The white racial frame : centuries of racial framing and counter-framing /

In this timely third edition, Feagin (Texas A&M Univ.), an eminent scholar of race, provides a thought-provoking analysis of the historical development and maintenance of the "white racial frame," the dominant, white worldview that has influenced racial oppression and inequality in the US. He articulates the domination of the white frame and its persistence over several hundred years, calling attention to the detriment of racism and exposing the assumptions that shape everyday racial stereotypes, prejudices, and discriminations. The first few chapters analyze the development of racial oppression (against African Americans as well as Native Americans, Latino/as, and Asian Americans) from 1619 until the 20th century, noting the persistence of the white racial frame and its variations over time. Feagin then demonstrates how this framing takes shape in contemporary "backstage" settings (e.g., racist parties) and in "frontstage" interactions with people of color. He explains the white frame's influence in government and corporations, and the various reframing methods that oppressed groups have used to cope with and resist racial discrimination. This latest edition adds analysis of video gaming, identity politics, the Black home schooling movement, Black Lives Matter, blackface minstrelsy, and more examples of racist framing toward Native Americans and Latino/a Americans. The last chapter is a primer on making much-needed changes. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels. --Raymond M. Hyser, James Madison University