Waking Up White by Debby Irving: A Review by Warren Bull I suppose I am like many other people in the majority in this country in that I don’t consider myself racist. However, I have learned over time that I participate in a society that favors Caucasians over people of other races. Without even being aware of it until recently, I have taken full advantage of the privileges granted to white people and males

throughout my life. Debbie Irving in writing Waking Up White takes the reader along for her twenty-five year odyssey of learning about race. She learned that race is an invention of society and not biology. She is remarkably honest in revealing her lack of awareness that as a white person she is a member of a race. She also talks about how as a “good person” she tried to help people of other races and why her attempts so often failed.

Once started on the path toward enlightenment, she persisted despite false starts and failures along the way. What she discovered opened her eyes. She woke up to the reality.

I cannot do justice to the ideas covered in her book in this brief review. Besides the author writes so clearly that I’m not sure I could express myself as well as she did. I give this book my very highest recommendation.