Describes the racist tendency of Whites to always and forever to center the discussion of virtually any subject on whiteness, and suggests how to get past this worldview.
The authors of the narrative chapters represented in this volume have in common that they are dedicated to the realization of a critical, multicultural, democratic society. Individually, they are female and male, from diverse ethnicities, socio-economic class backgrounds, first language groups, religious and spiritual affiliations, and sexual orientations. They are professors of education, psychology, sociology, and communication as well as community activists. The stories that they share reveal the history of racism in this country over a fifty year period beginning in the late 1930s and continuing into the early 1980s. The stories are most diverse, and share what it was like growing up White during and after Jim Crow segregation, the Civil Rights Movement, and busing and integration. Thus, there is a history here of our country's racism yesterday and today. Inviting students to experience this history may encourage them to further explore its ongoing manifestations.
Preface by Henry Giroux
Rearticulating a Racial Identity: Creating Oppositional Spaces to Fight for Equality and Social Justice by Christine Clark and James O'Donnell
Unthinking Whiteness, Rethinking Democracy: Critical Citizenship in Gringolandia by Peter McLaren
Lighting Candles in the Dark: One Black Woman's Response to White Anti-Racist Narratives by Beverly Deniel Tatum
Subverting Racism from Within: Linking White Identity to Activism by Becky Thompson
Transforming Received Categories: Discovering Cross-Border Identities and Other Subversive Activities by David Wellman
The Secret: White Lies are Never Little by Christine Clark
Becoming White: How I Got Over by Arnold Cooper
Seeing Things as They Are by Carolyn O'Grady
The Recollections of a Recovering Racist by James O'Donnell
What Could a White Girl from South Boston Possibly Know about Racism? Reflections of a Social Justice Educator by Mary Gannon
If You're Not Standing in this Line, You're Standing in the Wrong Line by Pritchy Smith
Building Blocks: My Journey toward White Racial Awareness by Patti DeRosa
"Justice, Justice Shalt Thou Do!" by Liz Aaronsohn
White Man Dancing: A Story of Personal Transformation by Gary Howard
Rewriting the Discourse of Racial Identity: Towards a Pedagogy and Politics of Whiteness by Henry A. Giroux
Reviews
...contains honest and revealing assessments of what it means to be white. They alert the reader to what it means to give up white privilege and to become a force for the easing of the racial divide....for white educators who seek to forge unknown and uncomfortable territory (as we must if we are to contribute to the ameliorations rather than the perpetuation of racism), this book provides an indispensable road map.—MultiCultural Review
Endorsements
By engaging readers in a thoughtful analysis of Whiteness and its connection to critical and inclusive teaching, the authors in this book highlight both the transformative power ^Iand^R the potentially limiting nature of the discourse of Whiteness. They remind us that, in the final analysis, our focus as teachers needs to be on students because all of them, but especially students of color, are put in jeopardy by an education that favors Whites over others in all aspects of schooling. By emphasizing the experiences and the analysis of educators coming to terms with becoming ^Iboth^R White ^Iand^R anti-racist, Chris Clark and Jim O'Donnell provide a healthy and empowering model for all teachers of all backgrounds.—Sonia Nieto^LProfessor, School of Education^LUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst
^IBecoming and Unbecoming White^R is an immensely impressive and essential contribution to the field of education, in particular teacher education and multicultural education....Through the stories and analyses, a much needed new space is created to catapult educational thinking, discourse, and action into a new direction that has the potential to free us to more directly and energetically engage in the work of fighting for equality and social justice for all of us.—Beverly E. Cross^LAssociate Professor^LUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
