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The Complexity of Color and the Religion of Whiteness

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Color Struck

Part of the book series: Teaching Race and Ethnicity ((RACE))

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Abstract

African American’s self-consciousness about their skin color is closely related to their engagement with whiteness in a world in which whiteness has been the dominant religion. After all, self-conception is intersubjective. We come to know ourselves, in part, in response to our perception of others and, in turn, as reflections of other people’s perceptions of us. Du Bois’s aphoristic reflection on “double consciousness” is salient for just this reason (Du Bois, 1903).

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Finley, S.C., Martin, L.L. (2017). The Complexity of Color and the Religion of Whiteness. In: Martin, L.L., Horton, H.D., Herring, C., Keith, V.M., Thomas, M. (eds) Color Struck. Teaching Race and Ethnicity. SensePublishers, Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6351-110-0_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6351-110-0_9

  • Publisher Name: SensePublishers, Rotterdam

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-6351-110-0

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