Institutional Racism in the United States Revisited

Reviewed by Mark Norris, Professor of History, Grace College and Seminary on 8/6/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

"Institutional Racism in America Revisited," authored by Carmichael Peters, Louis L. Knowles, Rodè F. Cramer, Glennan Keldin, and Hayley Nelson, is a comprehensive, thoroughly researched, and updated investigation of racism as it exists throughout great institutions in America. Carmichael, the project director of "Revisited," notes that they build on a study by a group of Stanford University undergraduate students who chose to live in impoverished East Palo Alto in the fall of 1967. This city had been deliberately excluded from affluent Palo Alto by Highway 101. The students exposed injustices in economics, housing, education, health care, education, politics, and policing in their 1969 work as do the current authors of "Revisited." Knowles, editor-in-chief, of "Revisited" writes: "This work, like its predecessor published in 1969, Institutional Racism in America, is a response to the enduring injustices and human suffering caused by racism in US society. The purpose of the original work initiated over 50 years ago remains the same today: to expose and analyze the intricate web of policies and practices that continue to oppress Black people in every dimension of life, leaving the United States as a nation in which people of color continue to endure a lower standard of living, worse housing and health care, inferior education, and unjust treatment in politics and the administration of justice." Each chapter contains extensive citations, a thorough bibliography, and further resources including videos and podcasts. It does not include an index or a glossary. However, offered in the introduction is a selection of chapter summaries, that will be helpful as quick reference guides for students.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

"Institutional Racism in the United States" is thoroughly researched and centered on solid quantitative data. The authors include both a Positionality Statement and an Understanding "Incongruous' Data" Statement. They recognize that in this post-truth climate readers may be skeptical of their conclusions. They therefore invite readers to peruse their extensive and impressive citations.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This is a current work that builds off the 1969 study. It will never become obsolete. Like the 1969 study, this will be able to be used in the future to determine change over time

Clarity rating: 5

This is very easy to read and all terms are given adequate context.

Consistency rating: 5

The textbook is consistent throughout with terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 5

This text is easily divisible into smaller sections that can be used in a course on racism or even in an introductory American history course. For example, chapter one includes sections entitled: "The Myth of a Post-Racial Society," "Defining and Describing Institutional Racism, and "The Historical Roots of White Supremacy," Also included in this chapter is Rudyard Kipling's racist poem he wrote in 1899 to lure Congress into seizing the Philippines: "The White Man's Burden." Each of these could easily be used for an American History Survey course to help students better understand racial contexts.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization of the chapters is very simple, logical, and helpful.

Interface rating: 4

There are no interface issues in the chapters and they may be navigated easily. All charts are helpful and there are no distractions in the text. The final chapter includes endnotes rather than footnotes, includes more context for additional sources (which is positive), and formats the bibliography differently.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I saw no grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The authors are open about their cultural backgrounds as well as the cultural backgrounds of the student contributors which is very diverse. Their research framework is clear and noteworthy. They are very careful not to include bias in their work. The very nature of this volume is to promote diversity and cultural sensitivity. "Revisited" is a clear clarion call for racial justice. Knowles notes: "I speak for all those associated with the creation of this work when I say that you are invited to read this book, to learn from it, to use it as a reference in your own research, and to join the struggle to achieve true and lasting racial justice, not there but here, not tomorrow but today."

Comments

I have personally learned a lot from this work and I highly recommend this to others.