White Antiracism Can Be More

Project Overview

The book, White Antiracism Can Be More, is a reflective appraisal and generative love letter to the white antiracism community. It draws on my 20+ years of experience organizing with AWARE-LA and working with white people alongside antiracist practitioners. Paying close attention to what helped white antiracist efforts go well and what undermined them, I noticed how antiracists struggled mightily with…

• confusing language that conflates whiteness, white culture, and white people
• a perennial sense of oppressor status that reinforces a shame-based approach to antiracism
• predicable patterns and dynamics bred from an underdeveloped racial identity process

Intertwining personal narrative, scholarly analysis, and voices from the field, the forthcoming book reveals critical understandings and approaches related to developing a more positive, balanced sense of self for white antiracists. Attention in this direction can help white antiracists cultivate a more accessible, affirming, empathetic, inclusive, inviting, understanding – and ultimately - more effective antiracism practice and culture.

To read more about the forthcoming book, click here.

Why This Book Now?

When the far right took control of all three branches of the U.S. government in January 2025, it cleared the way for the decimation of wide swaths of DEI programming across the nation under the banner of protecting white people, among other claims. Because racial justice advocates cannot deny the success of the far-right’s campaign, it is essential to confront the questions: 

• Why were so many people convinced that DEI programs shame white people? 
• What allowed people who were presumably dedicated to social justice to join the ranks of conservatives offering loud critiques and characterizing antiracist culture as toxic? 

This book suggests that antiracists can counter the far-right’s efforts, at least in part, by reclaiming the phrase “It’s Okay to Be White” and putting forth a positive vision of the valuable role white antiracists can play in racial justice. 

The Fundraiser

It was a tough decision to write this book in the midst of our nation’s turmoil.  What pushed me over the edge is that Palgrave MacMillan provides an option to publish the work as Open Access. This will allow the book, in its entirety, to be FREE for anyone to view and download without password protection. Open Access comes at a cost, however. I must pay the publisher $15,000 at the time of manuscript submission. (Open Access is typically used by universities who want to make their funded research available to others.)

Excited by the opportunity to make this work freely available to the next generation of antiracists and activists, I submitted grant applications to my university and other organizations to secure a portion of the funding toward this effort. Some of these applications remain under review. I have contributed personally as well. These ongoing efforts will hopefully generate up to 2/3 of the total - $9,500. I am seeking community support to raise the final 1/3 portion - $5,500.

Unity Bridges, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has agreed to partner in the effort. This means all contributions made to this crowdfunding campaign are tax deductible (as long as donors fill out a simple form that tracks donation and contact information). 

Donate in any amount. Each $5, $10, or $25 donation will make a difference. Every dollar will help make it possible for readers to have free access to the book for years to come.

Donors who are in a position to give $150 or more will receive a signed copy of the book in the mail as a thank you gift, once the book is published.