The Problem Of Race In The 21st Century

An analysis of how the conditions of race and racism in our culture have changed in our time and what this means for our future. “The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line,” W. E. B. Du Bois wrote in 1903, and his words have proven sadly prophetic. As we enter the twenty-first century, the problem remains—and yet it, and the line that defines it, have shifted in subtle but significant ways. This brief book speaks powerfully to the question of how the circumstances of race and racism have changed in our time—and how these changes will affect our future. Foremost among the book’s concerns are the contradictions and incoherence of a system that idealizes black celebrities in politics, popular culture, and sports even as it diminishes the average African-American citizen. The world of the assembly line, boxer Jack Johnson’s career, and The Birth of a Nation come under Thomas Holt’s scrutiny as he relates the malign progress of race and racism to the loss of industrial jobs and the rise of our modern consumer society. Understanding race as ideology, he describes the processes of consumerism and commodification that have transformed, but not necessarily improved, the place of black citizens in our society. As disturbing as it is enlightening, this timely work reveals the radical nature of change as it relates to race and its cultural phenomena. It offers conceptual tools and a new way to think and talk about racism as social reality. Praise for The Problem of Race in the Twenty-first Century “Debates about race often take the form of a mind game designed to establish whether or not a particular word or act is racially motivated . . . [This book] provides a compelling argument for rethinking our ideas about race.” —Frank Furedi, New Statesman “Holt rightly asserts that our racial legacy should be a point of departure—not a destination—in examining the enduring nature of racial enmity. As a nation and as individuals, we must imagine ourselves beyond, while remaining aware of, those forces that are at the root of the enmity.” —Vernon Ford, Booklist “[Readers] will benefit from Holt’s expert and careful examination of these “narratives of contradiction and incoherence” as he attempts to forecast the reigning racial ethos for the next millennium. . . . Holt writes in clear, precise prose . . . and makes an important contribution to both public and academic discussions of race and labor and their intersections in U.S. politics.” —Publishers Weekly

This collection brings together pedagogical memoirs on significant topics regarding teaching race in college, including student resistance, whiteness, professor identity, and curricula. Linking theory to practice, the essays create an accessible and useful way to look at teaching race for wide audiences interested in issues within education.

"This is the book that many of us in the field of race scholarship have been waiting for." - Minelle Mahtani, University of Toronto, Scarborough

In the post-Civil Rights era, there is a temptation to assume that racism is no longer the pressing social concern in the United States that it once was. The contributors show that racism has not fallen from the forefront of American society, but is manifest in a different way. According to the authors in this volume, in 21st century, skin color has come to replace race as an important cause of discrimination. This is evidenced in the increasing usage of the term “people of color” to encompass people of a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds. The editor has compiled a diverse group of contributors to examine racism from an interdisciplinary perspective. Contributions range from the science of racism, from its perceived biological basis at the end of the 19th century, to sociological studies its new forms in the 21st century. The result is a work that will be invaluable to understanding the challenges of confronting Racism in the 21st Century.

In the 21st century, new ethnic groups are forming faster than ever before and the role of race and ethnicity studies has evolved in response to this. From policy issues around housing and crime, through to debates about asylum and media representations, sociologists must encounter and explore a vast range of issues in this ever changing field. This book gives an overview of the most important topics that affect the making of race and ethnic relations in contemporary societies. It goes beyond general definitions to explain exactly how and what these issues and debates can tell us about modern society. Using research and statistics to shed light on the most cutting-edge issues, the book takes each major topic in turn and helps readers to think through race and ethnicity on the basis of the most recent thinking in the field. Each chapter explains a range of theoretical and conceptual perspectives, whilst approaching complex ideas in an accessible and insightful way. Written and edited by recognized experts in the field, Race and Ethnicity in the 21st Century will be an essential point of reference for researchers and practitioners and key reading for all students of race and ethnicity.

Race in 21st Century America tackles the problematic and emotionally laden idea of race in the United States; it brings together intellectuals and scholar activists who present critical and often conflicting appraisals of how race remains a central component of the nation's social landscape and political culture, and shows how Americans might begin to move beyond the strictures of race and racism.

Reviewing cutting-edge debates around racial politics and the culture and economy of globalization, this book draws together a wide range of important contemporary debates in a clear and concise way for undergraduate students. Far from concluding that racism is over, the authors contend that the forces of globalization inhabit older cultures of racial division in order to safeguard the economic interests of the privileged. Arguing that the unspoken culture of whiteness informs much that passes in the name of globalization, the book suggests that we are witnessing a reformulation of economic relations around global racisms. Alongside these shifts in economic relations, racialized identities evolve to encompass mixed heritages and mixed cultures both in personal identities and in lifestyle choices. This is one of the few texts that concentrates on the theory of race rather than politics. It looks at race in global terms, and at 'whiteness' as a part of ethnic studies.

From everyday apps to complex algorithms, Ruha Benjamin cuts through tech-industry hype to understand how emerging technologies can reinforce White supremacy and deepen social inequity. Benjamin argues that automation, far from being a sinister story of racist programmers scheming on the dark web, has the potential to hide, speed up, and deepen discrimination while appearing neutral and even benevolent when compared to the racism of a previous era. Presenting the concept of the “New Jim Code,” she shows how a range of discriminatory designs encode inequity by explicitly amplifying racial hierarchies; by ignoring but thereby replicating social divisions; or by aiming to fix racial bias but ultimately doing quite the opposite. Moreover, she makes a compelling case for race itself as a kind of technology, designed to stratify and sanctify social injustice in the architecture of everyday life. This illuminating guide provides conceptual tools for decoding tech promises with sociologically informed skepticism. In doing so, it challenges us to question not only the technologies we are sold but also the ones we ourselves manufacture. Visit the book's free Discussion Guide here.