1st Edition
Dilemmas of Allyship White Anti-Racists and the Challenges of Social Justice
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction: “Can a Man Condemn Himself?”
Who Is the “Ally?”
Whiteness Made Problematic
The Case and the Research
Outline of the Work
Notes
References
Chapter 1: Spoiled Selfhood: The Moral Problematic
Racism and Responsibility
The Moral Dilemma in Ally Life
Notes
References
Chapter 2: Suspect Subjectivity: The Epistemic Problematic
Ignorance and Deference
The Epistemic Dilemma in Ally Life
Notes
References
Chapter 3: Managing Dilemma: Strategies of Mitigation
Interactive Mitigation
Cognitive Mitigation
Affiliative Mitigation
Notes
References
Chapter 4: Allyship Reconsidered
Dilemmas of Allyship—and Their Relevance
The Desirability of Dilemma
Notes
References
Conclusion
Appendix: Logic and Methodology
Index
Biography
Zachary V. Sunderman is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Eastern Gateway Community College in Steubenville, OH.
“Through a rich depiction of the lives of white allies in a moment of race reckoning, Sunderman shows that to be an ally is to acknowledge and work through a set of predictable dilemmas—to be simultaneously morally upright and inherently suspect, both knowledgeable and ignorant, both protagonist and antagonist. While not giving us any easy answers, Sunderman provides us with a template for white participation in anti-racist action, as well as a sophisticated theory of what allyship means.”
- Iddo Tavory, Professor of Sociology, New York University; Editor, Sociological Theory“In Sunderman’s revealing interviews with whites in the anti-racism movement, he explores the process of moving from ‘bystander’ to ‘ally’ in the struggle for racial justice. Am I self-protective or open? Is shame or guilt part of this work or does it get in the way? Sunderman takes a deep dive into the emotional issues that arise in addressing an urgent issue: how do we scale up and move toward?”
- Arlie Russell Hochschild, Professor Emerita of Sociology, University of California Berkeley; Author of Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right
