“Impacts of Racism on White Americans in the Age of Trump is an essential book for helping us respond to the resurgence of overt racism in the past decade while not neglecting the tenacious roots of white supremacy that have shaped U.S. politics, economics, and culture for centuries. Editors Duke Austin and Benjamin Bowser have assembled an exciting range of contributors to make the case not only for a principled rejection of white supremacy but also for anti-racist actions by whites out of our own self-interest. The book is organized and edited to be useful in the classroom, presenting rigorously argued scholarship that is accessible to all. These astute writers make a compelling case to those of us who are white: We can hold onto whiteness or we can struggle to live richer and more meaningful lives that are rooted in critical self-reflection and a deeper understanding of our own interests. Bowser and Austin have given white people a gift, which I hope everyone will accept and read with the commitment necessary to transcend white supremacy.”
—Robert Jensen, Emeritus Professor, School of Journalism and Media, University of Texas at Austin; author of The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men (2017) and The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilege (2005)
“In this timely and important collection of essays, editors Austin and Bowser brilliantly point out the unintended consequences of systemic racism. The volume effectively illustrates the ways in which white racists often work against their own interests, and why. Appearing at the end of the so-called Trump era, this collection also offers hope that the fight against systemic racism is not a lost cause. Informative, timely, and well-edited, this is a work of importance, a must-read.”
—Elijah Anderson, Sterling Professor, Yale University, and author of Black in White Space: The Enduring Impact of Color in Everyday Life (2021)
“This book presents comprehensive and authoritative evidence of the ways in which racism and the racial hierarchy associated with it harms white Americans. The harm to white people occurs in many realms including economics, housing, health, politics, education, and even sports and foreign policy. The material in this book shows that the struggle against racism has a material as well as a moral foundation. The editors provide valuable suggestions about how practical struggles against racism, cognizant of the harm it does to white people, might proceed.”
—Tom Mayer, Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology, University of Colorado at Boulder