Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva's acclaimed Racism without Racists examines in detail how Whites talk, think, and account for the existence of racial inequality and makes clear that color-blind racism is as insidious now as ever. The sixth edition of this provocative book includes new material on systemic racism and how color-blind racism framed many issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. A revised conclusion addresses what readers can do to confront racism--both personally and on a larger structural level.
New to this edition:
- New Chapter 2, "What is Systemic Racism? Coming to Terms with How Racism Shapes 'All' Whites (and Non-Whites)" explains how all members of society participate in structural racism.
- New Chapter 10, "Color-Blind Racism in Pandemic Times" provides coverage of racial disparities in mortality, the role of essential workers, and hunger during the pandemic - particularly how public discourse did not reflect how these problems are worse for communities of color.
- Updated discussion of police surveillance and violence reflects the current salience of police brutality in the U.S. and enhances the conversation on suave racial discrimination (Chapter 3).
- Addresses the question, "What is to be done?" and offers White people ideas on what they can do to change themselves (Chapter 11).
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Eduardo Bonilla-Silva is the James B. Duke Professor of Sociology at Duke University. The recipient of the W.E.B. Du Bois Career of Distinguished Scholarship Award from the American Sociological Association, he is the author of numerous other books including White Logic, White Methods. He served as president of the Southern Sociological Society and the American Sociological Association in 2017-2018.
Students often use this book to start hard conversations with family - the updates here on systemic racism, COVID-19 and racism, and "what can be done?" will allow for an even deeper discussion to unfold. If the author's intent was to meaningfully share a bit of his anger, love, and ways of knowing these important issues, he did it and elevated this classic text by laying richer ground for students of color and White students to make sense of the powerful narratives and analysis the text is valued for.
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva is one of the most influential, insightful, and engaging scholars writing on race. His pathbreaking book, now in its sixth edition, continues to be the gold standard for understanding the dynamics of racism and developing a blueprint for what Whites and people of color must do to dismantle white supremacy and create a more 'humane, inclusive, and democratic' world.
Since its publication in 2003, Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality, has been the main pillar of race scholarship. The 6th edition is not just a book for academics; it is a must-read for anyone who truly wants to understand race and race relations in the modern era.
We hear a lot about 'systemic racism' these days. For anyone serious about understanding what it means and how it works, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva's classic Racism without Racists is essential reading.
Professor Bonilla-Silva's Racism without Racists is a seminal text in the study of race and racism. Racism without Racists is theoretically rich, empirically grounded, and suitable for a range of undergraduate and graduate courses. Always current, the sixth edition includes a new chapter on systemic racism that further strengthens an already excellent text. Those who read and study Racism without Racists will be better equipped to identify and refute the unceasing deluge of color-blind nonsense presented as intelligent thought on racial matters. I've assigned Racism without Racists to my students for more than a decade, and each semester students share with me the transformative impact it had on both their intellectual and personal development.
This book will change how you think about race and racism in the United States. It is a must read. A deeply sophisticated yet accessible and engaging analysis of how it is we find ourselves in a society with so much racial inequality and so little 'racism.'
Originally published in 2003, Racism without Racists, by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, lives on into this sixth edition because it is still needed today. Despite landmark legislation and Supreme Court rulings, racism and race-based discrimination continue to permeate every facet of American society. The heightened visibility of this continued racism takes on new meaning when high-profile figures and politicians feed into it, such as when then-presidential candidate Donald Trump descended the escalator in Trump Tower to announce that Mexicans were a "problem" that the United States had to contain. For this reviewer, Trump's declaration marked the beginning of a new phase of so-called color-blind racism, more pernicious than that of any other presidential campaign or administration in American history, including those of Richard Nixon [6] and Ronald Regan.[7] Ultimately, however, it is notable that racist America came alive during Barack Obama's two terms as president. According to writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, the foundation of Donald Trump's presidency is the negation of Barack Obama's legacy. Although it is still unclear how far the white supremacist reaction to Barack Obama's presidency will go, it is evident that despite the election of the first Black president, the United States still has a race problem. Bonilla-Silva's analysis in this new edition is spot on in addressing the issue. He even includes a newly updated chapter on the very timely topic of color-blind racism and the COVID-19 pandemic, in which he provides evidence to demonstrate that Black Americans and other communities of color were disproportionately impacted by the disease because they occupied predominantly low-wage jobs on the front lines and not because of medical pre-conditions. To be sure, the United States is most certainly not a so-called post-racial society, and because of this, Bonilla-Silva's expertise is still needed to explain the new forms of racism that emerge and to reveal how they operate. This sixth edition of Racism without Racists is a powerful update, nothing short of the excellence readers have come to expect from Bonilla-Silva and the work he produces. Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty.
