White Privilege: The Persistence of Racial Hierarchy in a Culture of Denial

White Privilege: The Persistence of Racial Hierarchy in a Culture of Denial approaches the discussion of racism by focusing on majority group advantage, or white privilege. The book explores the construct of race and the definition of white privilege and then examines the ways in which white privilege manifests in economy, education, criminal justice, and especially within media and pop culture.

The book balances scholarly research on racial discrimination and disparity with narratives that provide the reader with highly personal accounts of injustice. Dedicated chapters demonstrate how microaggressions emerge in unexpected places and situations, as well as how they contribute to the development and maintenance of institutional racism. Intersectionality sections throughout the book explore how class, gender, and sexual orientation shape how white privilege is experienced by individuals. Finally, the text offers a myriad of strategies and approaches to end injustice and cultivate anti-racist practices.

The revised first edition features a new final chapter, which brings the text's content up to date and addresses healthcare and white privilege; #BlackLivesMatter, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and justice; implicit bias and systemic racism; white terrorism; COVID-19 and economic sexism; and anti-Asian violence.

White Privilege is an ideal supplementary resource for courses on race, diversity, and social inequality.

Ninochka McTaggart holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Riverside. She is the associate vice president of research and insights at the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. Her research areas include race, gender, class, mass media, and popular culture.

Eileen O'Brien holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Florida. She is a professor of sociology and the associate chair of the Department of Social Sciences at Saint Leo University in Virginia. Dr. O'Brien's area of specialization is race relations and social inequality.