The Antiracist Bookshelf

When Washington Post journalist Lonnae O’Neal Parker wrote her controversial article "White Girl?" she struck a nerve—and opened a dialogue—with readers on both coasts. In this program, ABC News anchor Ted Koppel and correspondent John Donvan explore what it means to be black in America, assisted by Ms. Parker, her biracial cousin Kim McClaren, and Peggy Sakagawa, Caucasian wife of an Asian-American man. Lonnae’s message? Being black today is still harder than most people imagine; the time is ripe to shed the racial armor and have a deep conversation that goes beyond platitudes and political correctness. (22 minutes)

What does it mean to be White? Aren't we all just human beings? As a White person, why do I feel so uncomfortable and conflicted about racial issues? Is there really something called "White Privilege"? Derald Wing Sue describes how White racial identity awareness is correlated with lower levels of racism and higher levels of multicultural competence. The most desirable outcome is one in which the White person not only accepts his or her Whiteness but also defines it in a nondefensive and nonracist manner.

Based upon a series of interviews with White folks and People of Color, Dr. Sue asks a very straightforward question: What Does It Mean To Be White? The variety of reactions are both provocative and powerful as they reveal how unaware and uncomfortable many White folks are in answering the question. Why do many Whites rather not think about their whiteness? Why are they uncomfortable with the question? Why do they deny its importance in affecting their lives?

White supremacy has become a crisis in the United States. The number of hate groups has soared to a record – over 1000 – and hate crimes are up by double digits. How did this happen? Fareed Zakaria traces the roots of the current crisis, looks at history to discover how racism becomes a political movement, and he interviews a White Supremacist in an effort to understand the forces driving the dangerous racial moment we find ourselves in.

For years, acclaimed author and speaker Tim Wise has been electrifying audiences on the college lecture circuit with his deeply personal take on whiteness and white privilege. In this spellbinding lecture, the author of White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son offers a unique, inside-out view of race and racism in America. Expertly overcoming the defensiveness that often surrounds these issues, Wise provides a non-confrontational explanation of white privilege and the damage it does not only to people of color, but to white people as well. This is an invaluable classroom resource: an ideal introduction to the social construction of racial identities, and a critical new tool for exploring the often invoked - but seldom explained - concept of white privilege.