Backlash
What Happens When We Talk Honestly about Racism in America
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
When George Yancy penned a New York Times op-ed entitled “Dear White America” asking white Americans to confront the ways that they benefit from racism, he knew his article would be controversial. But he was unprepared for the flood of vitriol in response.
The resulting blowback played out in the national media, with critics attacking Yancy in every form possible—including death threats—and supporters rallying to his side. Despite the rhetoric of a “post-race” America, Yancy quickly discovered that racism is still alive, crude, and vicious in its expression. In Backlash, Yancy expands upon the original article and chronicles the ensuing controversy as he seeks to understand what it was about the op-ed that created so much rage among so many white readers. He challenges white Americans to rise above the vitriol and to develop a new empathy for the African American experience.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Emory philosophy professor Yancy (On Race: 34 Conversations in a Time of Crisis) delivers a powerful reflection on the complexities of racial dialogue in America in this follow-up to a provocative 2015 op-ed published in the New York Times. That piece, "Dear White America," was about racism in the 21st century and was addressed explicitly to white Americans. Though Yancy knew his essay would be controversial, he was unprepared for the deluge of hostile responses it provoked. Here, the original article appears and is followed by chapters addressing the range of responses that followed. In one chapter, Yancy parses the devastating examples of the vitriolic expressions of "unmitigated white hatred" he received. Further chapters assess the more empathetic responses and consistently invite white readers to think critically about how and why they talk about race, while also exploring Yancy's own vulnerability within the discourse. Empathetic readers who do not initially recognize their implicit connections to racism will find insight in many of Yancy's observations, such as his statement that "bonding with certain black people does not exempt you from white racism, just as having married a woman does not free me from sexism." Direct and honest, Yancy's delineations of white violence, white indifference, and white na vet are both thoughtful and discomforting.
