Skip to main content
  • Book
  • © 2018

Systemic Racism in the United States

Scaffolding as Social Construction

  • Presents an historical overview of racial discrimination in the United States

  • Discusses the institutional and social scaffolding mechanisms that perpetuate racism

  • Offers methods of deconstructing racism through social justice

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.

Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxii
  2. Racial Scaffolding: Conceptual Overview

    • Robbie W. C. Tourse, Johnnie Hamilton-Mason, Nancy J. Wewiorski
    Pages 1-15
  3. Discrimination

    • Robbie W. C. Tourse, Johnnie Hamilton-Mason, Nancy J. Wewiorski
    Pages 17-23
  4. Institutional Legalization of Racism: Exploitation of the Core Groups

    • Robbie W. C. Tourse, Johnnie Hamilton-Mason, Nancy J. Wewiorski
    Pages 25-38
  5. Immigration Through the Lens of Systemic Racism

    • Robbie W. C. Tourse, Johnnie Hamilton-Mason, Nancy J. Wewiorski
    Pages 39-60
  6. The Infrastructure of Racism: The Psychic Dimensions

    • Robbie W. C. Tourse, Johnnie Hamilton-Mason, Nancy J. Wewiorski
    Pages 61-77
  7. The Infrastructure of Racism: The Institutional Dimensions

    • Robbie W. C. Tourse, Johnnie Hamilton-Mason, Nancy J. Wewiorski
    Pages 79-99
  8. Intersectionality: The Linkage of Racism with Other Forms of Discrimination

    • Robbie W. C. Tourse, Johnnie Hamilton-Mason, Nancy J. Wewiorski
    Pages 101-114
  9. Racism and Social Justice

    • Robbie W. C. Tourse, Johnnie Hamilton-Mason, Nancy J. Wewiorski
    Pages 115-128
  10. Deconstruction of Racism

    • Robbie W. C. Tourse, Johnnie Hamilton-Mason, Nancy J. Wewiorski
    Pages 129-147
  11. Back Matter

    Pages 149-153

About this book

"Tourse, Hamilton-Mason, and Wewiorski discuss major concepts that help explicate the systemic nature of institutionalized racism in the U.S. – with a focus on social construction, oppression, scaffolding, and institutional web – providing insight into racist thought and behavior that construct and mark people of color as 'a problem.' […] I highly recommend this book for those who are engaged in working to combat domination and racism at the local, national, and global levels."

-Gary Bailey, DHL, MSW, ACSW, Professor of Practice, Director of Urban Leadership Program, Simmons College School of Social Work

This important volume provides a powerful overview of racism in the United States: what it is, how it works, and the social, cultural, and institutional structures that have evolved to keep it in place. It dissects the rise of legalized discrimination against four major racial groups (First Nations, Africans, Mexicans, and Chinese) and its perpetuation as it affects these groups and new immigrants today. The book’s scaffolding framework—which takes in institutions from the government to our educational systems—explains why racism remains in place despite waves of social change. At the same time, authors describe social justice responses being used to erode racism in its most familiar forms, and at its roots.       

This timely resource:

  • Examines the sociology of discrimination as a constant in daily life.
  • Traces the history of the legalization of racism in the United States.
  • Locates key manifestations of racism in the American psyche.
  • Links racism to other forms of discrimination.
  • Identifies the interlocking components of institutionalized racism.
  • Offers contemporary examples of resistance to racism.
A forceful synthesis of history and social theory, Systemic Racism in the United States is vital reading for practitioners and other professionals in fields related to human rights, social policy, and psychology. And as a classroom text, it challenges its readers to deepen their understanding of both historical process and current developments. 

Authors and Affiliations

  • Boston College School of Social Work, Chestnut Hill, USA

    Robbie W.C. Tourse

  • Simmons College School of Social Work, Boston, USA

    Johnnie Hamilton-Mason

  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Bedford, USA

    Nancy J. Wewiorski

About the authors

Dr. Robbie Welch Christler Tourse retired in 2008 from Boston College Graduate School of Social Work after a 29-year career at that institution.  During her tenure there she was Director of Field Education, Coordinator of the Worcester/Paxton Off-Site Program, and taught in the clinical sequence.  She received her B.A. from Spelman College, her M.S. from Simmons College School of Social Work and her Ph.D. from the Lynch School of Education at Boston College in Administration in Higher Education. Her clinical interests involve cultural/racial issues; transdisciplinary practice, particularly between public schools and mental health facilities in urban areas; and, field education. Dr. Tourse also developed and directed a social service department in a community development corporation before joining Boston College. In addition, throughout her years of clinical practice and public service she consulted with and/or co-led social work and medical groups as well as other entities on racial and cultural understanding and their integration in the work place.   She has co-edited a book and has numerous publications in journals and chapters in books. Dr. Tourse has also presented papers in her areas of interests nationally and internationally.  She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers in 2010.  Since retirement, Dr. Tourse has been an adjunct professor at Simmons College School of Social Work teaching courses in human behavior, racism, and group work.

Dr. Johnnie Hamilton-Mason is a Professor at Simmons College School of Social Work.  She received her B.S. from the State College of Boston, a M.S.W. from Simmons College, and her Ph.D. from Smith College School for Social Work.  From 2004- 2007, Dr. Hamilton-Mason served as Director of the Doctoral Program at Simmons College School of Social Work (SSW). She co-founded the SSW’s Pharnal Longus Academy for Undoing Racism. From 2001 through 2008, she served as a Harvard University W.E.B. DuBois Institute non-resident fellow in African American research.  Her scholarship and research interests are primarily on African American Women and Families, the intersection of cross cultural theory and practice, and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.  In 2013 Dr. Hamilton–Mason received the Greatest Contribution to Social Work Education award from the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.   Dr. Hamilton-Mason is well published in journals and chapters in books, and has presented nationally and internationally on race, culture, and other topics relevant to clinical practice.  She has consulted in urban settings that reflect her areas of interest.

Dr. Nancy J. Wewiorski is a Health Services Researcher with the Department of Veterans Affairs.  She received her A.B. from Mount Holyoke College, her M.S.W. from Howard University School of Social Work and her Ph.D. from Boston College Graduate School of Social Work. Her doctoral dissertation was a study of organizational racism in human services agencies. She completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at Boston University and formerly was a research professor at Boston University.  She has a longstanding career as a social work clinician, administrator and researcher.  Her clinical and research interests are focused on disenfranchised populations, particularly persons of color, persons experiencing homelessness and adults with serious mental illness.  She has published and presented on the topics of homelessness and recovery from serious mental illness and provides clinical and program consultation to human service agencies serving inner city populations.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Systemic Racism in the United States

  • Book Subtitle: Scaffolding as Social Construction

  • Authors: Robbie W.C. Tourse, Johnnie Hamilton-Mason, Nancy J. Wewiorski

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72233-7

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-72232-0Published: 30 May 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-10174-9Published: 22 December 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-72233-7Published: 22 May 2018

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXII, 153

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations, 11 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Social Work, Personality and Social Psychology, Social Policy

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access