White Awareness: Handbook for Anti-Racism Training Book

White Awareness provides a pragmatic framework for addressing racism and privilege among white folks. On the whole, the exercises are well-structured to guide workshop participants. In my opinion, there need to be many, many more such guides, written in this style--specific exercises, with time and participant guidelines, notes for facilitators, an overall framework with a vision toward action as an end result. That said, there are certain points on which I strongly diverge from the author re: framework of "whiteness" and "racism." In the introduction much space is given to arguing that racism is a "disease," "schizophrenia," and a "mental illness," in a failed, ableist attempt to legitimize the real problem of racism by medicalizing it. Also, the author argues that white people should positively identify as "white," rather than "denying responsibility for perpetuating the racist system " by claiming our European heritages (such as Irish, English, or Italian). I feel that this issue is far more complex than is claimed by the author. Yes, "white" people do dodge responsibility for racism by claiming that they are not white but rather Irish, English, Italian, etc. However, I see "white" as social construct that can better be dismantled by "white" people repudiating the concept of "whiteness" as legitimate, and instead reconnecting with our ethnic cultures, languages and European landbases. In short, I feel that the authors neglected to explore the ways "white" people can use their ethnicities as a tool against racism/cultural appropriation rather than simply as a tool of collusion. Definitely worth having as a reference/educational resource though.