If we could only take one book with us into the 21st century, this is the one I would choose. His insights into how the color line works in the realm of public policy, politics, and culture, and what we must do to destroy it, can save our lives. Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America Attacking the common view that whiteness is a meaningless category of identity, Lipsitz shows that public policy and private prejudice insure that whites wind up on top of the social hierarchy.
White supremacy is no thing of the past, no fringe movement.
Unearned and unacknowledged, race-based advantages, not greater merit or a superior work ethic, account for white privilege. Lipsitz's ultimate point is not to condemn all white people as racists but to challenge everyone to begin a principled examination of personal actions and political commitments. Exposing the system of unfairness is not enough. This book is a case in point. As rigorous as it is creative, this collection combines a firm grasp of the material roots and consequences of white supremacy with striking cultural criticism.