White Awareness: Handbook for Anti-Racism Training

by Judith H. Katz

Originally designed for facilitators as a training handbook complete with exercises and tools to assist white people address racism, this book guides white people through the process of understanding, challenging, and confronting issues of racism. This training program provides a meaningful way to help create change in the white community.

Responding to the challenge of creating a learning environment in which to address racism, White Awareness provides a detailed step-by-step guide through six stages of learning – from awareness to action. The exercises within each of the stages focus on key themes including: defining racism and its inconsistencies, confronting the reality of racism, exploring aspects and implications of white culture and identity, understanding cultural differences and examining cultural racism, analyzing individual racism, and developing action strategies to combat racism.

This newly revised edition published on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first edition, includes over forty activities with instructions and suggestions for conducting each session as well as recommended readings and sources for use in the activities. Proving worthwhile in educational, business, community, and military settings, the program is detailed yet flexible. The volume has been updated to include new source information, insights on President Bill Clinton’s 1998 “Initiative on Race,” and groundbreaking research on racism as a mental disorder.

Genres: Nonfiction, Race, Anti Racist, Education, Society, Social Justice

232 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1978

Reviews

[N · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pure conjecture and shoddy science trumped up to be a social statement. Writer needs to go back to grad school and study the scientific method for sociology.

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

White Awareness provides a pragmatic framework for addressing racism and privilege among white folks. On the whole, the exercises are well-structured to guide workshop participants. In my opinion, there need to be many, many more such guides, written in this style--specific exercises, with time and participant guidelines, notes for facilitators, an overall framework with a vision toward action as an end result. That said, there are certain points on which I strongly diverge from the author re: framework of "whiteness" and "racism." In the introduction much space is given to arguing that racism is a "disease," "schizophrenia," and a "mental illness," in a failed, ableist attempt to legitimize the real problem of racism by medicalizing it. Also, the author argues that white people should positively identify as "white," rather than "denying responsibility for perpetuating the racist system " by claiming our European heritages (such as Irish, English, or Italian). I feel that this issue is far more complex than is claimed by the author. Yes, "white" people do dodge responsibility for racism by claiming that they are not white but rather Irish, English, Italian, etc. However, I see "white" as social construct that can better be dismantled by "white" people repudiating the concept of "whiteness" as legitimate, and instead reconnecting with our ethnic cultures, languages and European landbases. In short, I feel that the authors neglected to explore the ways "white" people can use their ethnicities as a tool against racism/cultural appropriation rather than simply as a tool of collusion. Definitely worth having as a reference/educational resource though.

[Joe]

A misguided premise from the start. Racism exists because race is a survival mechanism and nature wants to preserve it. Humans evolved to be in races for our good. Being part of a race means you have someone around you that you evolved to recognize and share mental and physical traits with. That way you can work much better, hand and hand with those people. You can build towns, farm , hunt and raise families better with your own race. That's why we have race. Races all evolved in different arias of the world that's why we look different. The idea that race is a social construct is as asinine as the idea that a man can turn into a "real woman". Honestly do you think a Nobel prize winning scientist like James Watson doesn't know what he's talking about? He knows race is real and tried to educate people to that fact. The only reason this garbage is being pushed is political, nothing else.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource for training!

[Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly useful and thought-provoking considering that it is at least 40 years old. It would be nice if we had made more progress.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated but sadly still quite relevant

[Danika at The Lesbrary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't actually using this for a workshop, so it wasn't really its intended use. It's pretty basic anti-racism, but I think would make for a good introduction to a group. I read the updated version, however, and it still relied pretty heavily on videos and other media from the 70s. I'm sure it's still (sadly) relevant, but more current examples would be more effective, I think. Also, although I understand what they're going for in the "white is beautiful" section, it still made me cringe some. And there was a pretty bad comparison between Africa and England (their cultures) as if those are equal things to compare, a diverse continent and a small country. But I did really like the emphasis on action, and continuing to educate yourself.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice to finally read a book that I hear and see referenced a great deal in other books and in other trainings. Has some good activities to use in educating white folks. It's a bit dated now and references source material such as films that may not be easy to find now. I really appreciated reading the section explaining the anti-racist framework the author trains from. Upon further exploration, it looks like a read the original copy of it and there has since been an updated version with new source material. I would like to see that one.

[Shoshanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some solid exercises to explore white privilege in a group setting. I used some of the format and training in a white privilege class i taught and it went over well. could use some more interpersonal work, less explaining of theory.