Whites Confront Racism

This book asserts the distinctive place that whites can take in the fight for racial justice, bringing together interviews with white antiracist activists from across North America. Avoiding the typical white options of being 'nonracist' or feeling guilty, these whites demonstrate the multitude of ways whites can be proactive in combating modern racism. These activists, of both genders and all ages, have arrived at their antiracist commitments through several different yet typical paths. These whites struggle to transform individuals, institutions, and themselves, to varying degrees, incurring risks as well as rewards along the way. Their affiliations with antiracist organizations, or lack thereof, play a crucial role in the differences among them and their approaches to antiracist work. The whites who are involved with antiracist groups come predominantly from either Anti-Racist Action or the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond, and the contrast between these two groups woven throughout the analysis leads to the conclusion that there are different types of antiracism. Although unity among them may not be possible or even desirable, acceptance of a broader concept of racism by all antiracists is one of the ending suggestions for the future of antiracism.

Eileen O'Brien is professor of sociology at SUNY-Brockport.