White Male Privilege: A Study of Racism in America 50 Years After the Voting Rights Act

by Mark Rosenkranz

Discrimination and racism has existed in America since the very early days of colonization. In the Declaration of Independence, our founding fathers declared "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." and yet, it would be another 189 years before Americans would be equal by law. It has been suggested that with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, America had finally overcame its ugly past of racism and discrimination. As we entered into the new millennium, the author wondered if America had really set aside its biases and discriminatory practices. The author interviewed eight people as he developed the foundations for this book. One of the people he was honored to interview was Brian Swann, the brother of famous footballer Lynn Swann. Brian shared his story of a racial motivated encounter that he and his brother's had experienced in the 1970's in San Francisco, California, at the hands of the San Francisco Police Department. Each of the eight people interviewed for this book brought with them a different experience and viewpoint as it relates to discrimination and racism in America, and more specifically, white male privilege in America. The author brought these eight individual viewpoints together, and told their story as they relate to American history, from the early days of colonization through the present day.

Genres: Nonfiction

94 pages, Hardcover

First published October 2, 2009

Reviews

[Mary C. Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

what wmp? part of its power depends on not admitting it exists.

[Rants and Bants]

[Brandon James · Rating 3 out of 5]

After finishing, I was not sure why I had read this book. WMP exists. Racism Exists. They are both the same thing, and different depending on who you speak with and how that person interprets the world around them. WMP is absorbed, systematic racism is likely not perpetrated by a cognizant act, but is worn like the skin of white men as much as discrimination and systematic oppression are worn like the skin of black, brown, yellow, red, and any other color person, including white women. We cannot take it off, and we cannot hate it without hating ourselves.
I am a white man, and I cannot tell you what Rosenkranz was trying to say with this book, but I personally think that when white men in America are willing to see, point out, and label WMP to themselves, others and especially the next generation, we may be exercising the only real tool we have in deconstructing these "baked-in" realities.

[Chris brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

The man was bold enough to write this yet it reads like an apology for being white. On some levels I think that is just as bad as being a racist. Everyone should be proud of their heritage and understand that "pride" is being proud of your ancestors. "prejudice" is believing that it makes you better than anyone else. This is a good book to start but could be a lot more in depth

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book for free at a library sale and I picked it up because I thought I might learn something new. I was mistaken. I’m giving this one star not because the concept is bad but because it’s written like a B+ research paper from a student forced to take a race relations class for their degree requirement.


The bible quotes and islamophobia in the conclusion though? Peak comedy. Anyway, skip this book and save yourself the 45 minutes by reading something better.

[Kendall Berdinsky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good subject but needs an edit job bad. Found lots of typos. Could go a lot deeper with writing, could be surface level.

[James Uscroft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this might be a good introduction to or overview of the issue at hand, I would argue that it's far too short and doesn't do enough to rebut the claims made by those (including people of colour) who insist that White Male Privilege no longer exists; or even worse, go so far as to claim that society has 'Overcompensated' and is now oppressing white men.

Indeed, this may even cause the purpose of the book to backfire, reinforcing such prejudiced beliefs. So while, as I say, it's short and accessible enough for me to recommend it to many people, I would only suggest doing so if you're only going to regard this book as a jumping off point to explore the issue much more deeply.

[Marjorieann Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

i like the author's view about the book ..