Resources: Books and Websites

Resources: Books

Brown, Cynthia Stokes. (2002). Refusing Racism: White Allies and the Struggle for Civil Rights. New York: Teachers College Press.

Brown profiles four white antiracists: Virginia Foster Durr, J. Waties Waring, Anne McCarty Braden, and Herbert Kohl. Their stories are compelling and dramatic. Brown begins the book with an excellent chapter on “Racism and Resistance,” which is a much-abbreviated summary of the development of white supremacy and racism and resistance to it. She ends the book with an analysis of what white antiracists (or at least the four she chose to profile) have in common, and describes the costs of their choices on their own lives and the lives of their families. This book is an excellent introduction to studying white antiracists.

Frankenberg, Ruth. (1993). The Social Construction of Whiteness: White Women, Race Matters. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Frankenberg's study of whiteness through interviews with thirty white women is a classic text in “whiteness studies.” Frankenberg begins the book by introducing the reader to the idea of analyzing what it means to be white in our society. She discusses the development of the concept of race in the United States. Frankenberg goes on to detail her interviewees childhood experience with race, spends two chapters discussing relationships and intimacy (including a chapter on interracial relationships and parenting), includes a chapter on the discourse of race and ends with a chapter on white women and culture. While this is a canonical text, I find it too theoretical. Frankenberg attempts to make the text both specific (reflecting the themes in the thirty interviews) and general (an offering to whiteness studies in general), and I think this attempt at balance ends up being confusing.

Ignatiev, N. & Garvey, J. (Eds.). (1996). Race Traitor. New York : Routledge.

This book is an anthology with selections from the first five issues of the journal by the same name (see www.racetraitor.org). The editors of Race Traitor advocate the abolition of the white race. The articles chosen for the anthology are provocative and well written, and the best offer concrete examples of what it means to be a race traitor.

O'Brien, Eileen. (2001). Whites Confront Racism: Antiracists and Their Paths to Action. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

O'Brien analyzes white antiracist activism through the lens of two antiracist organizations, Anti-Racist Action and People's Institute for Survival and Beyond. She interviews activists involved in both organizations and considers their motivations for becoming involved. She uses the concept of “framing” to compare the two organizations' frames of racism. O'Brien discusses strategies used to challenge racism on the individual level as well as at the institutional level. She also writes about the personal struggles inherent in doing antiracist work and makes suggestions for future antiracist work. She clearly prefers the People's Institute model, and offers some sharp critiques of Anti-Racist Action while also giving them credit for the antiracist work they do.

Segrest, Mab. (1994). Memoir of a Race Traitor. Boston: South End Press.

This book is the story of Segrest's organizing against the Right (including the Klan) in North Carolina . It's also the story of her own family's involvement with racism and the story of being white, a lesbian, and an antiracist in the South. It's a story about the meaning of family, of solidarity and of struggle. Segrest's stories of fighting the Klan and the Right are impressive, but what is more impressive is her introspection and her ability to write about the times when she was at a loss or made a mistake. One of my favorite lines in the book: “How was I supposed to know what to do when people took hostages? I sure as hell hadn't learned that in graduate school” (p.123). Part Two of the book is a History of Racism in the United States which is extremely informative and Part Three is an essay taken from a talk Segrest gave at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Creating Change Conference in Durham, North Carolina, in 1993.

Thompson, Becky. (2001). A Promise and a Way of Life: White Antiracist Activism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

This is the book that inspired me to create this website. I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about antiracism. Thompson explores white antiracists' involvement in the civil rights movement and in other radical movements during the 1960s. She offers a radical critique of the mainstream white feminist movement and the “master narrative” we are usually offered about the feminist movement. Thompson explores the multiracial feminism of the 1970s. In her section about antiracist activism in the 1980s and 90s, she writes about the Central America Peace Movement (and makes an important critique of the sanctuary movement), prison activism (inside and outside prison), antiracism and diversity trainings, and concludes with a chapter on white antiracist culture.

More Book Suggestions

Allen, Robert. (1983). Reluctant Reformers: Racism and Social Reform Movements in the United States. Washington , D.C.: Howard University Press.

Berger, Dan. (2006). Outlaws of America. Oakland, CA: AK Press.

Dyer, Richard. (1997). White. New York: Routledge.

Feagin, J.R., Vera, H., Batur, P., (2001). White Racism . New York: Routledge.

Kivel, Paul. (1996). Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers.

Thompson, C., Schaefer, E. & Brod, H. (2003). White Men Challenging Racism: 35 Personal Stories. Durham: Duke University Press.

Twine, France Winddance and Blee, Kathleen M. (Eds). (2001). Feminism and Antiracism: International Struggles for Justice. New York: New York University Press.

Resources: Websites

Colours of Resistance http://colours.mahost.org/index.html

The website of Colours of Resistance. Colours of Resistance (COR) "is a grassroots network of people who consciously work to develop anti-racist, multiracial politics in the movement against global capitalism." The website includes event listings, tons of incredible articles and right-on analysis, "definitions for the revolution," and links to related websites.

Active Solidarity www.activesolidarity.net

a web resource for anti-racism and movement building

active solidarity.net is the "online home of the Active Solidarity Collective and Anti-Racism for Global Justice (a project of the Challenging White Supremacy Workshops)." This website includes articles on theory, history, and resistance, as well as information on upcoming events and workshops. Active solidarity also includes interviews with prominent activists, information on organizations doing organizing and social justice work, and a book and video list. This website has a great (and extensive!) list of links to websites of antiracist organizations.

Peggy McIntosh's "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack"

A must-read 1988 article with some concrete examples of how white privilege manifests itself in our daily lives.

Tim Wise's ZNet Homepage

Tim Wise is a white antiracist with a biting wit who writes about (among other topics) racism and white supremacy. This page has links to his articles. His latest, "White Whine: Reflections on the Brain Rotting Properties of Privilege" (April 20, 2004), is an informative rant on the ignorance that often comes with being white in a racist culture.

Challenging White Supremacy www.cwsworkshop.org

The website of the Challenging White Supremacy workshops. This website provides many articles on CWS's political analysis and articles from many different sources on white supremacy.

Race Traitor journal of the new abolitionism www.racetraitor.org

“RACE TRAITOR aims to serve as an intellectual center for those seeking to abolish the white race. It will encourage dissent from the conformity that maintains it and popularize examples of defection from its ranks, analyze the forces that hold it together and those that promise to tear it apart. Part of its task will be to promote debate among abolitionists. When possible, it will support practical measures, guided by the principle, Treason to whiteness is loyalty to humanity.

The editors publish things in RACE TRAITOR because they think that publishing them will help build a community of readers. Editorial opinions are expressed in editorials and unsigned replies to letters.”

One can access articles from past issues on the website.

Center for the Study of White American Culture www.euroamerican.org

The website of the Center for the Study of White American Culture. The Center "was created to address the lack of information and discussion of the role of white people and white culture in American society." The Center puts on national conferences, publishes papers and newspapers, and provides exercises for those interested in examining whiteness.

antiracist.com a learning resource center www.antiracist.com

The website of the Canadian Anti-racism Education and Research Society (CAERS). The goal of antiracist.com is "to build an anti-racist and human rights community online supported by breaking news (visit the e-Library), anti-racist Radio, an e-Journal, community calendar and discussion groups."

Whiteprivilege.com: an anti-racist resource www.whiteprivilege.com

Whiteprivilege.com "is a free resource for antiracism education and activism; its editorial focus is analyzing and critically assessing racialized social privilege. It's published by members of the Monkeyfist Collective ." The website publishes articles on these topics.

Antiracismnet www.antiracismnet.org

"AntiRacismNet provides both an online resource for the activist community and a portal offering information about anti-racism activities to the general public. As an activist resource , AntiRacismNet provides a part of the needed infrastructure for a global online community by hosting the following:

• an international online directory of social justice organizations.
• both issue-specific and news digest listservs.
• a calendar for posting regional, national, international events.
• a news portal for publishing efforts and backgrounders on issues.

As a public portal , AntiRacismNet features news that contextualizes present day racism, promotes anti-racism organizations, and highlights actions in the fight against racism."