Is It Racist? Is It Sexist?: Why Red and Blue White People Disagree, and How To Decide in the Gray Areas

Sociologists Streib (Duke Univ.; The Accidental Equalizer) and Leondar-Wright (The Color of Wealth) set out to help readers better understand the thought processes of white people across the U.S. regarding racism and sexism. The authors interviewed white people of different classes, self-identified Republicans and Democrats, in red states and blue states, and from varying socioeconomic backgrounds to determine how individual judgment defines what is seen as racist and sexist. The book contends that while white people’s opinions on these topics were largely unchanged from the 1980s to the early 2000s, there are now larger divides. The importance of this work is evident when it interviews two people from similar backgrounds (e.g., military service, location, socioeconomic class) who espouse radically different views of racism and sexism. Rather than focusing on individual judgments of racism and sexism, readers and policymakers should consider how institutional changes can bring forth greater equality, the book argues.