I really appreciated the way Sullivan complexifies how middle class white liberalism positions poor whites as the scapegoat of white supremacy, so as to exonerate itself. Within this, she ardently argues that middle class white liberalism *is* white supremacy—and I agree. However, there were MANY parts of this book through which she did not say enough about the dangers of white supremacy that do in fact come from poor whites. It was as if she was too quick to exonerate avowed white supremacists just to make her point about middle class whiteness. On top of this, I believe there were MANY points in which Sullivan also co-opted, appropriated, and misrepresented the work of BIPOC. Quite unfortunate.

4.5 Stars

Man alive, I haven't read that much theory since Laura Mulvey in college, and that was a long damn time ago. Overall, my reaction was mixed. The first chapter, on the impact of class on whites, the othering of "white trash" and the links to race was fascinating and hugely compelling. After that, though, I generally found the book less persuasive -- though consistently interesting -- and somewhat repetitive. I'm glad I read it, but in some ways wish that first chapter had been the last and not raised my expectation so high ....

Great leftist critique of middle class anti-racism. Everyone should read this book at least once.

Very good book, very important learnings for white anti-racism. Uses a lot of academic concepts and terminology but still fairly accessible and not too dense. Some of my takeaways:
1. Don’t “other” other white people (including “white trash” as well as slaveowning ancestors). That’s just a way of cutting off parts of your self. Stay in dialogue with them and be able to accept that they are human beings even while challenging the wrongs they are doing. Be honest and critical.
2. Be deliberate in raising race-conscious (not color-blind) children
3. White guilt and shame are problematic as motivators for change, as they tend to make ppl shut down, get small, or go into “fury of humiliation.” Instead we should develop critical self-love.

This book is one of the most transformative books on race that I (as a white woman) have read. I was introduced to this book my senior year of college in my Africana philosophy class. I read a couple chapters from the book for the class, and had the privilege to meet the author herself. She came to our class and discussed her thesis and specifically the chapters that we had read. Now, a year and a half later, I've finally read the whole thing and have had time to digest her thoughts more fully.

First of all, to all of you saying it is a dense book, yes. It's philosophy. And (I'm not trying to sound haughty) it's really less dense than the majority of philosophy I had to read in school. But yes, this is an academic book meant for an academic audience.

I think Sullivan is onto something extremely important in this book. She posits that there is a sickness with white middle-class anti-racism. And this is something I think many have observed in the post-Trump era. white middle-class anti-racism tries to pretend that racism is a lower-class problem. We try to deflect the blame away from us "good" white people and onto the "bad" white trash. However, especially in the post-Trump era, we have to confront the fact that Trump didn't win because of white trash. He won because of ALL white people. Racism continues not just because of white trash - it continues through the actions of "good" white people as well.

Sullivan's response to this is multifaceted. But in a nutshell, she (revolutionarily) challenges white people to confront their racist ancestry by embracing it, and fight racism not through hatred and guilt but through self-love. I find this argument compelling for many reasons. We, as white people, need to love ourselves enough to realize that racism needs to be taken care of on our side of the aisle. We can't paternalize minorities by telling them how to fix racism, and we also can't expect them to bear the burden. White people themselves need to concentrate on raising children as white allies, on fixing themselves and recognizing their own racism, and realize that racism is every white person's burden to bear.

It's easy to see how Sullivan can be misunderstood or twisted to fit racists conceptions of whiteness. I'd encourage any "good" white person to pick up this book with an open mind and to caution against defensiveness. Realize that her mission is to offer a solution to racism that moves away from white guilt and moves towards white reconciliation with its own evil. This book is worthy of a 15 page review that outlines each of the arguments but unfortunately I don't have the time. If you enjoy philosophy, and more specifically critical philosophy of race, this book will confront you. Especially if you are white, this book will make you uncomfortable. But fighting racism will not be comfortable, and Sullivan has helped me re-construct the way I think about my whiteness and how to accept my identity as white while fighting for racial justice.

I had to give up reading this book in public, because I was fairly certain that when strangers read the title, whatever conclusions they were drawing were probably not what this book is, which is quite simply the most challenging book on race I've ever read. Reading this book was a process of continuously having my ass kicked. But in a very good way.

Sullivan divides her book into four chapters. In the first chapter, "Dumping on White Trash: Etiquette, Abjection, and Radical Inclusion," she makes the case that "good white liberals" have far more in common with white supremacists than we'd like to believe. And one of those similarities is distancing ourselves from "white trash," trying to use them as scapegoats and holding them responsible for racism in America. Sullivan's argument that many liberals fail as true democrats by excluding those we deem "irrational" from the public sphere really hit home. Ouch.

The second chapter, "Demonizing White Ancestors: Unconscious Histories and Racial Responsibilities," is all about critical acceptance and forgiveness. It's about forgiving without condoning or excusing, but understanding. This is probably the most challenging chapter in the book for me. Forgiveness is definitely a skill I still need to work on.

As a parent and educator, I found the third chapter, "The Disease of Color Blindness: Racial Absences and Invisibilities in the Reproduction of Whiteness" most relevant. There is so much in this chapter about talking to children about race. Even when there aren't a lot of easy answers, examples of other parents' struggles with this are both inspiring and affirming. Too often we hesitate to say anything at all unless we can say it perfectly, but Sullivan has stories and studies backing up that even just muddling through yields benefits to children in challenging white domination, and silence, in this like in all things, generally serves to side us with the oppressors.

But in these days of shootings and police brutality, the chapter I've put to use the most often is the final one, "The Dangers of White Guilt, Shame, and Betrayal: Toward White Self-Love." As someone who tries to be a white ally, I feel a responsibility to challenge racist speech and behavior. This chapter has challenged me to think about and adjust my language in these conversations, to be more generous and to more carefully avoid shaming. I am trying to make my motto this sentence from the conclusion: "Dissent born of love seeks the ongoing and improved life of that which it criticizes, not its death."

I marked this whole book up with underlines and sidenotes, despite my usual distaste (not a strong enough word) for marking books. I have a feeling I may be turning to this book over and over again. And I certainly don't foresee parting with it anytime soon.

I read this largely as a counterpoint to Waking Up White; it was suggested in one of the few critical reviews. It's dense and academic; I'm relieved it's relatively short and sticks to four main points. The first half seemed like a reaction to some specific ideas that I don't really subscribe to (distancing oneself from poor whites and from racist history) but did have plenty of good points about the danger of othering people. The latter half contains a great analysis of the problems with white people advocating colorblindness. It's one of the few books I've read, maybe even the only one, that makes a genuine effort to discuss the interactions between race and class. It makes a strong case for the responsibility white people have to deal with the racism of other white people, that it's pointless to be an individual "good" white person.

Well-organized, challenging, enlightening, and constructive. This book and author were mentioned in the "Seeing White" podcast series, which is why I picked it up. Between Sullivan's book and the podcast, my perspective on and understanding of whiteness and my own white identity have both broadened and deepened.

(I also pocketed a few tips on how to talk to the white children in my life about race in a way that might set them up to think about whiteness in ways that I, as a kid, did not. I'm especially grateful to Shannon Sullivan for that!)

Just finished a few minutes ago, so my thoughts are a bit of a jumble. May come back and clean this up later, after I've had more time to process.

Introduction - 5+ stars. Most of the rest of the chapters were closer to 4, but rounding up the book rating because as a whole it is changing how I look at the world and (I hope) making me a better person, which was kind of my goal. The most surprising parts of this chapter were: 1) the introduction to the idea that US racism is sustained on a bedrock of classism-as-deflection-strategy ("we're not the evil racists, it's the poors over there", 2) that white allies are a unicorn (frequently talked about, never seen) and 3) the phrase "ontological expansiveness" which to me seems more meaningful than cultural appropriation, as the concept of trespassing signals why it's problematic.

Chapter 1 is probably the hardest to get through -- I think it took me two weeks while the rest took me a couple of days in total. I blame that on the Kristeva. But it could also be the content, the idea of taking ownership of white identity in a non-supremacist way.

"Rather than cede the meaning and effects of whiteness to white supremacists, whiteness can be developed into an identity grounded in racial justice that is in solidarity with people of color working against white racism."

Chapter 2 was eye-opening. Taking seriously the idea of critically understanding white slaveowners and white family histories of racism, it reminded me that people usually have good-to-them reasons for making bad choices. And rather than sweeping those things under a rug to hide from their awfulness, Sullivan advocates taking them out to look at them clearly, forgive when we can, and learn from those mistakes a better way of living. Putting it all on "them" continues the cycle of othering that led to slavery.

For Southern slaveowners "The two alternatives to [oppressive and exploitative industrial/Northern capitalism] were socialism and slavery, and it was only slavery that was morally sanctioned in the Christian Bible"

Chapter 3 was about child-rearing and how taking a color blind approach merely perpetuates unconscious practices of racism. Once again, you can't defeat racism by pretending it's not there or by othering/scapegoating the lower class. I'd wanted a little more related to dealing with racism in elders, but as Sullivan states, it's easier to teach children than re-teach adults. One question I have is whether there's a term for respectability politics within white communities? Or is that just classism?

"The result [of color blindness] is a strange kind of pride in one's interpersonal cluelessness."

Chapter 4 was about the damaging impact of white guilt/shame, and how they operate on a foundation of white privilege and classism, rather than having any positive impact on racial justice. It also dealt with the concept of race traitors, which... I'm from the northern US. Most of the racial messages I've received have been covert, so the thought of anyone actually using that phrase is kind of baffling to me. However, I have had my behavior policed when I'm not performing whiteness correctly, which is maybe the same thing? Or close? Still muddling through this.

Calling for white people to be constituted by self-love is not a call for them to be delighted about being white racists or benefiting from white privilege. In the mix of negative and positive affects that make up white people--even, or perhaps especially when the negative far outweigh the positive--it is a call for them to nourish their positive affects with regard to whiteness so that a different kind of political and interpersonal action on their part will be possible.

Conclusion - still processing. There's a lot here. Quoting the final section, as it's a pretty concise summation of the book as a whole.

While they cannot do it in a solipsistic vacuum, white people need to figure out new ways to take up their white identities. No one else can live their whiteness for them. So what will they--we, I--do with it? The best answers to this question will be ones that emerge apart from the abjection of white trash, the othering of white ancestors, the distancing strategy of color blindness, and the dominance of white guilt, shame, and betrayal. By developing a critical form of self-love that helps transform whiteness, white people can make positive contributions to struggles for racial justice.