Part I: Laying the Foundation
Cherise A. Harris, Stephanie M. McClure and James C. Bridgeforth
Essay1:“Talking About Race Just Makes Everyone Uncomfortable”: Why We Need to Discuss Race in the United States
The Impact of the College Experience on Racial Thinking and Experiences
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Beverly Daniel Tatum
Essay 2: “What Is Racism Anyway?”: Understanding the Basics of Racism and Prejudice
Racism: A System of Advantage Based on Race
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Karen Wu
Essay 3: “I Just Think Asian Men Aren’t Sexy!”: Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality, and the Devaluing of Asian Men
Historical Stereotypes of Asian American Men
The Domestication of Asian American Men
Asian American Men in the Media: Emasculated, Invisible, and Evil
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Milie Majumder
Essay 4: "But Islam is a Religion, Not a Race": The Racialization of Muslims in the U.S.
Race, Whiteness, and the Racialization of Muslims
The War on Terror and the Expansion of Islamophobia
Islamophobia, the 2016 Administration, and October 7th
Racialization of Muslim College Students
Acknowledging and Debunking Myths and Misconceptions
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Nikki Khanna
Essay 5: “Doesn’t Anti-Blackness Only Happen in the U.S.?”: Confronting the Reality of Global Anti-Blackness
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Part II: Debunking Individual Attitudes
Ted Thornhill
Essay 6: “If Only We Could Return to the Pre-Trump Era”: Nostalgia and Color-Blind Racism
Explaining Color-Blind Ideology
Systemic Racism, Color-Blind Thinking, and White Public Opinion
“If We Could Only Return to the Pre-Trump Era”: The Nostalgia for Color-Blind Racism
Race Still Matters: The Cases of Education and the Labor Market
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Paula Ioanide
Essay 7: “Black People Could Make It If They Just Worked Hard”: The Myth of Meritocracy
Race and Wealth in the United States
Persistent Myths About Race and Wealth
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Rashawn Ray and Jasmón Bailey
Essay 8: “If Only They Hadn’t . . . [Been Black]”: Race, Implicit Bias, and Stereotype Maintenance
The Social Psychology of Race
Black Male Criminalization and Its Effects
What Do We Do About Stereotyping?
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Jennifer Domino Rudolph
Essay 9: “My Family Had to Learn English When They Came, so Why Is Everything in Spanish for Them?”: Race and the Spanish Language in the United States
Spanish Speakers in the United States
How Spanish Is Understood by White People
The Linguistic Reality of Latinx’ Spanish Loss
Where Dominant Beliefs Come From
The Legal Education and Labor Market Consequences of the Racialization of Spanish
Spanish Language and Latinx Identity
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Min Zhou and Victoria Tran
Essay 10: “Asians Are Doing Great, So That Proves Race Really Doesn’t Matter Anymore”: The Model Minority Myth and Sociological Reality
Issues of Terminology and Classification
Varieties of Asian Americans
Underneath the Model Minority: “White” or “Other”
“It’s Not So Much Being White as Being American”
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Jude Paul Dizon
Essay 11: “Campus Police are Here to Protect Us”: Debunking “Safety” and Advancing Racial Justice in Higher Education
Campus Police: Origins, Function, and Impact
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Part III: Institutions, Policies, and Legacies of Oppression: Environment
Julia A. Flagg
Essay 12: “Since We All Breathe the Same Air, the Environment Affects Us All in the Same Way”: An Intersectional View of the Impact of Environmental Toxins
Some Relevant Definitions and History
Consequences of Environmental Inequality
Conclusions and New Directions
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Margaret A. Hagerman
Essay 13: “But Parents Just Want What Is Best for Their Kids”: Sociological Realities of Privileged Parenting and Opportunity
“Working Your Butt Off”: Meritocratic Ideology
Growing Up White and Affluent
Lessons Learned by White Kids
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Hersheda Patel, Emily Meanwell and Stephanie M. McClure
Essay 14: “Well, That Culture Really Values Education”: Culture Versus Structure in Educational Attainment
Engaging Cultural Explanations of Black Educational Achievement
Beyond Cultural Explanations: The Role of History and Structure in Educational Access and Opportunity
What the Research Shows: Lack of Support for Cultural Explanations
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Stephanie M. McClure and Kaílah Jeffries
Essay 15: “They Don’t Want to Be Integrated; They Even Have Their Own Organizations”: History, Institutional Context, and “Self-Segregation” on College Campuses
Student Integration and College Success
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
OiYan Poon
Essay 16: “I Had a Friend Who Had Worse Scores Than Me and They Got Into a Better College”: The Legal and Systemic Realities of Selective College Admissions Processes
Historical and Legal Context of Selective Admissions
Suggested Additional Resources
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Kara Cebulko and Chanelle Pichardo
Essay 17: “We Need to Protect Real Americans”: Historical and Contemporary Implications of Citizenship and Immigration
Undocumented Immigrants, Presidents, and “Real Americans”
The Stories We Tell: The Great (White) Immigrant Narrative and the Immigrant Threats of Today
Immigrants, Past and Present, and Assimilation
Achieving the American Dream: Structural Opportunities and the Bootstrap Myth
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Sara Buck Doude
Essay 18: “If Black People Aren’t Criminals, Then Why Are So Many of Them in Prison?”: Confronting Racial Biases in Perceptions of Crime and Criminals
Media Depictions of Criminals
History of Criminal Stereotypes
Debunking the Myth of Black Criminality
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Angela A. Gonzales and Judy Kertész
Essay 19: “My Mom Says We Are Half Cherokee”: Indigenous Identity, Being, and Belonging
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Dawne M. Mouzon and Breanna D. Brock
Essay 20: “If Only They Would Make Better Choices . . . ”: Confronting Myths About Ethnoracial Health Disparities
A Brief Epidemiological Profile of the United States
Common Explanations for Ethnoracial Health Disparities
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Wendy Leo Moore
Essay 21: “Now All the Good Jobs Go to Them!”: Affirmative Action in the Labor Market
Where the Story Begins: A Legacy of Affirmative Action for Whites
Affirmative Inaction: The Policy That Wasn’t
White Racial Framing: Turning the Myth of Reverse Discrimination on Its Head
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
James M. Thomas
Essay 22: “But This Is Erasing History!”: The Myths and Realities of Memorializing the Confederacy
Where Do These Myths Come From?
Complicating the Narrative
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Hersheda Patel and James Bridgeforth
Essay 23: “Why can’t they just be peaceful like Dr. King?”: Media Narratives and Racialized Myths of Protest
Racialized Representations of Protest in Popular Media
Historical Representations of Black Liberation Movements
Media Portrayals of Black Liberation Movements
Media Frames and Social Movements
Color-Blind Ideology and White Protests
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Part IV: Race in Everyday Interactions
Meg E. Evans, Kara Lawrence and Erin R. Weston
Essay 24: “Those Women Aren’t “Thick”, They’re Unhealthy.”: The Intersections of Fatphobia, Racism, and Sexism
Defining Fatphobia and Its Social and Historical Roots
Fatness and White Supremacy in Modern Body Ideals
Fatphobia in Education and Employment
Medical Racism, Fatphobia, and the “Obesity Epidemic”
Media Representations and Cultural Narratives
Conclusion: Toward a Just and Embodied Future
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
Cherise A. Harris
Essay 25: “I’m Not Racist; Some of My Best Friends and Family Are . . . ”: From “Friends and Family” to Allies, Accomplices, and Co-Conspirators
Debunking the “Friends and Family” Defense
“The 92% of Us Are Tired”: White People Stepping Up as Allies, Accomplices, and Co-Conspirators
You’ve Only Talked About White People, But What Can Folks of Color Do to Fight for Racial Justice?
Suggested Additional Resources
Questions for Further Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Color Line
About the Editors
