In The Souls of Black Folks, W.E.B. DuBois wrote that the question whites wanted to ask him was: How does it feel to be a problem? In The Heart of Whiteness, Robert Jensen writes that it is time for white people in America to self-consciously reverse the direction of that question and to fully acknowledge that in the racial arena, they are the problem.

While some whites would like to pretend that we have reached the end of racism in the United States, and others would like to celebrate diversity but avoid the political, economic, and social consequences of a nation — and a sense of self — founded on a system of white supremacy, Jensen proposes a different approach. He sets his sights not only on the racism that can't be hidden, but also on the liberal platitudes that sometimes conceal the depths of that racism in polite society.

The Heart of Whiteness offers a painfully honest and rigorous exploration of what Jensen refers to as the depraved nature of whiteness in the United States. Mixing personal experience with data and theory, he faces down the difficult realities of racism and white privilege. He argues that any system that denies non-whites their full humanity also keeps whites from fully accessing their own.

This book is both a cautionary tale for those who are quick to pronounce that they have transcended racism, and also an expression of the hope for that transcendence. When white people fully understand and accept the painful reality that they are indeed the problem, it should lead toward serious attempts to change one's own life and join with others to change society.

In this hard-hitting, yet fully accessible text, Jensen calls upon himself and other white people to take responsibility for combating racism and white privilege in the U.S. Interweaving elements of his personal experience with statistical data and political theory, he takes aim at not only overt racism, but at the liberal platitudes that can conceal deeper problems. Jensen teaches journalism at the U. of Texas at Austin.
Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

In this hard-hitting, yet fully accessible text, Jensen calls upon himself and other white people to take responsibility for combating racism and white privilege in the U.S. Interweaving elements of his personal experience with statistical data and political theory, he takes aim at not only overt racism, but at the liberal platitudes that can conceal deeper problems. Jensen teaches journalism at the U. of Texas at Austin. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"Very few white writers have been able to point out the pathological nature of white privilege and supremacy with the eloquence of Robert Jensen. In The Heart of Whiteness, Jensen demonstrates not only immense wisdom on the issue of race, but does so in the kind of direct and accessible fashion that separates him from virtually any other academic scholar, or journalist, writing on these subjects today." Tim Wise, author, White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son

"With radical honesty, hard facts, and an abundance of insight and compassion, Robert Jensen lays out strategies for recognizing and dismantling white privilege — and helping others to do the same. This text is more than just important; it's useful. Jensen demonstrates again that he is a leading voice in the American quest for justice." Adam Mansbach, author of Angry Black White Boy, or The Miscegenation of Macon Detornay

As devastating as the physical destruction brought by Katrina has been, it may turn out that one of the hurricane's most enduring legacies is the way it made visible the effect of racial and class disparities on who lived and who died, who escaped early and who suffered from being left behind. Such realities have always been clear to those on the bottom of the hierarchy, of course, and to others willing to face the reality of white supremacy. But now all of white America has an opportunity to see what racialized disparities in wealth and well-being look like, in painfully raw form.

Will we take that opportunity, or turn away out of fear? Do we have the courage to face the meaning of what we have seen?

This book offers an honest and rigorous exploration of what Jensen refers to as the depraved nature of whiteness in the United States. Mixing personal experience with data and theory, Jensen faces down the difficult realities of race, racism, and white privilege. He argues that any system that denies non-white people their full humanity also keeps white people from fully accessing their own.

The Heart of Whiteness is both a cautionary tale for those who believe that they have transcended racism, and also an expression of the hope for genuine transcendence.

Robert Jensen is the author of Citizens of the Empire. He is a professor of Media Ethics and Journalism at the University of Texas, Austin.