CHOICE OATs #CharlestonSyllabus Outstanding Academic Titles to contextualizing the shootings in Charleston.

52-1909 Sullivan, Shannon. Good white people: the problem with middle-class white anti-. SUNY Press, 2014. 214p bibl index afp ISBN 9781438451688 cloth, $90.00; ISBN 9781438451695 pbk, $29.95; ISBN 9781438451701 ebook, $29.95

Sullivan (Penn State) bluntly warns that the anti-racist work of "good white people" may be doing more to impair the cause of racial justice than to promote it. She examines four insidious ways in which "white allies" perpetuate their own power and privilege. First, even as they self-righteously proclaim openness, white liberals reinstate otherness when they distance themselves from "white trash," who are cast as provincial and unsophisticated. Second, good white people also construct white ancestors as monstrous "others" who justified the demonic system of antebellum . Third, good white folks deny the present reality of by promoting the fantasy of "color-blindness." And fourth, white liberals pretend to hold the moral high ground by sanctifying white guilt—even as they do nothing. Good white people must stop fleeing from being white, says Sullivan. She calls for critical acceptance ("self-love") of whiteness—not in the sense of the racist exaltation of the white supremacist, but as critical self-examination that aims for spiritual racial health. With its highly sophisticated method and edgy straight talk, this provocative little book is required reading for anyone who aspires to destabilize racist systems of undeserved power and privilege. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. --P. K. Steinfeld, Buena Vista University

51-2956 Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. Racism without racists: color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in America. 4th ed. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. 363p bibl index afp ISBN 9781442220546, $85.00; ISBN 9781442220553 pbk, $29.95; ISBN 9781442220560 ebook, $28.99

Each edition of Bonilla-Silva's now classic Racism without Racists (1st ed., CH, Jan'04, 41-3121) has brought with it updates that underline its contemporary relevance. This fourth edition is no different: it takes a sharply critical look at Obama's reelection, and is updated wherever possible with new statistics. However, what makes this edition especially useful is an additional chapter, "The New Racism: The U.S. Racial Structure since the 1960s." The preface notes that this is because Racism without Racists sometimes functions as the only book on race in many college classrooms. In this new chapter, Bonilla-Silva (Duke) traces the legacy of the US past into the present, exploring institutions that have helped perpetuate racial inequality and segregation in housing, education, political life, the prison system, and other areas. The author also provides a survey of various forms of contemporary economic inequality, social segmentation, and control. While no single book is likely to include enough relevant material about race, Bonilla-Silva's attempt comes very close. Displaying the author's trademark sense of humor and unflinching critique of the and discourse that continue to fuel racial inequality today, this edition will be satisfying to newcomers as well to those who have already used this book for years. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. --M. A. Burke, Illinois Wesleyan University 50-3210 Blum, Edward J. The color of Christ: the Son of God & the saga of race in America, by Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey. North Carolina, 2012. 340p index ISBN 9780807835722, $32.50

Blum (history, San Diego State Univ.) and Harvey (history, Univ. of Colorado) trace American Christianity's changing pictorial depictions of Jesus, and how those representations reinforced or challenged white power and privilege. The book's time line stretches all the way from the resistance to pictorial representations of Jesus in early America to 19th-century efforts to make Jesus look "European," based on what was largely known to be a false description of Jesus. The history continues with efforts by ethnic liberation theologians to depict a "black" Jesus or a "Native American" Jesus. The book demonstrates the complex connections between religion, culture, and politics, and how religion has sometimes served to reinforce secular political platforms such as or nativism. The numerous illustrations represent one of the most helpful parts of the book, since they make the authors' points vivid and easy to follow. This is a key work for students of American Christianity, but also a worthwhile read for undergraduates and general readers interested in the intersection of race, Christianity, and religion. It is an important acquisition for religion collections of all types. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-level undergraduates and above. -A. W. Klink, Duke University

49-3803 Baker, Kelly J. Gospel according to the Klan: the KKK's appeal to Protestant America, 1915-1930. University Press of Kansas, 2011. 326p bibl index afp ISBN 9780700617920, $34.95

In this well-written, persuasively argued book, Baker (Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville) shows that early-20th-century members were not as removed from the 1920s religious and cultural mainstream as scholars who tout themes of tolerance in American history might desire them to be. The era from the 1910s to 1930s, which could be described as 30 years of "tribalisms," saw not only the Klan, but the rise of American , anti-Semitic quota systems, strict , and closed-door isolationist policies that kept nonwhite Protestant immigration to a minimum. Baker argues that the Klan, a racist white Protestant organization that reached its membership peak of four million in 1924, "was representative of 1920s America in its white supremacy, anti-Catholicism, anti-semitism, and other vices." In chapters on the movement's Protestantism, , racism, and gender discourses, Baker provides readers with the most detailed study of the early-20th-century Klan's religious concepts and practices to date. Her suggestion that the Klan's intertwining of nationalism and religion makes it part of the lineage of the American Right is particularly provocative, and sure to stimulate some heated discussion. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers. --S. McCloud, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

49-0100 Waltman, Michael. The communication of hate, by Michael Waltman and John Haas. Peter Lang, 2011. 202p bibl indexes (Language as social action, 9) ISBN 9781433104473, $89.95

Books dealing with are likely to adopt one of two approaches. First Amendment absolutists are likely to see hate speech as an unfortunate but protected byproduct of free expression; diversity advocates point to a connection between hate speech and atrocious action, lamenting the fact that the US does not restrict such speech as other Western democracies do (a subject Anthony Cortese takes up in Opposing Hate Speech, CH, Sep'06, 44- 0635). Waltman (Univ. of North Carolina) and Haas (Univ. of Tennessee) walk the tightrope well: though clearly opposed to hate mongers they see no call for legal remedies but rather advocate anti- hate narratives. The book is saturated with examples of hate speech (from novels, Web sites, public speeches), but the authors avoid criticism of Jessie Daniels's Cyber Racism: White Supremacy Online and the New Attack on Civil Rights (CH, Mar'10, 47-4125). In fact it is the integration of the examples that makes this study so relevant and powerful for students, because they will encounter contemporary examples. Like Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic's Understanding Words that Wound (CH, Oct'04, 42-1071), this book will be useful for those who teach or are interested in communication--or any subject that touches on hate speech. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; faculty. --D. Caristi, Ball State University

48-3464 McGuire, Danielle L. At the dark end of the street: black women, rape, and resistance--a new history of the civil rights movement from Rosa Parks to the rise of black power. Knopf, 2010. 324p bibl index afp ISBN 9780307269065, $27.95

The title of this fast-paced, sweeping narrative history of black female protection campaigns and their relationship to the civil rights movement is a metaphor for the ways in which white supremacy denied black womanhood, as well as how the rape of black women has remained marginal to civil rights movement scholarship. Rosa Parks is the book's central character. Instead of portraying Parks as simply a tired woman who refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, McGuire (Wayne State Univ.) recasts Parks as a tough-nosed, experienced organizer who investigated numerous black female rape incidents in Alabama and orchestrated national protest campaigns on rape victims' behalf during the 1940s and 1950s. The author reinterprets Parks as a civil rights activist whose activism centered on the protection of black women against rape in order to make the larger point that the civil rights movement is rooted in African American women's long struggle against sexual violence. Furthermore, McGuire asserts that civil rights historiography needs to be completely overhauled. Given the book's bold analysis, it deserves a wide audience. A winner! Summing Up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries. --K. K. Hill, Texas Tech University

48-1786 Simi, Pete. American swastika: inside the white power movement's hidden spaces of hate, by Pete Simi and Robert Futrell. Rowman & Littlefield, 2010. 167p bibl index afp ISBN 9781442202085, $34.95

Simi (Univ. of Nebraska, Omaha) and Futrell (UNLV) provide an unprecedented look into communities of white supremacy in the US. Their particular areas of focus are the movement's free spaces, both material and virtual, where white supremacists can safely come together to express their racial views, form hate-centered communities, and recruit new members. Birthday parties, house parties, rock shows, Bible study, groups, and weekend retreats all reveal the startling normality of racial hatred in these communities and make the book compelling for several academic genres. This rich community study explores issues of identity, refuge, inclusion, empowerment, bonding, and division. It also is relevant as a study of a contemporary social movement that seeks survival and change in a world hostile to its beliefs. Further, the book contributes to the study of racial identity and contemporary racism, highlighting the need to continue to examine overt forms of racism in a color-blind society. A stronger theoretical framework as well as a closer examination of social class and gender could have improved the book, but it is important for its contribution to multiple fields and its compelling readability. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. --M. A. Burke, Illinois Wesleyan University

47-0489 Wood, Amy Louise. and spectacle: witnessing racial violence in America, 1890-1940. North Carolina, 2009. 349p bibl index afp ISBN 9780807832547, $39.95

Proceeding from the premise that lynching "came to stand as the primary representation of racial injustice and oppression as a whole," Wood (Illinois State Univ.) contradicts the notion that lynching usually took place in isolated locales with the reality that this barbarism became mainly an urban phenomenon, with newspapers, streetcars, and railroads used to mobilize the mob. Wood notes in her gripping portrait that lynching mobs were dominated by persons of the rising middle class, not by poor whites, and that lynching persisted with the tacit support of social elites. The author is particularly forceful in bringing readers into the psychological setting and specifics of the , reinforcing this impact with numerous photographs of lynch mobs and the tormented victims. Photographs and eventually cinematic representations of lynchings created memorabilia that could be marketed far beyond the immediate location, constituting symbolic representation of white supremacy. Wood's compelling discussion of D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation sees the film as a piece of "reactionary racial fiction," and makes the telling point that watching the film transformed audiences into lynching spectators. This insightful exploration of lynching's cultural power is a groundbreaking addition to a growing body of scholarship focused on racial violence. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. --H. Shapiro, emeritus, University of Cincinnati

46-7104 Ehrlich, Howard J. Hate crimes and ethnoviolence: the history, current affairs, and future of discrimination in America. Westview, 2009. 191p index ISBN 9780813344454 pbk, $24.00

Sociologist Ehrlich's latest scholarly endeavor is perhaps the quintessential work currently available on this "hot button" topic. His work focuses not only on the historical progression of hate crimes and ethnoviolence circa 1950s to the early 21st century, but does so utilizing a fully critical sociological approach. Ehrlich (director, The Institute) engages and challenges the reader to confront the difficult issues directly, indirectly, and tangentially associated to the subject under discussion, as well as to evaluate and, in some instances, reevaluate one's personal position on the topic. His analysis of television network news and use of interviews and numerous case studies further enhance the reader's understanding of the role played by the media and popular culture, in general, in the furtherance of as well as the continued commission of hate crimes and ethnoviolence. Ehrlich's work is indispensable, extremely well written, very thought-provoking, and well organized and researched. A very valuable resource not only for scholars and practitioners, but for students and the general public. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. --W. Jakub, Franciscan University of Steubenville

44-6356 Baker, R. Scott. Paradoxes of desegregation: African American struggles for educational equity in Charleston, South Carolina, 1926-1972. South Carolina, 2006. 248p bibl index afp ISBN 9781570036323, $39.95

For many decades, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) struggled to end state-sponsored segregation in the public schools. Yet more than 50 years after the famous Brown decision (1954), it is increasingly clear that desegregation has produced profound paradoxes. Baker (education, Wake Forest Univ.) meticulously chronicles the efforts of the NAACP and black parents in South Carolina to end segregation in the public schools, and the tireless efforts of white supremacists to resist and evade desegregation. The state turned to the use of examinations for teachers to rationalize differences in pay between black and white teachers, and the use of standardized tests and tracking to limit the admission of black students to traditionally white colleges and schools. When all else failed, many whites abandoned the public schools for private schools. Ultimately, the "desegregated" public schools in locations with a substantial black population ended up overwhelmingly black (racially homogeneous) not because of laws requiring segregation, but because of residential patterns and white flight. The upwardly mobile black middle class also joined the exodus to the suburbs, leaving poor blacks behind, isolated by both race and class. Sobering and provocative. Required reading. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. --W. Glasker, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Camden

43-3597 Schultz, Mark. The rural face of white supremacy: beyond Jim Crow. Illinois, 2005. 305p indexes afp ISBN 0252029607, $42.00

This study of rural race relations will be an important standard work. Historian Schultz (Lewis Univ.) argues that early-20th-century rural southerners created a personalized, variable racial etiquette within a white supremacist culture. Using, in part, oral interviews with over 200 rural Georgians, the author gracefully communicates his perceptive, nuanced insights. He reports black and white interviewees' descriptions of racial variations and writes intelligently about the role played by class. Schultz minimizes neither the racism (paternalism, violence, exploitation, disrespect) nor the possibility for exceptional interracial relationships (sexual, filial, religious, neighborly). Rural communities, where "friendship was better than money," tolerated greater variations than did towns. Rural Christians of both races visited each other's churches (mostly not as equals), tended each other's sick, and buried the dead together in poor people's communities where, in the words of one source, there were "no undertakers ... just brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ." Yet Schultz carefully strips away any idealized version of such communities with a healthy accounting of the omnipresent racism of the majority. Historians and general readers will profit from this rich work. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. --K. G. Wilkison, Collin County Community College

43-0634 The Psychology of prejudice and discrimination: v.1: Racism in America; v.2: Ethnicity and multiracial identity; v.3: Bias based on gender and sexual orientation; v.4: Disability, religion, physique, and other traits, ed. by Jean Lau Chin. Praeger, 2004. 4v bibl index afp ISBN 0275982343, $300.00

This four-volume set provides a comprehensive examination of the human tendency to succumb to biased, negative notions about others who are "different." Operating in the face of antidiscrimination legislation (which is often poorly enforced anyway), prejudice and discrimination can take on forms both overt and covert, and Chin (dean, California School of Professional Psychology) encompasses both throughout. As their titles indicate, each volume focuses on a specific type of discrimination in the US. In addition to treating racism in the workplace and academia, the first volume investigates the historical and cultural roots of racial bias after the Civil War. In discussing ethnicity, volume 2 examines the tension between remaining loyal to traditional customs and assimilating into the dominant culture; it also considers the dynamics of multiracial identity, including choosing which identity to adopt. Volume 3 treats gender bias and hate crimes against individuals with sexual orientations at variance with heterosexuality, exploring psychosocial issues and disenfranchisement. Volume 4 takes up a variety of other biases, including in its scope such things as physical disabilities and particular body types (in a society that cherishes unrealistic standards of body perfection), and intolerance of native cultures as a consequence of globalization. The set is marked by a mix of scholarly analysis and personal anecdote, a format that is its distinguishing strength. Summing Up: Essential. All collections; all levels. --D. J. Winchester, Yeshiva University

42-6805 Pulera, Dominic J. Sharing the dream: white males in multicultural America. Continuum International Publishers Group, 2004. 448p bibl index afp ISBN 0826416438, $27.95

Demographers note that the US population and society is becoming more ethnically and racially diverse and more multicultural. But what will be the place of white males in a multicultural US? This is the question that independent scholar Pulera (Visible Differences: Why Race Will Matter to Americans during the Twenty-first Century, CH, Feb'03, 40-3721) explores in his fascinating book. Discussing the meaning of "white," which is often used to denote persons of European ancestry, he correctly observes that whites, and white males, are not a monolith. The author examines every conceivable dimension of white male experience, from politics, business, and guns to sports, entertainment, religion, and sexual orientation. He offers a lucid analysis of fears and perceptions that affirmative action, quotas, and preferences might bring gains for racial minorities and women at the expense of individual white men. There is also a good chapter on white supremacist hate groups and watchdog groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center. Pulera challenges readers to envision the place of white men in a shared multicultural society of the future. His text is useful and informative without being overly polemical. It is a good companion to Greg Oswald's Race and Ethnic Relations in Today's America, (CH, Mar'02, 39-4277). Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. --W. Glasker, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Camden

41-2753 Gardell, Mattias. Gods of the blood: the pagan revival and white separatism. Duke University, 2003. 445p bibl index afp ISBN 0822330598, $69.95; ISBN 0822330717 pbk, $23.95

Enter the bizarre, chilling world of racist paganism, Aryan militants, occult National Socialism, and esoteric Hitlerism. Gardell (international migration and ethnic relations, Stockholm Univ.) provides a frightening glimpse into the völkisch romanticism and nostalgic rehabilitation of Teutonic mythology and Norse heathenism that undergird racist paganism. Based on captivating interviews and thorough fieldwork, this book carefully distinguishes--and identifies contentious debates between--various factions of racist pagans. Gardell suggests that one key issue in the recent growth of racist paganism is the alarmist assumption that globalization causes cultural homogenization (an interpretation he roundly rejects). Racial purity, ethnocentrism, nation, family, blood, tradition, hierarchy, order, discipline, heterosexuality, and survival of the fittest are the values that ground racist pagans; they battle multiculturalism, materialism, decadence, effeminate Christianity, and the notion of human equality. Gardell, who was graciously welcomed by folkish pagans as an academic researcher, has produced a study that is remarkably evenhanded and tolerant given the volatility of racist pagan . This text is a "must" for a wide range of readers--from those interested in racism in America, white supremacy, Holocaust studies, and Jewish studies to those interested in New Age spirituality, feminism, and neopaganism. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels. --P. K. Steinfeld, Buena Vista University

38-3150 Entman, Robert M. The black image in the white mind: media and race in America, by Robert M. Entman and Andrew Rojecki. Chicago, 2000. 305p bibl index afp ISBN 0226210758, $26.00

This highly recommended study traces the reciprocal relationship between white racial attitudes and the presentation of blacks in the mass media. The authors have worked hard to make their carefully nuanced presentation, based on a significant body of empirical data, clear and understandable. Nevertheless, it is not an easy read. Entman and Rojecki demonstrate that the central attitude of most whites is the denial of both existing racism and white privilege. The largely unconscious racism in commercials, films, magazines, newspapers, and television (both news and entertainment) is demonstrated beyond debate. A telling illustration is the examination of a multitude of white reviews of major feature films in which there is not a single mention of their racist subtexts. Shows such as Bill Cosby's are two-edged swords making blacks visible while supporting white denial of racism. Many readers will use the cute term "politically correct" to disregard these findings and reinforce denial, but careful reading by practitioners may help them become aware of their largely unconscious racism. There is extensive annotation, charts, graphs, and tables as well as a Web cite for more extensive documentation. --P. E. Kane, emeritus, SUNY College at Brockport

32-2347 MacLean, Nancy. Behind the mask of chivalry: the making of the second Ku Klux Klan. Oxford, 1994. 292p bibl index afp ISBN 0195072340, $30.00

Far more than simply an excellent analysis of the rise and fall of the second Ku Klux Klan, this is an insightful portrait of American social development in the early 20th century. MacLean (Northwestern Univ.) focuses on the Athens, Georgia, klavern to show how the Klan used family values to further its ends among a petite bourgeoisie that feared the changes created by industrialization, urbanization, and modernity. Reviewing members, she traces their involvement in fraternal organizations and churches, as well as their employment histories. The few tables presented are clear and to the point. Even more interesting is her investigation why the Klan failed to achieve the same level of national acceptance and power as the Fascists in Italy and the Nazis in Germany. Well written, nicely illustrated, with a very useful bibliography, this work should become the standard volume on the Ku Klux Klan of the 1910s and '20s. A must for all academic libraries and for all students of American history and race, ethnic, and gender relations. --D. R. Jamieson, Ashland University

30-5888 Massey, Douglas S. American : segregation and the making of the underclass, by Douglas S. Massey and Nancy A. Denton. Harvard, 1993. 292p index afp ISBN 0674018206, $29.95

Using clear, easily understood statistical data, Massey and Denton contend that together race and class exacerbate residential segregation. Blacks face a level of segregation significantly higher than any other group in US history. Since the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, the idea that segregation exists in American society has been ignored; however, the evidence is clear that not only does it continue, but there has also been little progress made toward ending it. Massey and Denton determine that prejudice and discrimination force African Americans to stay in segregated communities. Arguing that the situation equals apartheid, the authors maintain that unless there is a national commitment to equal opportunity in housing, African Americans will continue to be denied access to the mainstream, therefore suffering disproportionately from drug abuse, family disorganization, and crime. American Apartheid builds on William Julius Wilson's The Truly Disadvantaged (CH, Apr'88), furthering a dispassionate study of the underclass. An incredibly readable book that must be studied by all Americans--liberal and conservative, black and white. All levels. --D. R. Jamieson, Ashland University