Racist America: Roots, Current Realities, and Future Reparations

Racism is a pillar of American society. It is not found only in small pockets of society, but is practised by all Americans, permeating the social fabric of their lives. Racism effects where we live, the clothes we wear, where we go to school, the people we marry, how we earn a living and raise our children. Despite the apparent advances since the civil rights era, America remains fundamentally racist, argues award-winning author Joe Feagin. This work is an exploration of the ubiquity of race in contemporary life. From a black New Jersey dentist stopped by police more than 100 times for driving to work in an expensive car to the labourer who must defend his promotion against charges of undeserved affirmative action, Feagin lays bare the economic, ideological, and political structure of American racism. In doing so he develops an antiracist theory rooted not only in the empirical data but also in the reality of racism in the US. This text challenges our complacency about the trajectory of current race relations and sketches the path to an antiracist future.