Wow! eBook
The Many Costs of Racism First Paperback Edition
Author(s): Joe R. Feagin (Author), Karyn D. McKinney (Author)
- Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
- Publication Date: July 14, 2005
- Edition: First Paperback Edition
- Language: English
- Print length: 256 pages
- ISBN-10: 0742511189
- ISBN-13: 9780742511187
Book Description
What is it like to be a black person in America today? The voices of middle class African Americans captured in this book will surprise those who think the era of racial discrimination is past. The Many Costs of Racism is a vivid account of the mental, physical health, and economic effects of everyday racism for Black Americans–and of racism’s high costs for all Americans. Even in the last decade, many thousands of discrimination complaints have been brought to U.S. courts and governmental agencies. Many Americans are familiar with overt cases of discrimination in the workplace–such as the nooses hung recently by white employees at some worksites as racially harassing reminders of lynchings. While most whites of good will abhor blatant forms of discrimination, they rarely attend to the millions of subtle and covert cases of discrimination that take place yearly. Few white Americans are aware of the array of economic, stress-related, psychological, physical health, and family costs that are imposed on discrimination’s many targets. Drawing on their own interviews and on other research studies, the authors document the substantial damage done to black individuals, families, and communities by the stress of everyday discrimination. The strong voices of African Americans here also tell how active resistance and coping strategies become a way of life. Beyond the toll on individuals and families, the authors assess the costs that society as a whole pays for the age-old structures of racial inequality that persist in workplaces, communities, and other major institutions. That cost is much too high–and the book explains how all Americans can work to reduce it.
Editorial Reviews
Review
The Many Costs of Racism First Paperback Edition gives us facts that change the terms of sometimes overwrought or abstract debates about race in America. Racism hurts and the injury it inflicts costs everyone what none can afford. In 1954 this was the essential truth of Brown v. Education. Today, Feagin and McKinney give us facts that remind of what we’d rather forget. How I wish I’d had this book over the last decades of teaching race. How fortunate teachers and students will be for having it now and over the years to come. (Lemert, Charles)
Hard hitting, much needed, and clearly written. . . . The only disappointment I have with the book is that it ended too soon. (
Contemporary Sociology)Recommended. (
Choice)In
The Many Costs of Racism First Paperback Edition Feagin and McKinney examine a wealth of research on the terrible costs and burdens racism places on black families, black workers, and the black psyche, paying special attention to health issues. They also consider the many strategies black people use to fight back. By effectively demonstrating how anti-black racism remains a central feature of American cultural and economic life, this book demolishes right-wing claims that the country is now somehow ‘colorblind’ or ‘beyond racism.’ It is an essential work for the classroom, as well as a valuable tool for scholars and researchers. Highly recommended! (Winant, Howard)About the Author
Joe R. Feagin is professor of sociology at the University of Florida. Karyn D. McKinney is professor of sociology at Altoona College, Penn State University.
