Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else?: Playing Offense in the Fight for Racial Justice in America

by Steve Phillips

From the bestselling author of Brown Is the New White, an explosive new argument for draining the swamp of white male privilege

Just six years after the Racial Reckoning that followed the murder of George Floyd, we are witnessing a full-scale assault on equality in America unparalleled since the overthrow of Reconstruction. Building on the urgency and clarity of his New York Times and Washington Post bestseller Brown Is the New White and his “spirited and persuasive” (Publishers Weekly) How We Win the Civil War, Steve Phillips now calls on the nation to go back on the offensive in the fight for racial justice—shifting the conversation from the underrepresentation of people of color to the overrepresentation of white men, who make up a shrinking minority of the U.S. population (29 percent).

In twelve short, animated chapters covering the fields of government, education, business, philanthropy, media, arts and entertainment, and democracy itself, Phillips exposes how Straight White American Male Preference (or S.W.A.M.P.) has come roaring out of the shadows once again. He makes a powerful, if not irrefutable, argument for how widespread persistent inequality largely stems from the deeply ingrained practice of providing unfair, if not unconstitutional, preferences to straight white men.

Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else? calls for nothing less than draining the swamp of white male privilege. Fearless, sharp, and deeply researched, this much-needed corrective offers those who wish to help make this nation a multiracial democracy—where all people are truly equal—the arguments, evidence, and inspiration they need to launch a new counterattack.

288 pages, Hardcover

Published April 21, 2026

About the author

Steve Phillips is a national political leader, bestselling author, and columnist. He is the author of The New York Times bestseller Brown Is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority and the newly released national bestselling book How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good.

He is a columnist for The Guardian and The Nation, and an opinion contributor to The New York Times. He is also the host of Democracy in Color with Steve Phillips, a color-conscious podcast on politics. He is the founder of Democracy in Color, a political media organization dedicated to race, politics and the multicultural progressive New American Majority.

Phillips is a graduate of Stanford University and University of California College of the Law, San Francisco and practiced civil rights and employment law for many years. Phillips has appeared on multiple national radio and television networks including NBC, CNN, MSNBC and C-SPAN.

Reviews

[Chelsea Knowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else? discusses how white men are overrepresented in certain sectors and how the attack on DEI is unjustified. Philips follows the S.W.A.M.P framework known as Straight White American Male Preference in all of the chapters in this book. This book discusses topics such as state and local government, federal government, education, DEI, journalism, the arts and justice. Philips flips the script on how we think about DEI by changing the conversation from minorities being underrepresented to showing where and how white men are overrepresented. This book is an extremely important read and it is a very revealing read that breaks down any preconceived notions about DEI.

I really enjoyed reading this and I found it to be compulsively readable. I tend to be quite well read on these topics but there was still some interesting facts in this that I didn’t know. It seems people are attacking DEI constantly and it seems to be the new buzzword so I found this interesting because it reveals why attacks on DEI are unfounded. This book also discusses the political situation in America and Philips gives some good ideas on how the Democrats can succeed in the next election. To sum up, I enjoyed reading this and I will be recommending this to people. This is a worthwhile read for people who known nothing about this topic but also for people who are well read on this topic (like me) but want to gain a deeper understanding of these topics.

Favourite Quote - “We cannot win by appealing to an imaginary center that doesn’t exist or by moderating our message to avoid ofending people who were never going to support multiracial democracy anyway.”

[Jacen Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explains, rather better than me, why I am constantly badgering people to vote local. Vote local, vote state, then worry about federal. Where we live impacts us on the state and local level far more than the federal level. If we want people who truly represent us to get to the state and/or federal level, we need to get them into place at the local.

And we truly do need to look at companies and organizations. Not only for SWAM (Straight White American Male), but also for disabled. If your organization is exclusively to help disabled people, why are all of the board members abled? Why do you call for disabled people to work just like anyone else but deny them jobs constantly? And if you're an LGBTQ organization, why is everyone on the board cis and male?

I do have to disagree, at least a little, that the loss in 2024 was completely down to disillusionment with the democratic party combined with increased white turnout. It is important to remember, as well, the concerted effort of bad actors from foreign countries who have done a lot of work convincing people - especially people of color - that voting doesn't matter. We have had proof and reports about troll farms from russia who helped considerably in making sure people stayed home and didn't vote. Both times Trump was up for office. It wasn't confidence that the results would be what they expected it was the lack of confidence their vote actually mattered. When it clearly does and did. It is more important than ever to reach those who have been made to believe their vote doesn't matter.

In the same vein, civics classes seem to have slowly disappeared. You have kids out there who don't even know how voting works. Our system may be screwy but they still need to be told as early as sixth grade about how elections work, how the judicial system works. Checks and balances. There's been a concerted effort by the right to remove this basic information from being required courses. Access is one thing, knowledge completely another. Same with jury duty. We need to stop viewing jury duty as an inconvenience. In order for justice to be done, you need to show up for the victim but also the accused. Innocence until proven guilty, remember, y'all? Why should only Straight White American Men be the ones who know best how to vote? Why should they be the ones least likely to be convicted, instead it being a Black or brown man being the most?

We could also look to the Universal Declaration off Human Rights for our inspiration and acknowledge how it came along only a few years after World War 2. Eleanor Roosevelt's work towards progress and equality should not be overlooked, especially as a white woman.

I think we also need a conversation about how white people are scared of socialist programs until they are actually using them. The ones crying about 'welfare queens' are likely to benefit from socialized healthcare or need to use unemployment benefits at some point in their lives. I've seen people not even realize that "Obamacare" is what they are using for their prescriptions and railed against it despite benefitting from it, simply because of the name of a Black man. But we need to also be looking at the demographics of those who are 'deciding' who gets benefits. Same with social services. Who is involved in that? Should it not reflect the people being served?

Many white people believe certain programs are only for the 'lazy Blacks' or whatever else. Last I looked, people of color are overrepresented in social programs for lack of wages, or disability, through no fault of their own. And it is one case where BIPOC over representation is not a good thing.

The only real problem with the book is when it was written. A couple things changed or advanced quickly since Phillips put keyboard to word processor. A couple of historical gripes as well but not enough to change the score enough.

This book explains, rather better than me, why I am constantly badgering people to vote local. Vote local, vote state, then worry about federal. Where we live impacts us on the state and local level far more than the federal level. If we want people who truly represent us to get to the state and/or federal level, we need to get them into place at the local.

And we truly do need to look at companies and organizations. Not only for SWAM (Straight White American Male), but also for disabled. If your organization is exclusively to help disabled people, why are all of the board members abled? Why do you call for disabled people to work just like anyone else but deny them jobs constantly? And if you're an LGBTQ organization, why is everyone on the board cis and male?

I do have to disagree, at least a little, that the loss in 2024 was completely down to disillusionment with the democratic party combined with increased white turnout. It is important to remember, as well, the concerted effort of bad actors from foreign countries who have done a lot of work convincing people - especially people of color - that voting doesn't matter. We have had proof and reports about troll farms from russia who helped considerably in making sure people stayed home and didn't vote. Both times Trump was up for office. It wasn't confidence that the results would be what they expected it was the lack of confidence their vote actually mattered. When it clearly does and did. It is more important than ever to reach those who have been made to believe their vote doesn't matter.

In the same vein, civics classes seem to have slowly disappeared. You have kids out there who don't even know how voting works. Our system may be screwy but they still need to be told as early as sixth grade about how elections work, how the judicial system works. Checks and balances. There's been a concerted effort by the right to remove this basic information from being required courses. Access is one thing, knowledge completely another. Same with jury duty. We need to stop viewing jury duty as an inconvenience. In order for justice to be done, you need to show up for the victim but also the accused. Innocence until proven guilty, remember, y'all? Why should only Straight White American Men be the ones who know best how to vote? Why should they be the ones least likely to be convicted, instead it being a Black or brown man being the most?

We could also look to the Universal Declaration off Human Rights for our inspiration and acknowledge how it came along only a few years after World War 2. Eleanor Roosevelt's work towards progress and equality should not be overlooked, especially as a white woman.

I think we also need a conversation about how white people are scared of socialist programs until they are actually using them. The ones crying about 'welfare queens' are likely to benefit from socialized healthcare or need to use unemployment benefits at some point in their lives. I've seen people not even realize that "Obamacare" is what they are using for their prescriptions and railed against it despite benefitting from it, simply because of the name of a Black man. But we need to also be looking at the demographics of those who are 'deciding' who gets benefits. Same with social services. Who is involved in that? Should it not reflect the people being served?

Many white people believe certain programs are only for the 'lazy Blacks' or whatever else. Last I looked, people of color are overrepresented in social programs for lack of wages, or disability, through no fault of their own. And it is one case where BIPOC over representation is not a good thing.

The only real problem with the book is when it was written. A couple things changed or advanced quickly since Phillips put keyboard to word processor. A couple of historical gripes as well but not enough to change the score enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and The New Press for the review copy.

[Den · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all--the title isn't serious. It's not considering a real possibility that white men may possibly be smarter than everybody else. Rather, it's a provocation. A challenge to the other side. White men are overrepresented in positions of power. How would you explain that? Is it because they are smarter than everyone else? Pressure them into an answer.

The goal is to flip our usual thinking about racial equality. Instead of thinking about racial inequality as a problem of underrepresentation of people of color, the focus should instead be on the overrepresentation of white men in positions of power. It sounds like a simple change in wording, but words have power. What if instead of saying "lack of diversity", we could say "entrenched overrepresentation" (of white men)? 

Each chapter covers a different area related to racial justice in the US. It will go through its history, describe the present situation, and propose what we can actually do to address it. The author does so with varying degrees of success. I particularly like his call to use what he calls a 'SWAMP' audit: a step-by-step guide into assessing if there is a Straight White American Male Preference (hence SWAMP) in positions of power. Let the data speak for itself and ask those in power to explain and address this. I also like the idea with not being caught in the defensive game of trying to justify DEI. Go on the offense instead: Why is there a preference for straight white men in these institutions?
There are, however, some recommendations that are less actionable. Like, in the education chapter, one of his plans of action to address racial inequality is to "encourage young people to use technology to empower them to call trust to power", and "get the youth involved". Well, that's easier said than done. There was also one about "telling philanthropists to keep their promises". That's all well and good, but how do you even carry out that suggestion? I will the author went into more detail. There were also a few parts that thought was there just to pad up the word count, like that one part where he explained what 'philanthropy' means by quoting the definition from the Merriam Webster dictionary.

Despite those issues which I think are minor in the grand scheme of the book, I found it a quick, eye-opening read. It's a worthwhile starting point and a new perspective on fighting racial injustice in this current (hellish) situation we find ourselves in. 

Thank you to NetGalley and The New Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this book captured my attention right off the bat. Biting sarcasm seems to do that for me.

There are a tremendous number of good ideas here on practical steps that lawmakers and grassroots organizers can do to push this work forward in order to realize the vision that the author is referring to so frequently. The author rightly emphasizes that this work, while taking body blows from the current administration, as well as during the Biden administration, particularly around protecting the right to vote, with vote restricting measures having taken place in a few dozen states (rolling back 24 hour voting, drive through voting, mail in ballots, etc. which were pushed forward during COVID.). It all seems to point to the inescapable conclusion that there is a tremendously large faction within the United States which benefits from precluding as many as possible from voting regularly. This should make us all stop and think, especially when viewed in comparison to peer countries who make voting compulsory and who regularly see voting results over 90%.

This book made it's points clearly, but is not going to change anyone's mind, who is not already in roughly the same camp as the author; it will not build bridges. It gives practical advice to democrats, and that's pretty much it, which is disappointing. I understand the author's points of not trying to chase a facade of bipartisanship with those who truly will never have their minds change, but it seems to me that the goal of changing hearts and minds of moderates is the baby being tossed out with the bathwater.

My second fear after finishing this book is that it will capture an idea clearly (The SWAMP - or Straight White American Male Preference), which will be its legacy, but which legacy outgrows the book itself. The writing itself was good, if a tiny bit forgettable (in comparison to the great writing writing by BIPOC writers in this space), but the core idea is sound.

Worth reading.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couple things first: The title isn't serious (as I had frighteningly thought when I first saw it) and the actual question posed is never answered. I expected to find some statistical information regarding the intelligent superiority (or not) of the straight white American male preference (SWAMP). Instead, the reader is given a breakdown of promises made following the murder of George Floyd and how those promises never came to full fruition and that the USA has actually gone farther backwards in any racial reckoning progress. The methods to combat this problem were all somewhat repetitive. Not that they aren't good ideas, but there could have been a whole lot more in the statements made and arguments made to support them. Early in the book, the author states four "facts" that supposedly confirm that our country still thinks it is a multiracial democracy. However, I found most of his points were unfounded and/or not fully fleshed out. Later, the author discusses the prohibitive cost of an education. This is presented as an active choice to not fund education, but I felt the correlation trying to be made was questionable. The end result is that this is a pretty light look at the problem and possible solutions. Sure there are plenty of notes and references listed in the back of the book, but the text itself does not provide the unrefutable details needed to use this as a weapon in the fight for racial justice.

Thanks to NetGalley and The New Press for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this book grabbed my attention immediately, both for the audacity of the question and the thoughts it stirred up. I loved the framing: the author uses the Gettysburg Address on one end and the murder of George Floyd on the other as defining moments through which to explore his central questions. This is a book I would have read in my undergrad and I could see quoting it a few times in papers. Made my little Poli Sci heart happy to annotate and form counter arguments.

I would recommend this book to anyone trying to make sense of the long arc between the promise of equality spoken on that battlefield and the violence we collectively witnessed that Memorial Day weekend.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC copy to review.