White Privilege : Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism

by Paula S Rothenberg

• ISBN13: 9780716752950
• ISBN10: 0716752956
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2001-07-15
• Publisher: Worth Publishers

Summary

Studies of racism often focus on its devastating effects on the victims of prejudice. But no discussion of race is complete without exploring the other side--the ways in which some people or groups actually benefit (deliberating or inadvertently) from racial bias. White Privilege, the ground-breaking new anthology from Paula Rothenberg, seeks first to make whiteness visible. Subsequent essays discuss the nature and history of white power. The concluding section challenges readers to explore ideas for using the power and the concept of white privilege to help combat racism in their own lives. Brief, inexpensive, and easily integrated with other texts, this interdisciplinary collection of commonsense, non-rhetorical readings lets educators incorporate discussions of whiteness and white privilege into a variety of disciplines, including sociology, English composition, psychology, social work, women's studies, political science, and American studies.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
About the Author	xi
Introduction	1	(8)
part one whiteness: the power of invisibility
The Matter of Whiteness	9	(6)
Richard Dyer
Failing to See	15	(4)
Harlon Dalton
Representations of Whiteness in the Black Imagination	19	(10)
bell hooks
Questions for Thinking, Writing, and Discussion for Part One	25	(4)
part two whiteness: the power of the past
How White People Became White	29	(6)
James R. Barrett
David Roediger
How Jews Became White Folks	35	(14)
Karen Brodkin
Becoming Hispanic: Mexican Americans and Whiteness	49	(12)
Neil Foley
The Possessive Investment in Whiteness	61	(28)
George Lipsitz
Questions for Thinking, Writing, and Discussion for Part Two	85	(4)
part three whiteness: the power of privilege
Making Systems of Privilege Visible	89	(8)
Stephanie M. Wildman
Adrienne D. Davis
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack	97	(6)
Peggy McIntosh
White Privilege Shapes the U.S.	103	(4)
Robert Jensen
Membership Has Its Privileges: Thoughts on Acknowledging and Challenging Whiteness	107	(8)
Tim Wise
Questions for Thinking, Writing, and Discussion for Part Three	111	(4)
part four whiteness: the power of resistance
Breaking the Silence	115	(6)
Beverly Tatum
Confronting One's Own Racism	121	(6)
Joe Feagin
Hernan Vera
How White People Can Serve as Allies to People of Color in the Struggle to End Racism	127	(12)
Paul Kivel
Questions for Thinking, Writing, and Discussion for Part Four	137	(2)
Suggestions for Further Reading	139	(2)
Acknowledgments	141	(2)
Index	143