Rethinking Racism: The Idea in History and Society

Accusations of racism by both the progressive left and populist right have become increasingly politicized in this age of rupture. Rethinking Racism captures this moment and movement, in which the concept of racism is evolving in response to shifting discourses and emergent realities. Drawing on a wealth of experience in this field and a lifetime of commitment to antiracism, author Augie Fleras challenges the reader to rethink conventional ideas about how we see, think, and debate racism at a time when the concept is difficult to pin down. The book breaks new ground by exploring how racism is framed and tracked, from the visible tip of a racial iceberg to the submerged mass of biases and barriers, rooted in the systems and structures of a racialized society. In framing racism as a default feature rather than a collateral glitch, the book demonstrates how a critically informed approach to antiracism and EDI interventions must acknowledge the inescapable: racism is not just the elephant in the room; the elephant is the room.