Everyday White People Confront Racial and Social Injustice

While we are all familiar with the lives of prominent Black civil rights leaders, few of us have a sense of what is entailed in developing a White anti-racist identity. Few of us can name the White activists who joined the struggle against discrimination, let alone understand the complexities, stresses and contradictions of doing this work while benefiting from the privileges they enjoyed as Whites.

This book fills that gap by vividly presenting – in their own words – the personal stories, experiences and reflections of fifteen prominent White anti-racists. They recount the circumstances that led them to undertake this work, describe key moments and insights along their journeys, and frankly admit their continuing lapses and mistakes. They make it clear that confronting oppression (including their own prejudices) – whether about race, sexual orientation, ability or other differences – is a lifelong process of learning.

The chapters in this book are full of inspirational and lesson-rich stories about the expanding awareness of White social justice advocates and activists who grappled with their White privilege and their early socialization and decided to work against structural injustice and personal prejudice. The authors are also self-critical, questioning their motivations and commitments, and acknowledging that – as Whites and possessors of other privileged identities – they continue to benefit from White privilege even as they work against it.

This is an eye-opening book for anyone who wants to understand what it means to be White and the reality of what is involved in becoming a White anti-racist and social justice advocate; is interested in the paths taken by those who have gone before; and wants to engage reflectively and critically in this difficult and important work.

Contributing Authors
Warren J. Blumenfeld
Abby L. Ferber
Jane K. Fernandes
Michelle Fine
Diane J. Goodman
Paul C. Gorski
Heather W. Hackman
Gary R. Howard
Kevin Jennings
Frances E. Kendall
Paul Kivel
James W. Loewen
Peggy McIntosh
Julie O’Mara
Alan Rabinowitz
Andrea Rabinowitz
Christine E. Sleeter

Eddie Moore, Jr. founded America & Moore LLC (eddiemoorejr.com) in 1996. Dr. Moore is recognized as one of the nation's top motivational speakers/educators especially for his work with K-16 students. Recent challenges in the country have found Dr. Moore being in demand for work with law enforcement, higher education, city employees, and businesses searching to improve the inclusive environments of their workplace. Dr. Moore is also the founder and program director for the White Privilege Conference (WPC). Under the direction of Dr. Moore and his inclusive relationship model, the WPC has become one of the top national and international conferences for participants who want to move beyond dialogue and into action around issues of diversity, power, privilege, and leadership. In 2014 Dr. Moore founded The Privilege Institute, a not-for-profit organization which engages people in research, education, action, and leadership through workshops, conferences, publications, and strategic partnerships and relationships. Dr. Moore is co-founder of the online journal Understanding and Dismantling Privilege and co-editor of Everyday White People Confront Racial and Social Injustice: 15 Stories, as well as The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys.

Marguerite W. Penick-Parks prepares pre-service teachers in the area of multicultural education, culturally responsive pedagogy and social justice. Her work centers on issues of power, privilege, and oppression in relationship to issues of curriculum with a special emphasis on the incorporation of quality literature. She appears in the movie Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible by the World Trust Organization. Her most recent work is a joint article on creating safe spaces for discussing White privilege with pre-service teachers, and she is a co-editor of Everyday White People Confronting Racial and Social Injustice:15 Stories and The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys.

Ali Michael is the Director of K-12 Consulting and Professional Development at the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education at the University of Pennsylvania and the Director of the Race Institute for K-12 Educators. Ali earned her BA in African studies and political science at Williams College, her MA in anthropology and education from Teachers College and her PhD in teacher education from the University of Pennsylvania. She received her education as an activist and a facilitator from Training for Change and Whites Confronting Racism. She is the author of Raising Race Questions: Whiteness, Inquiry and Education: a book designed to support teachers in the long term and personal process of understanding the role that race plays in their lives and in their classrooms. She and her partner, Michael, live in Philadelphia and consider questions of race and education on a daily basis in the raising of their two children.

Paul C. Gorski is Associate Professor of Integrative Studies in New Century College at George Mason University. He is the founder of EdChange and the Multicultural Pavilion, a Web site that has won more than a dozen awards internationally for its contribution to multicultural education scholarship and practice.