Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"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
Review
"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
Synopsis
An honest look at racism in the United States, and the liberal platitudes that attempt to conceal it.
In The Souls of Black Folks, W.E.B. DuBois writes that the question whites want to ask him is: "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 think that we have reached "the end of racism" in the United States, and others would like to celebrate diversity but are oblivious to the political, economic and social consequences of a nation--and their 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 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, 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 believe that they have transcended racism, and also an expression of the hope for genuine 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.
Robert Jensen is the author of Citizens of the Empire. He is a professor of media ethics and journalism at The University of Texas at Austin.
Synopsis
An honest look at racism in the United States, and the liberal platitudes that attempt to conceal it.
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.
"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 of Dear White America
"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 and Go the Fuck to Sleep
"Jensen's spotlight on the gaps separating the American promise of liberty and justice from the reality is accessible, powerful and moving. In short, it is a terrific piece of anti-racist writing."--Eleanor Bader, The Brooklyn Rail
Synopsis
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.
Synopsis
Cultural Writing. An honest look at US racism and the liberal platitudes that attempt to conceal it. THE HEART OF WHITENESS 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, he faces down the difficult realities of racism and white privilege. This book is a cautionary tale for those who believe that they have transcended racism, and also an expression of the hope for genuine transcendence.
Synopsis
An honest look at U.S. racism, and the liberal platitudes that attempt to conceal it.
About the Author
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.