Annotated Bibliography
Racism refers to the act of discriminating against a person due to the belief that their race is inferior. I the past, racism occurred in form of slavery and segregation. However, even long after slavery ended, it is a shame that people are being discriminated upon based on their races. Below is a list of books that discuss modern day racism in America.
DiAngelo, R. (2018). White fragility: Why it's so hard for white people to talk about racism. Beacon Press.
I this book, DeAngelo discusses the dynamics of racism in modern day America as well as the factors that make it difficult for those who identify as white to openly discuss racism. The author also posits that white people carry with them the benefits of white privilege and that even without realizing it, they may be engaging in racist acts. To help solve this challenge of unconscious racism, DeAngelo states that the “white people” should always aspire to seek feedback on their behaviors from members of minority groups. the author notes that most of the time, when conversations about racism emerge, white fragility is witnessed whereby minority groups are the ones able to talk about the injustices they have encountered while the whites remain silent and when they contribute to the conversation, they do so with defensiveness amongst other types of pushback. The book presets an enlightening point of view on matters racism in modern day America especially on how different races view racism.
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Moore, R. (2017). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. Macat Library.
The Jim Crow era was characterized by the implementation of strict laws that enforced segregation along racial lines. In this book, Moore argues that the Jim Crow laws have not been eliminated: they have simply been redesigned. The author states that the United States criminal justice system is racist in the way it targets black people in the war against drugs. By so doing, the system relegates millions of people of color to the second-class status even though it tries to present itself as a system that does not judge based on color. The book presents an example of how the criminal justice system is racist by analyzing some of the criminal offences committed by people of color and white people and the sentences handed to each category of people. This book is a call to action for people who have interests in racial justice as it presents a much-needed conversation on racial equality or lack thereof in the justice system.
Anderson, C. (2016). White rage: The unspoken truth of our racial divide. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
In this audiobook, Anderson discusses the factors that contributed to what came to be known as “black rage”. She states that black people were merely responding to the years of provocation by “white rage” and that theirs was only a way of fighting back at the years of oppression. She further states that black people have been the recipients of all sorts of discriminatory actions and that anytime they have made an effort to become actively engaged in the country’s democracy, they have often been met with opposition. For instance, just when black people thought they had ended the civil war, they were met with Jim Crow rules and just when they thought they had victory in the form of the Supreme Court's landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, all public schools in the south were closed. The author uncovers some of the actions that have been taken with the pretense of protecting the nations’ democracy.
Baldwin, J. (2013). The fire next time. Vintage.
In this book, James Baldwin argues for equity among the races while asking that everyone acknowledges that America has always been and will always be a multiracial nation. Despite the fact that this book was written so long ago, the issues discussed are still relevant in modern day America. The author frames his words in a manner that he is neither holding anyone’s hands nor attacking a faction. The book’s message is delivered in scorching candor and the eloquence of the author which promises to hold the attention of any reader. The books communicate to more that members of the black community: it carries a message to everyone who is interested in listening and effecting change. It is an important reading if any changes are to be made to the current state of racism in the nation. The opinions in this book have appeared to be unsettling for white liberals and modern-day black moderates. As such, it is an effective conversation starter in bringing about change.
Feagin, J. R., & Ducey, K. (2018). Racist America: Roots, current realities, and future reparations. Routledge.
This book pays special attention to contemporary issues of racism that are on the rise in modern day America. The book uses research and reports on issued of racism in the United States. The authors present the readers with a timely, engaging yet easily to comprehend look into how power and race intersect in the United States. To conceptualize the theory of systemic slavery, the authors examine the history of black people being oppressed by whites. The authors point out that the American system is embedded with racism right from the legacy of slavery, the manner in which black people’s economic development is suffocated. The authors also urge that widespread civic education is done to enlighten people who are currently enjoying white privilege on the hurt they are knowingly and unknowingly causing other people of color. They also discuss the need for constitutional amendments to recognize the rights of all people of color.
Bonilla-Silva, E., & Ray, V. E. (2015). Getting over the Obama hope hangover: The new racism in ‘post-racial’America. Theories of race and ethnicity, 57, 22-37.
In this article, the authors analyze how racial politics are still being carried out in America in the same manner they were conducted years ago before the inauguration of Martin Luther King Jr. They posit that even though the election of President Obama appeared to be an era of change, the reality is that racism is still a common occurrence in politics and elsewhere in America.
Burke, M. A. (2016). New frontiers in the study of color-blind racism: A materialist approach. Social Currents, 3(2), 103-109.
In this article, Burke discusses how, despite the fact that race is no longer a predictor of a person's lifestyle, colorblind racism is still being used to defend some of the racial injustices being done. she also posits that the election of Barack Obama is not an indication that America is a post-racial nation but rather that it is a country that practices colorblind racism.
