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Becky Thompson, (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press 2001)
SOCIOLOGIST BECKY THOMPSON's A Promise and A Way of Life: White Antiracist Activism is a "social history of white antiracist activism from the 1950s to the present in the United States," (xiv) a topic that has to date been largely ignored or misinterpreted by scholars. The book, which relies primarily on a series of interviews with 39 anti-racist activists across a spectrum of progressive social movements, explores the variety of ways these individuals have worked -- publicly and privately -- to oppose racism and create multi-racial communities. It highlights the conflicts, successes, and limitations of these efforts in the past and attempts to draw lessons for current and future political activism. Thompson seeks to present "a structural analysis alongside attention to consciousness." (374) The result is a fascinating group portrait that enriches our understanding of the post-war history of American social movements.
A Promise and A Way of Life is broken into three sections. The first part focuses on the civil rights movement, particularly the transition to black power and the interplay between anti-war activism and movements for racial justice. Next, Thompson offers a stirring anti-racist reinterpretation of second wave feminism during the 1970s and 1980s. Lastly, the book explores White activism during the 1980s and 1990s, an era of reaction and repression without a unifying social movement to link activist energies or provide broad-based support for anti-racist efforts. In this third section, Thompson emphasizes the Central American solidarity movement, prison activism, and diversity training in large organizations. A final chapter looks at the way white activists have succeeded in molding a unique multi-racial "anti-racist culture" (325) to nurture and sustain their political work in the face of many obstacles.
Along the way, A Promise and a Way of Life stirs up a host of fascinating questions that do not come with easy or definite answers: Does white anti-racist activism require a repudiation of one's racial identity or can "whiteness" be transformed through activism and participation in a multi-racial culture? Is there a difference between white identity and white privilege and, if so, is anti-racism based on undermining the former or just the latter? Should anti-racist whites work predominantly within white communities or communities of colour? Given...