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The Psychosis of Whiteness: Surviving the Insanity of a Racist World
Take a step through the looking glass to a strange land, one where Piers Morgan is a voice worth listening to about race, where white people buy self-help books to help them cope with their whiteness, where Boris Johnson and Donald Trump are seen by the majority of the population as 'the right (white) man for the job'. Perhaps you know it. All the inhabitants seem to be afflicted by a serious delusions, like that racism doesn't exist and if it does it can be cured with a one-hour inclusion seminar, and bizarre collective hallucinations, like the widely-held idea that Britain's only role in slavery was to abolish it.
But there is a serious side too. Black and brown people suffer from a greater number of mental health difficulties, caused in no small part by living in a racist society. But being Black and brown has itself been pathologised by the young field of psychology. Society cannot face up to the racism at its heart and in its history, so the delusions, irrationalities and hallucinations it conjures up to avoid doing so can only best be described as a psychosis, and the costs are being borne by the sons and daughters of that racist history.
Kehinde Andrews is your piercing, wry and not a little funny guide back to sanity, unpicking the absurd and outrageous lies society tells to keep up the status quo and The Psychosis of Whiteness is your lifeboat out of this topsy turvey world.
But there is a serious side too. Black and brown people suffer from a greater number of mental health difficulties, caused in no small part by living in a racist society. But being Black and brown has itself been pathologised by the young field of psychology. Society cannot face up to the racism at its heart and in its history, so the delusions, irrationalities and hallucinations it conjures up to avoid doing so can only best be described as a psychosis, and the costs are being borne by the sons and daughters of that racist history.
Kehinde Andrews is your piercing, wry and not a little funny guide back to sanity, unpicking the absurd and outrageous lies society tells to keep up the status quo and The Psychosis of Whiteness is your lifeboat out of this topsy turvey world.
272 pages, Hardcover
Published September 7, 2023
36 people are currently reading
632 people want to read
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October 18, 2023A better title for this book could be 'The Neurosis of Kehinde Andrews' as he seems to have taken his personal difficulties with the world and extrapolated them out to a universal 'Truth'.
He takes every interaction - and non-interaction - with his colleagues at his British university (that hotbed of racism ...) as racist and is only comfortable in his department surrounded by people who look and think like him. He doesn't like when white people move out of a neighbourhood (white flight) but hates it even more when they move back (gentrification). He despises films that don't show the reality of slavery but would like to ban art exhibitions that do. He uses racist language to describe black people who have different opinions than him, and goes out of his way to dismiss white people who claim to be 'anti-racist'. He doesn't believe any progress has been made in the West regarding race relations - in fact, that it's all worse nowadays - and only wants it all to be torn down and rebuilt. (Rebuilt in what image, he never quite says, but you can't help imagine that it would be a society where people of differing races and ideologies need never interact.)
The contradictions go on but suffice to say that this is a book written by a radical revolutionary for radical revolutionaries who only see the world in black & white. The only person he seems to admire is his beloved Malcolm X, and Professor Andrews comes out of this book sounding like a modern-day Don Quixote desperately attacking windmills because they are racist.
He takes every interaction - and non-interaction - with his colleagues at his British university (that hotbed of racism ...) as racist and is only comfortable in his department surrounded by people who look and think like him. He doesn't like when white people move out of a neighbourhood (white flight) but hates it even more when they move back (gentrification). He despises films that don't show the reality of slavery but would like to ban art exhibitions that do. He uses racist language to describe black people who have different opinions than him, and goes out of his way to dismiss white people who claim to be 'anti-racist'. He doesn't believe any progress has been made in the West regarding race relations - in fact, that it's all worse nowadays - and only wants it all to be torn down and rebuilt. (Rebuilt in what image, he never quite says, but you can't help imagine that it would be a society where people of differing races and ideologies need never interact.)
The contradictions go on but suffice to say that this is a book written by a radical revolutionary for radical revolutionaries who only see the world in black & white. The only person he seems to admire is his beloved Malcolm X, and Professor Andrews comes out of this book sounding like a modern-day Don Quixote desperately attacking windmills because they are racist.
October 26, 2023
Andrews uses the title phrase to describe the hypocrisy, doublethink, existential fear and liberal appeasement that result from and reinforce white supremacy. He provides historical context for the evolution of ideas of race and whiteness, and compares manifestations of the "psychosis of whiteness" past and present. The book ends up, unfortunately, as a series of righteously angry polemics against hot sociopolitical topics of the last decade (critical race theory, imperialist museums, etc) that brings little new to the discourse. One big sticking point is the titlular concept and how he says that it comes out of his examination of the racist history of mental health. It doesn't really come together, and ends up feeling forced when he goes from talking about the absurdity of "psychosis" as a subjective and unhelpful medical term...while spending the rest of the book using "psychosis", "delusion" etc. as political descriptors.
June 11, 2025
suomalainen/suomenkielinen antirasismikeskustelu kaipaisi kyllä tosi kipeästi tämän kaltaista puheenvuoroa, joka on selkeä, mutta terävä ja oikeasti kriittinen, viihdyttävä, mutta ilman sisällöllisiä kompromisseja. parhaimmillaan Kehinde Andrewsin analyysi on luvussa 2, "The Anti-Racism Industrial Complex," jota lukiessa sekä nauroin ääneen että tein sivukaupalla muistiinpanoja, ja luvussa 3 "West Indian Slavery," joka on malliesimerkki siitä, että mutkikkaiden poliittisten kysymysten käsitteleminen saavutettavasti ei vaadi analyysin "tyhmentämistä" vaan analyysi voi olla super skarppia vaikka kieli ja käsittelytapa olisi lähestyttävää.
4/5 tähteä pyöristettynä alaspäin, en muista, koska olisin viimeksi lukenut näin vetävää nonfiktiota.
4/5 tähteä pyöristettynä alaspäin, en muista, koska olisin viimeksi lukenut näin vetävää nonfiktiota.
September 21, 2023
Professor Andrews offers an insightful, unflinching commentary on the state of popular discussion on racism and Whiteness in the UK today. There's a grim humour to Andrews' tone as he dissects the unrelenting nonsense of Whiteness. It's acidic, eating away at various White delusions. As a White reader, this is not a 'feel good' book, even with the nod to a better future in the final chapter. The only solution is the end of the world as we know it. This is a timely book that tells the truth. I wondered whether Andrews veered into "ontological Blackness" at points, but I'll leave that for Black readers to decide.
September 30, 2023
11. Out of 5.
December 28, 2025
No offence. Really really struggled with navigating the direction of this book. Individual points and stories were certainly important and relevant. But… badly written
December 2, 2023
Quite difficult to read, very thought provoking
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May 3, 2024DNF at chapter 4 - Self-Segregation. I read this between 30/04/24 to 03/05/24 . I enjoyed the introduction to this and thought it was very thought provoking and it displayed psychosis in a way I’d never seen before. I found the first chapter interesting and on a personal opinion note I do agree with this author on many ideas. For example I do believe the media perpetuates racism and people like Piers Morgan are key people in this. I enjoyed The New Age of Empire by this author and I found it very informative. However I think this non fiction work is too focused on personal opinion rather than facts. Andrews seems to have a very black and white opinion on race and seems to base his ideas on Malcom X. He disagreed with many people of colour on their ideas on race, racism and critical race theory. The issue is he doesn’t really come up with any solutions. I’m white and have read a lot on anti-racism and am actively trying to not be racist by unpacking biases as best I can. I’m very interested in anti-racist work but I don’t want to talk over people of colour. From what I took from this Andrews doesn’t seem to believe white people have a place in anti-racism and I do personally find that harmful. Andrews argues we can’t try to make individual people less racist through things like critical race theory/diversity training because it makes no difference when racism is on a systemic/institutional level. However I disagree because individual white people have to wake up and learn about anti-racism/biases to realise the systems in society like the police and schools are institutionally racist. His ideas just don’t make much sense to me. British society particularly is predominantly white so if no white people seek to be anti-racist then the racist institutions will just carry on and no progress will ever be made. I just don’t think this is worth reading as I think The New Age of Empire is a lot better. This just seemed to be based too much on personal opinion.
October 10, 2023
I could not have read this at a better time. I felt seen and both a little more and a less crazy after reading this. It's a very concise exploration of the theory that the system is mad and that everyone who participates in the charade of Whiteness is also a little bit mad. It's validating, which is a comfort because dealing with the nonsense on a daily basis really wears you down. Kehinde has a way with words and his dry humour comes through even though the subject matter is somewhat bleak. Absolutely 5 stars for this one!
October 17, 2023
Very important and fascinating from start to finish
May 24, 2024
4.75
May 30, 2024
I was very excited when I saw Andrews would come out with a new book since I truly enjoyed Back to Black and the New Age of Empire.
Unfortunately, this latest one wasn't as convincing and well developed as the previous ones. Overall the concept of the psychosis of Whiteness remains unanswered to me: on his pages, I see that racism is everywhere in the Western world but I couldn't grasp the said psychosis. I have the feeling that Andrews is a bit bitter in general and feels that the whole world is against him.
I don't deny structural racism, its existence is a fact, however it seemed to me that some of his examples (his visit in Philly with his daughter and the desperate search for an authentic Little Italy in Manhattan or Martin Sheen's origins) were a bit far fetched. I was a bit lost in Chapter 7 too (on Meghan Markle's Royal ties): bashing the Royal family for not receiving Meghan in the family is racist, therefore it's a problem. However Meghan willing to be part of the family is also a problem as the Royal Family represents imperial nostalgia, i.e. racism. There's simply no adequate way that would be acceptable to Andrews.
Overall, this is my general impression: Andrews is an angry person who, in his latest book, gets derailed from his usual well-argued path and gets into bashing a little bit everything around him. This might stem from the internal conflict in him that he reveals in the last chapter of the book too. I still like his style though and remain to relate to him in many aspects.
Unfortunately, this latest one wasn't as convincing and well developed as the previous ones. Overall the concept of the psychosis of Whiteness remains unanswered to me: on his pages, I see that racism is everywhere in the Western world but I couldn't grasp the said psychosis. I have the feeling that Andrews is a bit bitter in general and feels that the whole world is against him.
I don't deny structural racism, its existence is a fact, however it seemed to me that some of his examples (his visit in Philly with his daughter and the desperate search for an authentic Little Italy in Manhattan or Martin Sheen's origins) were a bit far fetched. I was a bit lost in Chapter 7 too (on Meghan Markle's Royal ties): bashing the Royal family for not receiving Meghan in the family is racist, therefore it's a problem. However Meghan willing to be part of the family is also a problem as the Royal Family represents imperial nostalgia, i.e. racism. There's simply no adequate way that would be acceptable to Andrews.
Overall, this is my general impression: Andrews is an angry person who, in his latest book, gets derailed from his usual well-argued path and gets into bashing a little bit everything around him. This might stem from the internal conflict in him that he reveals in the last chapter of the book too. I still like his style though and remain to relate to him in many aspects.
June 1, 2024
99% propaganda 1% facts. Most baffling is his infatuation with Malcom X. A man who forced women into prostitution... modern day slavery
May 29, 2025
A challenging read that pushes you to confront uncomfortable truths about race, history, and power.
August 31, 2025
I saw Kehinde Andrews on TV recently and decided to give his book a try. I was unsurprised by the racist diatribe he goes on.
My main issues with this book can be summarised as follows (I don't want to waste any more time on this terrible book).
1. White supremacy is generalised over a wide and varied group of settings, covering different historical and cultural phenomena as though they all belong to one big monolith of slavery. I think that he should have dealt with each of this separately to give them the attention they deserve.
2. The jumbled metaphor of psychosis that Andrews uses, I found this particularly confusing considering the fact that he questions the existence of psychosis.
3. Andrews tone is awful. Moving between belligerent, unsparing and polemical. He is horrible (mocking and even denigrating) towards black voices and anti-racism efforts, other times he is openly dismissive. One instance that stood out to me was when Andrews says he’d prefer people don KKK hoods and burn a cross on his lawn than listen to a black woman's anti-racism work which I believe is irresponsible and hostile.
4. He boils every interactions into oppressor and oppressed, ignoring complicated socio-political dynamics. Not taking class, culture, ethnicity, etc. into account.
5. Any BIPOC person who does not agree with him, he accuses them of reinforcing white supremacy, even labelling some as 'house n*gr**s.
6. He mischaracterises or overlooks the struggles of other marginalised groups such as Latino, Jewish, poor white communities.
7. Andrews calls for systematic change and revolution but fails to give any concrete examples of what he would want. Judging from the book I would be inclined to say open racist policies.
8. Another issue that I had with the book is it broad stroke and sweeping language while failing to five any credible evidence. The rhetoric is exaggerated. He is openly mocking of groups
9. He claims that the British empire was worse than Nazism. Please find another comparison.
Reading the book, I kept getting a tone of self-righteousness and dismissiveness from the author but the content of the book failed to make-up for this.
My main issues with this book can be summarised as follows (I don't want to waste any more time on this terrible book).
1. White supremacy is generalised over a wide and varied group of settings, covering different historical and cultural phenomena as though they all belong to one big monolith of slavery. I think that he should have dealt with each of this separately to give them the attention they deserve.
2. The jumbled metaphor of psychosis that Andrews uses, I found this particularly confusing considering the fact that he questions the existence of psychosis.
3. Andrews tone is awful. Moving between belligerent, unsparing and polemical. He is horrible (mocking and even denigrating) towards black voices and anti-racism efforts, other times he is openly dismissive. One instance that stood out to me was when Andrews says he’d prefer people don KKK hoods and burn a cross on his lawn than listen to a black woman's anti-racism work which I believe is irresponsible and hostile.
4. He boils every interactions into oppressor and oppressed, ignoring complicated socio-political dynamics. Not taking class, culture, ethnicity, etc. into account.
5. Any BIPOC person who does not agree with him, he accuses them of reinforcing white supremacy, even labelling some as 'house n*gr**s.
6. He mischaracterises or overlooks the struggles of other marginalised groups such as Latino, Jewish, poor white communities.
7. Andrews calls for systematic change and revolution but fails to give any concrete examples of what he would want. Judging from the book I would be inclined to say open racist policies.
8. Another issue that I had with the book is it broad stroke and sweeping language while failing to five any credible evidence. The rhetoric is exaggerated. He is openly mocking of groups
9. He claims that the British empire was worse than Nazism. Please find another comparison.
Reading the book, I kept getting a tone of self-righteousness and dismissiveness from the author but the content of the book failed to make-up for this.
January 1, 2025
Listed on audio
Having previously read and very much enjoyed Kehinde Andews, "New Age of Empire", I was excited to listen to some of his other works.
The Psychosis of Whiteness, explores the delusions of Whiteness which has led institutional racism to breed. Kehinde Andrews is a radical Black thinker, professor of Black studies at Birmingham City University and in this book he analyses a range of topics including mental health, housing and Megan Markle through the lens of White psychosis.
One think I struggled with was the concept of psychosis and why this was used as a metaphor. At times, psychosis seemed to be a synonym for delusional and at other times it also seemed to be a replacement for crazy. It was never made clear why this metaphor was needed. White people voting against their interests is a well established concept, illustrated brilliantly in Johnthan Metzl's book "Dying of Whiteness", which was referenced here. I do not think the use of psychosis was necessary here.
I do think there are important topics discussed here and most of the time, I did find Andrews tone funny and engaging, I have seen some reviews suggesting Andrews sounds bitter, but I would not agree with that. I just think that he is exasperated at race in this country and to be honest, I do not blame him. I did like the section where he talks about what we can do, he gives us two options: first we can centre organisations founded by ethnic minorities to address racial inequalities and secondly we can find shared interests with white people to work towards. Andrews avoids tokenistic solutions and I did appreciate that.
Overall, a book that seeks to address race inequality in the UK but with a metaphor that I do not find particularly helpful. I would recommend New Age of Empire by Kehinde Andrews as a better alternative.
Having previously read and very much enjoyed Kehinde Andews, "New Age of Empire", I was excited to listen to some of his other works.
The Psychosis of Whiteness, explores the delusions of Whiteness which has led institutional racism to breed. Kehinde Andrews is a radical Black thinker, professor of Black studies at Birmingham City University and in this book he analyses a range of topics including mental health, housing and Megan Markle through the lens of White psychosis.
One think I struggled with was the concept of psychosis and why this was used as a metaphor. At times, psychosis seemed to be a synonym for delusional and at other times it also seemed to be a replacement for crazy. It was never made clear why this metaphor was needed. White people voting against their interests is a well established concept, illustrated brilliantly in Johnthan Metzl's book "Dying of Whiteness", which was referenced here. I do not think the use of psychosis was necessary here.
I do think there are important topics discussed here and most of the time, I did find Andrews tone funny and engaging, I have seen some reviews suggesting Andrews sounds bitter, but I would not agree with that. I just think that he is exasperated at race in this country and to be honest, I do not blame him. I did like the section where he talks about what we can do, he gives us two options: first we can centre organisations founded by ethnic minorities to address racial inequalities and secondly we can find shared interests with white people to work towards. Andrews avoids tokenistic solutions and I did appreciate that.
Overall, a book that seeks to address race inequality in the UK but with a metaphor that I do not find particularly helpful. I would recommend New Age of Empire by Kehinde Andrews as a better alternative.
July 20, 2025
A difficult but Necessary Read
As part of an organisation devoted to addressing inequalities in academia I thought this would be an excellent book to address some of the issues that colleagues encountered. It was a difficult read, not because it was overly academic, though there are quite a few statistics and references underpinning each argument as one would expect in academic writing. The reason I found it difficult is that it forced me to confront my own psychosis, which was more entrenched that I was willing or able to acknowledge and for that I am grateful to Andrews for this enlightenment.
I would encourage anyone to read this book regardless of their skin colour, and to read it with as much of an open mind as you are able. There were times when I recoiled from some of the things stated in the book because of my own deep rooted psychosis which I was not even aware of. I was grateful for the epilogue as I felt somewhat overawed by the enormity of the challenges presented and not sure of where or how I (as an elderly white man) could apply myself without contributing to the problem. I can start with myself and with recognising and dismantling the systems that have maintained white psychosis for far too long.
As part of an organisation devoted to addressing inequalities in academia I thought this would be an excellent book to address some of the issues that colleagues encountered. It was a difficult read, not because it was overly academic, though there are quite a few statistics and references underpinning each argument as one would expect in academic writing. The reason I found it difficult is that it forced me to confront my own psychosis, which was more entrenched that I was willing or able to acknowledge and for that I am grateful to Andrews for this enlightenment.
I would encourage anyone to read this book regardless of their skin colour, and to read it with as much of an open mind as you are able. There were times when I recoiled from some of the things stated in the book because of my own deep rooted psychosis which I was not even aware of. I was grateful for the epilogue as I felt somewhat overawed by the enormity of the challenges presented and not sure of where or how I (as an elderly white man) could apply myself without contributing to the problem. I can start with myself and with recognising and dismantling the systems that have maintained white psychosis for far too long.
January 16, 2025
First things first, the title. I see many reviews taking issue with the use of "psychosis", equating it to the trending, flippant use of certain mental health diagnosis such as ADHD, OCD, ASD, etc. However, unlike these mental health conditions, psychosis is not a diagnosis in itself, but a symptom that presents itself in people with psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia. Do with this what you will, but after finishing the book, I can see his point of view on how the oppressive system of whiteness does present signs that are parallel or equal to psychosis.
With that out of the way, I would give it a good 4 stars. It's not a light read, or even pleasant. He's known to be unapologetic and if you're not ready to be given lots to think about, to rethink and reframe your perception of today's society, then you will hate it. However, I personally feel that he does offer great insight, food for thought that a lot of people could really use these days. My only ick is that it has left me with uncertainty as to how he views women, in general; and I definitely felt there lacked a "feminine dimension" to his facts, stories and opinions overall.
With that out of the way, I would give it a good 4 stars. It's not a light read, or even pleasant. He's known to be unapologetic and if you're not ready to be given lots to think about, to rethink and reframe your perception of today's society, then you will hate it. However, I personally feel that he does offer great insight, food for thought that a lot of people could really use these days. My only ick is that it has left me with uncertainty as to how he views women, in general; and I definitely felt there lacked a "feminine dimension" to his facts, stories and opinions overall.
November 18, 2024
This was very insightful and engaging book on the illogical nature of racism and the people who practice it.
Kehinde takes are brutally honest whilst also humorous.
Though I agreed with most of his points, I did find that it didn’t leave much room for nuance or empathy towards those he deemed inadequate in tackling racism when they had the chance I.e Obama and Nelson Mandela. Which is technically true, but I also feel that maybe their part in ‘the revolution’ was to be the first and getting into spaces and places so others can come through behind them.
Overall I enjoyed Kehinde voice on the audiobook as I felt like I was a student sitting in on one of his lectures.
I look forward to reading more of his other work.
Kehinde takes are brutally honest whilst also humorous.
Though I agreed with most of his points, I did find that it didn’t leave much room for nuance or empathy towards those he deemed inadequate in tackling racism when they had the chance I.e Obama and Nelson Mandela. Which is technically true, but I also feel that maybe their part in ‘the revolution’ was to be the first and getting into spaces and places so others can come through behind them.
Overall I enjoyed Kehinde voice on the audiobook as I felt like I was a student sitting in on one of his lectures.
I look forward to reading more of his other work.
April 27, 2025
The psychosis of whiteness is a very interesting book on a widespread phenomenon that is not often talked about. While society convinces us that racism has been conquered and we are all free from slavery, the author reminds us that things are not so simple unfortunately.
I enjoyed his analysis of art and museums as well, and I agree that the relative successes gained by black people have undermined the structural racism still in place in most societies nowadays.
I enjoyed his analysis of art and museums as well, and I agree that the relative successes gained by black people have undermined the structural racism still in place in most societies nowadays.
February 14, 2024
Less extensive but more personal than his other book. But I was very happy that after reading the new age of empire another book was published by this very driven, intelligent writer to give his opinion about being black and brown and how normal a white guy like me is so priviliged that it's easy to see the world only or mostly from the white side. White is right, right?!
November 8, 2024
Excellent. Full of insight and lots of acerbic humour.
The professor and I aren't always on the same page politically but it would be foolish to concern myself too much with the couple of occasions I had different contexts in play.
This is exceptionally good. So good fascists would be dead set on burning it for the title alone.
The professor and I aren't always on the same page politically but it would be foolish to concern myself too much with the couple of occasions I had different contexts in play.
This is exceptionally good. So good fascists would be dead set on burning it for the title alone.
May 15, 2024
4.5 rounded up
this was interesting and really quite funny (i listened to the audiobook) but it would be nice if andrews had stronger counterarguments / proposals to the ideas he (fairly) tears apart
this was interesting and really quite funny (i listened to the audiobook) but it would be nice if andrews had stronger counterarguments / proposals to the ideas he (fairly) tears apart
September 13, 2024
This is yet another piece of artistic truth telling that helped confirm that it isn't just me - and that I am not going mad.
An absolutely essential work, for those who suspect, know, or simply wish to have the truth confirmed to them.
This may well be too much truth...for some.
An absolutely essential work, for those who suspect, know, or simply wish to have the truth confirmed to them.
This may well be too much truth...for some.
September 20, 2023
I don’t think I was in the right mindset when I read this so I might revisit it sometime.
Want to read
November 29, 2023Recommended by Aparna
January 3, 2024
Clever, thought provoking and fearless. Reviews with 1 or 2 stars from people because they disagree with him suggest they have missed the point.
January 8, 2024
Very eye opening! Struggled to pick this up over Christmas as it’s quite a difficult read at times, but worth reading in the current political climate as lots of up-to-date commentary
April 9, 2024
Loved this as a person who has been closely involved in activism I clearly see the point that Kehinde Andrews is making here. Highly recommend it.
July 22, 2024
the irony of using this as your title while whining that white people are the racist ones. incredible.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews