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Metaracism: How Systemic Racism Devastates Black Lives―and How We Break Free
The definitive book on how systemic racism in America really works, revealing the vast and often hidden network of interconnected policies, practices, and beliefs that combine to devastate Black lives
In recent years, condemnations of racism in America have echoed from the streets to corporate boardrooms. At the same time, politicians and commentators fiercely debate racism’s very existence. And so, our conversations about racial inequalities remain muddled.
In Metaracism , pioneering scholar Tricia Rose cuts through the noise with a bracing and invaluable new account of what systemic racism actually is, how it works, and how we can fight back. She reveals how—from housing to education to criminal justice—an array of policies and practices connect and interact to produce an even more devastating “metaracism” far worse than the sum of its parts. While these systemic connections can be difficult to see—and are often portrayed as “color-blind”—again and again they function to disproportionately contain, exploit, and punish Black people.
By helping us to comprehend systemic racism’s inner workings and destructive impacts, Metaracism shows us also how to break free—and how to create a more just America for us all.
In recent years, condemnations of racism in America have echoed from the streets to corporate boardrooms. At the same time, politicians and commentators fiercely debate racism’s very existence. And so, our conversations about racial inequalities remain muddled.
In Metaracism , pioneering scholar Tricia Rose cuts through the noise with a bracing and invaluable new account of what systemic racism actually is, how it works, and how we can fight back. She reveals how—from housing to education to criminal justice—an array of policies and practices connect and interact to produce an even more devastating “metaracism” far worse than the sum of its parts. While these systemic connections can be difficult to see—and are often portrayed as “color-blind”—again and again they function to disproportionately contain, exploit, and punish Black people.
By helping us to comprehend systemic racism’s inner workings and destructive impacts, Metaracism shows us also how to break free—and how to create a more just America for us all.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published March 5, 2024
10 people are currently reading
1948 people want to read
About the author
Tricia Rose
8 books73 followersShe graduated from Yale University where she received a BA in Sociology and then received her Ph.D. from Brown University in the field of American Studies. She has taught at NYU, University of California at Santa Cruz and is now a Professor of Africana Studies at Brown University.
Professor Rose is most well-known for her ground-breaking book on the emergence of hip hop culture. Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America, published in 1994 by Wesleyan Press, has since become a classic. It is considered a foundational text for the study of hip hop, one that has defined what has eventually become a serious field of study. Black Noise won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 1995 and was also considered one of the top 25 books of 1995 by the Village Voice. In 1999, Black Issues in Higher Education listed Black Noise one of its "Top Books of the Twentieth Century."
Professor Rose is most well-known for her ground-breaking book on the emergence of hip hop culture. Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America, published in 1994 by Wesleyan Press, has since become a classic. It is considered a foundational text for the study of hip hop, one that has defined what has eventually become a serious field of study. Black Noise won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 1995 and was also considered one of the top 25 books of 1995 by the Village Voice. In 1999, Black Issues in Higher Education listed Black Noise one of its "Top Books of the Twentieth Century."
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 29, 2026
I found this whole book educational in a very accessible way with carefully laid out evidence and statistics. I applaud the research that went into creating this. I listened to it as an audiobook and the narration by Mela Lee was fantastic.
In the introduction Rose easily explains her process in breaking down systemic racism, and coming to understand this as a larger, and much more dangerous, effect termed “metaracism”. Rose uses the cases of Trayvon Martin, Kelley Williams-Bolar and Michael Brown to illustrate this effect.
Redlining, stand your ground laws, school to prison pipeline, broken window style punishment, the “welfare queen” narrative, and flexible law ordinances are all used to target Black people. Paired with the consistent use of punishment, extraction, containment, humiliation and fear, all aid in upholding systemic racism. And in turn lead to larger meta-effects with long-term consequences.
The accounts laid out by Rose all validate the small intricate and interconnected ways, that together, create an environment for systemic racism to thrive.
Rose asks us to attack these small ways at leverage points that will lead to a larger change: paradigm shifts (by questioning the status quo and challenging underlying assumptions), system interconnections (where in your community are you seeing system racism? What steps can you take to challenge?) and reversing outcomes (containment changed to mobility and access, punishment replaced by care and repair, extraction replaced by infusion and investment). There are no quick fixes, but it is important to be persistent and remember to transform your discomfort.
In the introduction Rose easily explains her process in breaking down systemic racism, and coming to understand this as a larger, and much more dangerous, effect termed “metaracism”. Rose uses the cases of Trayvon Martin, Kelley Williams-Bolar and Michael Brown to illustrate this effect.
Redlining, stand your ground laws, school to prison pipeline, broken window style punishment, the “welfare queen” narrative, and flexible law ordinances are all used to target Black people. Paired with the consistent use of punishment, extraction, containment, humiliation and fear, all aid in upholding systemic racism. And in turn lead to larger meta-effects with long-term consequences.
The accounts laid out by Rose all validate the small intricate and interconnected ways, that together, create an environment for systemic racism to thrive.
Rose asks us to attack these small ways at leverage points that will lead to a larger change: paradigm shifts (by questioning the status quo and challenging underlying assumptions), system interconnections (where in your community are you seeing system racism? What steps can you take to challenge?) and reversing outcomes (containment changed to mobility and access, punishment replaced by care and repair, extraction replaced by infusion and investment). There are no quick fixes, but it is important to be persistent and remember to transform your discomfort.
September 28, 2024
A must read! Critical Race Theory. Again, critical race theory! This is a compelling and powerful example of the value of and need for critical race theory.
Rose conducts an extraordinary analysis of how American society perpetuates racist motives and outcomes. She applies “systems thinking” to the cases of Trayvon Martin, Kelley Williams-Bolar and Michael Brown. On the surface, these examples are already heart wrenching and all too common. But here she expands the lens to take a much deeper view. Rose depicts how a racist system was perversely at work for Trayvon, Kelley, and Michael. She describes the context, current and historical, that inform and greatly influenced, if not caused, the circumstances that became national news.
Rose’s suggested solutions or responses are good and seem on point. And I wanted more, something more robust, perhaps more feisty or action oriented. I was not convinced her fixes would undo or combat a whole, well-oiled system. I believe a whole new system would need to replace and thus extinguish the metaracist one. But I’m not sure how one constructs a system.
I have several quotes below and they serve as a pretty good synopsis.
“Metaracism is an effort to reveal systemic racism for what it is: a network of systemic impediments that works with devastating precision not only to influence our lives but to hid its own operations. These chapters that follow will argue that systemic racism remains the most important but largely concealed and therefore underestimated barrier to creating a racially just society. The repercussions of unaddressed and interlocking past and present policies and practices—some of which are designed to discriminate and others of which are used to generate discriminatory outcomes—work to created a network of mutually reinforcing racial disadvantages. When these connections are illuminated, a context of harm that is much greater than any one policy or institution could produce comes into view: metaracism
“Systemic racism’s power derives not only from its interconnections and mutually reinforcing metaeffects, but from its ability to hide in plain sight…”
“…. When we focus on how racism works as a system, we can better see how the policies and forces organizing our society can and do operate with or without our explicit investment in racism. What a systemic approach to racism allows is an honest, collective reckoning with the forces that shape our outcomes no matter how progressive or antiracist we think we are.”
“…Absolute uniformity of experience is not required or necessary for a discrimination system to be accurately labeled as such, nor is absolute uniformity of experience required for a system to flourish….”
“I discovered that the intricate interconnections across many policies were strikingly consistent and targeted in both focus and impact. The vast majority involve a combination of containment, extraction, and punishment of Black people….”
….In short, by proclaiming the Black racial connection between himself and Trayvon, Obama not only declared himself as Black; he also suggested—on air with the loudest public mic in the nation—that what Trayvon looked like mattered.
This Black racial connection between Obama and Trayvon upset the fundamental but unspoken rule of colorblindness: that whiteness is and must remain the unifying and dominant American identity….”
“…. Recognition and validation are acutely important in a social climate not only produces systemic racism but denies its existence and attempts to invalidate information and analysis that would reveal its impact….”
What are the leverage points that can reduce the impact of systemic racism? I am going to focus on three leverage points related to systems thinking: paradigm shifts, systems interconnections, and reversing outcomes.
What does it take to make a paradigm shift? Two habits of mind are especially useful: Question and Challenge. Questioning the status quo and challenging underlying assumptions are essential for creating a paradigm shift that illuminates and effectively dismantles systemic racism.
To shift a paradigm is a process of unlearning and learning, of reflecting, questioning, and sharing—all of which leads to the created of deeper awareness and recognition.
The meat and potatoes of systems thinking is the identification of interconnections that drive impact.
Interconnections are frequently powerful leverage points where significant changes might be possible.
One of the most interesting insights of systems thinking is the claim that to figure out what a system is really designed to do, one should pay very close attention to the persistent outcomes… Because containment, extraction, and punishment are consistent outcomes of policies that drive systemic racism, focusing on ways to reverse those outcomes could be a strong leverage point for reducing the power of systemic racism. What might such a reversal look like? Containment could be replaced by mobility and access; punishment might be replaced by care and repair; extraction may be replaced by infusion and investment. Defining a new paradigm based on increasing mobility and access, care and repair, infusion and investment would not only interrupt the containment, extraction, and punishment that propel many existing policies, but could also become the foundation of holistic approach to rebuilding Black lives and a just society.
There will be no quick fix. The fact of the matter is that the faster we run from our own discomfort and confusion about systemic racism and what’s needed to bring that system to its knees, the longer it will take to break free. We have to learn to deal with the discomfort, the pain, the rage, and the sadness—and find a way to turn it into inspiration.
Weathering is “a stress-related biological process that leaves identifiable groups of Americans vulnerable to dying or suffering chronic disease and disability long before they are chronologically old.” The impact of myriad forms of containment, the fragility of constant financial and other types of extraction that devalue Black lives and property, and the constant specter of disproportionally harsh punishment for even the smallest of infractions trigger a set of chronically activated physiological pathways that accelerate long-term “deterioration and erosion.” The impact of exposure to this system of harm shows up on people; it produces differences you can see.
Weathering also refers to “strength and endurance”—qualities that Black people have developed to survive systemic racism. At the heart of this kind of weathering are “networks of caring people encompassing both extended family and friends, who do everything they can to support one another.”
Rose conducts an extraordinary analysis of how American society perpetuates racist motives and outcomes. She applies “systems thinking” to the cases of Trayvon Martin, Kelley Williams-Bolar and Michael Brown. On the surface, these examples are already heart wrenching and all too common. But here she expands the lens to take a much deeper view. Rose depicts how a racist system was perversely at work for Trayvon, Kelley, and Michael. She describes the context, current and historical, that inform and greatly influenced, if not caused, the circumstances that became national news.
Rose’s suggested solutions or responses are good and seem on point. And I wanted more, something more robust, perhaps more feisty or action oriented. I was not convinced her fixes would undo or combat a whole, well-oiled system. I believe a whole new system would need to replace and thus extinguish the metaracist one. But I’m not sure how one constructs a system.
I have several quotes below and they serve as a pretty good synopsis.
“Metaracism is an effort to reveal systemic racism for what it is: a network of systemic impediments that works with devastating precision not only to influence our lives but to hid its own operations. These chapters that follow will argue that systemic racism remains the most important but largely concealed and therefore underestimated barrier to creating a racially just society. The repercussions of unaddressed and interlocking past and present policies and practices—some of which are designed to discriminate and others of which are used to generate discriminatory outcomes—work to created a network of mutually reinforcing racial disadvantages. When these connections are illuminated, a context of harm that is much greater than any one policy or institution could produce comes into view: metaracism
“Systemic racism’s power derives not only from its interconnections and mutually reinforcing metaeffects, but from its ability to hide in plain sight…”
“…. When we focus on how racism works as a system, we can better see how the policies and forces organizing our society can and do operate with or without our explicit investment in racism. What a systemic approach to racism allows is an honest, collective reckoning with the forces that shape our outcomes no matter how progressive or antiracist we think we are.”
“…Absolute uniformity of experience is not required or necessary for a discrimination system to be accurately labeled as such, nor is absolute uniformity of experience required for a system to flourish….”
“I discovered that the intricate interconnections across many policies were strikingly consistent and targeted in both focus and impact. The vast majority involve a combination of containment, extraction, and punishment of Black people….”
….In short, by proclaiming the Black racial connection between himself and Trayvon, Obama not only declared himself as Black; he also suggested—on air with the loudest public mic in the nation—that what Trayvon looked like mattered.
This Black racial connection between Obama and Trayvon upset the fundamental but unspoken rule of colorblindness: that whiteness is and must remain the unifying and dominant American identity….”
“…. Recognition and validation are acutely important in a social climate not only produces systemic racism but denies its existence and attempts to invalidate information and analysis that would reveal its impact….”
What are the leverage points that can reduce the impact of systemic racism? I am going to focus on three leverage points related to systems thinking: paradigm shifts, systems interconnections, and reversing outcomes.
What does it take to make a paradigm shift? Two habits of mind are especially useful: Question and Challenge. Questioning the status quo and challenging underlying assumptions are essential for creating a paradigm shift that illuminates and effectively dismantles systemic racism.
To shift a paradigm is a process of unlearning and learning, of reflecting, questioning, and sharing—all of which leads to the created of deeper awareness and recognition.
The meat and potatoes of systems thinking is the identification of interconnections that drive impact.
Interconnections are frequently powerful leverage points where significant changes might be possible.
One of the most interesting insights of systems thinking is the claim that to figure out what a system is really designed to do, one should pay very close attention to the persistent outcomes… Because containment, extraction, and punishment are consistent outcomes of policies that drive systemic racism, focusing on ways to reverse those outcomes could be a strong leverage point for reducing the power of systemic racism. What might such a reversal look like? Containment could be replaced by mobility and access; punishment might be replaced by care and repair; extraction may be replaced by infusion and investment. Defining a new paradigm based on increasing mobility and access, care and repair, infusion and investment would not only interrupt the containment, extraction, and punishment that propel many existing policies, but could also become the foundation of holistic approach to rebuilding Black lives and a just society.
There will be no quick fix. The fact of the matter is that the faster we run from our own discomfort and confusion about systemic racism and what’s needed to bring that system to its knees, the longer it will take to break free. We have to learn to deal with the discomfort, the pain, the rage, and the sadness—and find a way to turn it into inspiration.
Weathering is “a stress-related biological process that leaves identifiable groups of Americans vulnerable to dying or suffering chronic disease and disability long before they are chronologically old.” The impact of myriad forms of containment, the fragility of constant financial and other types of extraction that devalue Black lives and property, and the constant specter of disproportionally harsh punishment for even the smallest of infractions trigger a set of chronically activated physiological pathways that accelerate long-term “deterioration and erosion.” The impact of exposure to this system of harm shows up on people; it produces differences you can see.
Weathering also refers to “strength and endurance”—qualities that Black people have developed to survive systemic racism. At the heart of this kind of weathering are “networks of caring people encompassing both extended family and friends, who do everything they can to support one another.”
October 23, 2024
Important and essential references to historical situations involving racism.
Vague reasoning.
Many times, little to no explanation to how recent events tie into the arguments being made. Though there is good reason to associate the events listed with the arguments, there needs to be more time and connections made to these events. Unfortunately, failing to do so, leaves these items up for interpretation and encourages holes being shot in these examples.
However, I must say, Chapter 5 covering Michael Brown is a must read for everyone. Everyone should be educated on this event and all the elements associated to it.
Vague reasoning.
Many times, little to no explanation to how recent events tie into the arguments being made. Though there is good reason to associate the events listed with the arguments, there needs to be more time and connections made to these events. Unfortunately, failing to do so, leaves these items up for interpretation and encourages holes being shot in these examples.
However, I must say, Chapter 5 covering Michael Brown is a must read for everyone. Everyone should be educated on this event and all the elements associated to it.
September 26, 2024
This is a brilliant analysis and explication of systemic racism, illustrated with three case studies, Trayvon Martin, Kelley Williams-Bolar, and Michael Brown.
November 24, 2024
4.5. I have read a lot of books about race, but this book definitely brought something fresh. I love how the author used mainstream news events to exemplify the impact of systemic racism, meta racism as she classifies it. There was incredible care and research put into this book. Highly recommend.
March 10, 2024
*well-written, informative novel
*easy to read and kept my interest from cover to cover
*educational - a powerful learning experience
*highly recommend
*easy to read and kept my interest from cover to cover
*educational - a powerful learning experience
*highly recommend
August 29, 2025
Metaracism is relatively short book, about 120 pages. It is written in way to make it accessible for most readers. It does have a fair amount of footnotes.
Tricia Rose begins with two chapters that present the theory and concepts behind systemic racism. She defines terms in a very straight forward manner. You could use this section as a dictionary to refer to later so that you can explain or understand some of the concepts later in certain moments. Her presentation of theory is clear and understandable.
Rose follows this with three case study chapters. In each chapter she takes on recent historical incident and explains how different policies and systems worked together to create the historical, social, and personal contexts that bring about these tragedies. This is where the book truly excels.
She shows, for example, how housing segregation, stop and frisk policing, excessive school punishment for Black and Latinx students worked together to lead to Trayvon Martin walking home to his mother's home in a gated community in Sanford, Florida (where he would not have been if not for other systemic factors) and George Zimmerman following him and approaching him with a loaded gun. The story and causes go beyond questions of Zimmerman's personal bigotry or Martin's character.
The other case studies are about the murder of Michael Brown and the felony charges against Kelley Williams-Bolar for sending her children to a neighboring school district rather than their assigned one.
In the last chapter, Rose proposes three ways to confront and eventually overcome systemic racism. One, a paradigm shift (moving from a personal, individualistic approach to racism). Two, identify the interconnections between systems. Three, pay close attention to the outcomes rather than the stated goals of policies, systems, etc.
She also adds that we must find inspiration and transform discomfort. Overcoming systemic racism will not happen overnight; it will be a long struggle. We need to find ways to stay inspired and not become overly discouraged.
I taught for about a decade in the US. Though the main subject was always religion, I always included some discussion on race, racism and religion. I found that even some of my African American students struggled with the concept of systemic racism. We are taught in the US that individualism is the measure of all things, which makes it difficult to see systems in action.
I think that this would be a good book for many people. But I am especially thinking that it would be a good book to give to a friend - not a right-wing obviously racist person - but someone who is sincere but has difficulty with the concept of "systemic" racism.
Tricia Rose begins with two chapters that present the theory and concepts behind systemic racism. She defines terms in a very straight forward manner. You could use this section as a dictionary to refer to later so that you can explain or understand some of the concepts later in certain moments. Her presentation of theory is clear and understandable.
Rose follows this with three case study chapters. In each chapter she takes on recent historical incident and explains how different policies and systems worked together to create the historical, social, and personal contexts that bring about these tragedies. This is where the book truly excels.
She shows, for example, how housing segregation, stop and frisk policing, excessive school punishment for Black and Latinx students worked together to lead to Trayvon Martin walking home to his mother's home in a gated community in Sanford, Florida (where he would not have been if not for other systemic factors) and George Zimmerman following him and approaching him with a loaded gun. The story and causes go beyond questions of Zimmerman's personal bigotry or Martin's character.
The other case studies are about the murder of Michael Brown and the felony charges against Kelley Williams-Bolar for sending her children to a neighboring school district rather than their assigned one.
In the last chapter, Rose proposes three ways to confront and eventually overcome systemic racism. One, a paradigm shift (moving from a personal, individualistic approach to racism). Two, identify the interconnections between systems. Three, pay close attention to the outcomes rather than the stated goals of policies, systems, etc.
She also adds that we must find inspiration and transform discomfort. Overcoming systemic racism will not happen overnight; it will be a long struggle. We need to find ways to stay inspired and not become overly discouraged.
I taught for about a decade in the US. Though the main subject was always religion, I always included some discussion on race, racism and religion. I found that even some of my African American students struggled with the concept of systemic racism. We are taught in the US that individualism is the measure of all things, which makes it difficult to see systems in action.
I think that this would be a good book for many people. But I am especially thinking that it would be a good book to give to a friend - not a right-wing obviously racist person - but someone who is sincere but has difficulty with the concept of "systemic" racism.
October 11, 2025
Rose lays out the systemic arguments for three popular cases and explains how the circumstances would have been altered or non-existent had systemically racist structures not been in place. They are:
1) Trayvon Martin would never have been in Sanford that day if the school system didn't systematically target black youths by suspending them, and Zimmerman would not have profiled him if substructures in society had not influenced him to be racially biased. More on this below.
2) Kelley Williams-Bolar should never have been motivated to deceptively district-hop her child's schooling had the systems not been in place that created disparities between schools. I have no objections with this. The distribution of funds according to property taxes should be replaced with an equal distribution across a county or something akin. However, this is more so a class problem than it is a racial problem.
3) Michael Brown would never have been questioned if Ferguson hadn't relied on a system of municipal fees for their budget which incentivized more police stops, had societal bias not influenced the officer, and had systems of oppression not existed which had lead to the area being regarded as high crime.
The problem with the Martin & Brown portrayal is there is zero accountability. Regardless of what circumstances create a confrontation with a neighbor or an authority, "disrespect" cannot justify or warrant explosive violent responses. This is the reaction that both of them had when they felt disrespected by being questioned, and their violent reaction is ultimately why things escalated from there.
There is no amount of system destruction or cultural revolution that could eliminate disrespectful interactions. The only way to prevent those instances in life from turning into violent confrontations is self-control. For this reason the systemic explanation the book argues for seems to be a very minor variable in relation to the potential prevention of these events.
1) Trayvon Martin would never have been in Sanford that day if the school system didn't systematically target black youths by suspending them, and Zimmerman would not have profiled him if substructures in society had not influenced him to be racially biased. More on this below.
2) Kelley Williams-Bolar should never have been motivated to deceptively district-hop her child's schooling had the systems not been in place that created disparities between schools. I have no objections with this. The distribution of funds according to property taxes should be replaced with an equal distribution across a county or something akin. However, this is more so a class problem than it is a racial problem.
3) Michael Brown would never have been questioned if Ferguson hadn't relied on a system of municipal fees for their budget which incentivized more police stops, had societal bias not influenced the officer, and had systems of oppression not existed which had lead to the area being regarded as high crime.
The problem with the Martin & Brown portrayal is there is zero accountability. Regardless of what circumstances create a confrontation with a neighbor or an authority, "disrespect" cannot justify or warrant explosive violent responses. This is the reaction that both of them had when they felt disrespected by being questioned, and their violent reaction is ultimately why things escalated from there.
There is no amount of system destruction or cultural revolution that could eliminate disrespectful interactions. The only way to prevent those instances in life from turning into violent confrontations is self-control. For this reason the systemic explanation the book argues for seems to be a very minor variable in relation to the potential prevention of these events.
April 2, 2024
This is an absolute must-read book. I don’t know why the concept of systemic racism is so hard to grasp for so many people. A lot of people say, “What even is systemic racism?” Or they come up with their own strange definitions of what systemic racism is. Systemic racism is understanding how there are different systems in place that harm communities of color. In this book, Tricia Rose shows how systemic racism affects Black people in the United States.
It’s easy to think say, “We have laws against discriminating against people!” and not see how policing, schooling, employment, and other areas of life are racist without people even realizing it. There’s no way that you can set down this book and think that the United States doesn’t have a problem with systemic racism. Tricia Rose uses highly publicised stories like the ones about Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and many others as a jumping off point to explain how our current systems negatively impact Black people and Black communities as a whole.
The most enlightening chapter for me was the chapter on schooling and the story about Kelley Williams-Bolar. She’s the mom who was convicted for “lying about her residency to get her daughters into a better school district”.
It’s easy to think say, “We have laws against discriminating against people!” and not see how policing, schooling, employment, and other areas of life are racist without people even realizing it. There’s no way that you can set down this book and think that the United States doesn’t have a problem with systemic racism. Tricia Rose uses highly publicised stories like the ones about Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and many others as a jumping off point to explain how our current systems negatively impact Black people and Black communities as a whole.
The most enlightening chapter for me was the chapter on schooling and the story about Kelley Williams-Bolar. She’s the mom who was convicted for “lying about her residency to get her daughters into a better school district”.
April 6, 2024
If you have questions regarding Black America, in the aftermath of the movement Black Lives Matter, then this book will guide you through understanding why are things the way they are ... what's the origin of all the violence and racism against black Americans ... The core issue is that not only public policy is embedded with processes of systemic discrimination but so are other key institutions in America like banks and the alike ... the culmination of these discriminatory processes as the author affirms contribute to producing a system in which racism is prevalent and any superficial attempt of re-arranging things around without a fundamental change is sterile and wouldn't yield any changes or progress ...
March 11, 2024
A defining read for these current times in life shining the light on systemic racism from a 21st Century perspective. Encompassing a compilation of the ideas of racism through reflecting and discussing Anti-Black policies, the effects of these policies and pertinent court cases that should set a precedence for a deeper look into the inequities that have existed in America for years. A very informative read bringing current day issues side by side those that have existed through various eras. Consider this read food for thought and action.
August 13, 2024
This one is heavy - as it should be. I thought it would be above my intellect, but I understood most of it fine. (I did have to read some paragraphs more than once.) The more I read about systemic racism, the more I understand and hopefully can recognize. Good job to my local library for displaying this one and catching my eye. My notes for this one are here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J...
October 25, 2024
Pretty great stuff. People may try to pull a " it's all anecdotal!" But Tricia takes the cases of Trayvon Martin, Kelley Williams Bolar, and Michael Brown and studiously analyzes their situations on the macro level and displays how all of them weren't cases of happenstance and how systemic racism played a major role in all of their lives. Tricia takes the broad strokes of racial national disparities/ injustices and fine tunes them down to the local policies that caused these awful outcomes.
January 12, 2026
I was attracted to this book by curiosity - how does metaracism differ from racism? Should one just consider the whole thing as something bad? What is this author trying to say?
Am I being a bad person by writing anything at all about this book?
What I found was that this author is just trying to say something along the lines of "Hey, a lot of people are getting hurt over here. Stop it."
Am I being a bad person by writing anything at all about this book?
What I found was that this author is just trying to say something along the lines of "Hey, a lot of people are getting hurt over here. Stop it."
May 24, 2024
Tricia Rose’s analysis of systemic racism in the United States is compelling and straight forward. The social, economic, criminal, and political systems are connected to create this Metaracism. Florida’s Governor/Fuhrer would band this book for sure!
March 2, 2024
Did you know that the only races in the US are whites and blacks?
October 24, 2024
Amazing and thoughtful read. Rose did an amazing job using case studies to explain important concepts and interactions happening through structural racism. Would highly recommend.
March 16, 2025
So many more racist systems are at play than the obvious ones. This opened my eyes to the many policies throughout history that have benefited certain people and have been detrimental to others.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews