Becoming and Unbecoming White: Owning and Disowning a Racial Identity

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Description

The authors of the narrative chapters represented in this volume have in common that they are dedicated to the realization of a critical, multicultural, democratic society. Individually, they are female and male, from diverse ethnicities, socio-economic class backgrounds, first language groups, religious and spiritual affiliations, and sexual orientations. They are professors of education, psychology, sociology, and communication as well as community activists. The stories that they share reveal the history of racism in this country over a fifty year period beginning in the late 1930s and continuing into the early 1980s. The stories are most diverse, and share what it was like growing up White during and after Jim Crow segregation, the Civil Rights Movement, and busing and integration. Thus, there is a history here of our country's racism yesterday and today. Inviting students to experience this history may encourage them to further explore its ongoing manifestations.

Reviews

"Becoming and Unbecoming White is an immensely impressive and essential contribution to the field of education, in particular teacher education and multicultural education....Through the stories and analyses, a much needed new space is created to catapult educational thinking, discourse, and action into a new direction that has the potential to free us to more directly and energetically engage in the work of fighting for equality and social justice for all of us."-Beverly E. Cross Associate Professor University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
"By engaging readers in a thoughtful analysis of Whiteness and its connection to critical and inclusive teaching, the authors in this book highlight both the transformative power and the potentially limiting nature of the discourse of Whiteness. They remind us that, in the final analysis, our focus as teachers needs to be on students because all of them, but especially students of color, are put in jeopardy by an education that favors Whites over others in all aspects of schooling. By emphasizing the experiences and the analysis of educators coming to terms with becoming both White and anti-racist, Chris Clark and Jim O'Donnell provide a healthy and empowering model for all teachers of all backgrounds."-Sonia Nieto Professor, School of Education University of Massachusetts Amherst
.,."a text that will foster critical discussions on multiple levels among faculty, community leaders and undergraduate and graduate students....unique in that it offers opportunities for readers to enter the text at multiple levels and places in their own journeys of fighting for a more just country."-Journal of Moral Education
.,."contains honest and revealing assessments of what it means to be white. They alert the reader to what it means to give up white privilege and to become a force for the easing of the racial divide....for white educators who seek to forge unknown and uncomfortable territory (as we must if we are to contribute to the ameliorations rather than the perpetuation of racism), this book provides an indispensable road map."-Multicultural Review
...a text that will foster critical discussions on multiple levels among faculty, community leaders and undergraduate and graduate students....unique in that it offers opportunities for readers to enter the text at multiple levels and places in their own journeys of fighting for a more just country.-Journal of Moral Education
...contains honest and revealing assessments of what it means to be white. They alert the reader to what it means to give up white privilege and to become a force for the easing of the racial divide....for white educators who seek to forge unknown and uncomfortable territory (as we must if we are to contribute to the ameliorations rather than the perpetuation of racism), this book provides an indispensable road map.-Multicultural Review
An excellent collection for college-level students to study.-Multicultural Perspectives
..."a text that will foster critical discussions on multiple levels among faculty, community leaders and undergraduate and graduate students....unique in that it offers opportunities for readers to enter the text at multiple levels and places in their own journeys of fighting for a more just country."-Journal of Moral Education
"An excellent collection for college-level students to study."-Multicultural Perspectives
..."contains honest and revealing assessments of what it means to be white. They alert the reader to what it means to give up white privilege and to become a force for the easing of the racial divide....for white educators who seek to forge unknown and uncomfortable territory (as we must if we are to contribute to the ameliorations rather than the perpetuation of racism), this book provides an indispensable road map."-Multicultural Review

Author Bio

CHRISTINE CLARK is Assistant Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, New Mexico State University. JAMES O'DONNELL is Assistant Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, New Mexico State University.