The Fallacies of Racism: Understanding How Common Perceptions Uphold White Supremacy - Hardcover

Sims, Jennifer Patrice

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1509553479 ISBN 13: 9781509553471

Publisher: Polity, 2024

Synopsis

Everyone has an opinion on racism. The vast majority of people would vehemently deny that they or those close to them are “racist,” yet many of the most common understandings of racism are highly problematic. “If you mean no harm, then it can’t be racist.” Yes, it can. “There are anti-discrimination laws now, so racism no longer occurs.” Incorrect. “Some of my best friends are Black, so I can’t be racist.” Not true.
 
In this sharp, open-minded, and witty book, sociologist Jennifer Patrice Sims succinctly addresses these problematic perceptions of racism as fallacies. Building on existing academic theories and drawing on her own cross-national research, two decades of teaching, and analyses of contemporary issues, she delves into the most common and insidious fallacies about racism. In revealing them to be rooted in what scholars call an “epistemology of ignorance,” she shows how these perceptions justify and uphold white supremacy (inadvertently or otherwise).

Accessibly written and full of concrete examples, this book will be of great value to anyone who wants to understand the common misunderstandings about racism that frustrate contemporary politics, classrooms, workplaces, and dinner tables.


Also available as an audiobook.

About this title

About the Author

Jennifer Patrice Sims is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Edition details

• Publisher: Polity
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1509553479
• ISBN 13: 9781509553471
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224