White Men Challenging Racism: 35 Personal Stories

by Cooper Thompson (Editor), Cooper Thompson (Editor), Harry Brod (Editor)

White Men Challenging Racism is a collection of first-person narratives chronicling the compelling experiences of thirty-five white men whose efforts to combat racism and fight for social justice are central to their lives. Based on interviews conducted by Cooper Thompson, Emmett Schaefer, and Harry Brod, these engaging oral histories tell the stories of the men's antiracist work. While these men discuss their accomplishments with pride, they also talk about their mistakes and regrets, their shortcomings and strategic blunders. A foreword by James W. Loewen, author of Lies My Teacher Told Me , provides historical context, describing antiracist efforts undertaken by white men in America during past centuries.
Ranging in age from twenty-six to eighty-six, the men whose stories are presented here include some of the elder statesmen of antiracism work as well as members of the newest generation of activists. They come from across the United States--from Denver, Nashville, and San Jose; rural North Carolina, Detroit, and Seattle. Some are straight; some are gay. A few--such as historian Herbert Aptheker, singer/songwriter Si Kahn, Stetson Kennedy (a Klan infiltrator in the 1940s), and Richard Lapchick (active in organizing the sports community against apartheid)--are relatively well known; most are not. Among them are academics, ministers, police officers, firefighters, teachers, journalists, union leaders, and full-time community organizers. They work with Latinos and African-, Asian-, and Native-Americans. Many ground their work in spiritual commitments. Their inspiring personal narratives--whether about researching right-wing groups, organizing Central American immigrants, or serving as pastor of an interracial congregation--connect these men with one another and with their allies in the fight against racism in the United States.
All authors' royalties go directly to fund antiracist work. To read excerpts from the book, please visit cooper-thompson.com/essays

Genres: Race, Nonfiction

392 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[David]

Each white man in this book is able to have his own voice within the struggle against racism. It was written from interviews with each of these activists and the questions, methods of transposing, and intention is clearly and conscientiously described. I was most intrigued by the amount of Jewish and Gay men picked to represent the men involved in antiRacism and how they related their experiences or histories of oppression to racism. Although the majority of the men in the book discuss academic theory along with their work to end racism, the highlights were from the men who did not mention theory. They simply described their commitment to ending racism by realizing the tremendous injustice of racism through experience. There appeared to be less ego in this approach that was sometimes lacking from the theoretical inspiration. Somehow the men without a theoretical background did the right thing because they knew, from their experience and personal observations, that this is what they must do and did not have to work so hard to rationalize it with theory.

[Matteo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't find it terribly compelling and didn't finish it, but what i did read was interesting. i particularly appreciated the introduction, in which some careful words are said about the purpose of the book.