of such racist verbage as" Blacks are by nature lazy, or Jews have a natural inclination to be greedy. Of course Hitchcock and his ilk dont believe that minorities are capable of racism. Thus he feels free to say that whites must give up any semblance of white culture while insisting that whites must recognize the wonderful unique culturers of others, without comment. Hitchcock forgets that in any society, that the dominant culture; the culture whose language, religion, art, philosophy, political system and history has been adopted by the majority is the culture which sets the standards of that society. Japanese culture, using Hitchcocks theory, would rate as one of the worlds more racists societies. Of course people of color cant be racist......Or can they????