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Book Cover for: The Raceless Antiracist: Why Ending Race Is the Future of Antiracism, Sheena Michele Mason

The Raceless Antiracist: Why Ending Race Is the Future of Antiracism

Sheena Michele Mason

Many scholars and activists argue that the practice of racialization and the belief in race are necessary because even if race is not real, racism is. While such an approach might help lessen some effects of racism, it inevitably strengthens the very foundation of racism. As Sheena Michele Mason argues in The Raceless Antiracist, fighting racism by ignoring or upholding the idea of race and the practice of racialization is like trying to stop a flood by dousing it with water. To end racism, particularly antiblack racism, we must question, acknowledge, and translate race as an integral part of racism itself. In presenting her case for charting a future without racism, Mason weaves insights from philosophy, sociology, statistics, biology, history, and literary studies. She presents a map, which she refers to as the "togetherness wayfinder," for how to discuss, teach, identify, and stop the causes and effects of racism without hardening any of its components. With this guide, we can end the idea of race and the practice of racialization and start to navigate more effectively toward a post-racist world.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Pitchstone Publishing
  • Publish Date: Oct 17th, 2024
  • Pages: 255
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 9.00in - 6.00in - 0.80in - 0.83lb
  • EAN: 9781634312523
  • Categories: Race & Ethnic RelationsCultural & Ethnic Studies - American - African American & BlAnthropology - Cultural & Social

About the Author

Sheena Michele Mason is an assistant professor of English at SUNY Oneonta. She holds a PhD with distinction in English from Howard University and specializes in Africana and American studies and philosophy of "race.",

Praise for this book

"A provocative contribution to antiracist literature."--Kirkus Reviews

"The Raceless Antiracist shows the way out of the maze. I am tempted to call it a masterwork. However, it seems that Dr. Mason's masterwork is ever in process and developing on a practical, empirical, and interpersonal level. The book should be required reading for all educators, activists, politicians, and anyone interested in justice and global harmony." -- Arnett Duncan. EdD, Executive Director, Kweli Educational Enterprises, Inc.

"One of the most important books of the twenty-first century. A challenge to racists and antiracists, the colorblind and color-conscious, 'woke' and 'anti-woke' alike, The Raceless Antiracist is the solution to social division we've been waiting for. Dr. Sheena Michele Mason expertly guides us toward finally shedding the pernicious fiction of race, recognizing our common humanity, and realizing our true potential--together." -- Angel Eduardo, Senior Writer, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, and Board Chair, Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism

"The concept of race is itself a tool of oppression, and celebrating it, however well-intentioned, is promoting the white supremacist project. The Raceless Antiracist is a wonderfully clear and accessible guide and call to arms, explaining why it is that if we want to get rid of racism, we've got to get rid of race, and charting the way forward to a truly post-racist world." -- David Livingstone Smith, author of Making Monsters: The Uncanny Power of Dehumanization

"Dr. Sheena Michele Mason has penned a moving and courageous elegy to an age-worn belief and custom-the noxious notion and practice of race as a scientific reality. Mason argues that if we are ever to progress as a species, we must rid ourselves of the hidebound notion of race and its concomitant pseudoscientific methodologies that consign all to a more limited humanity. Mason ushers in shimmering new possibilities of collaboration, communion, and collective care." -- Hoda Mahmoudi, Research Professor and Chair, The Bahá'í Chair for World Peace, University of Maryland, College Park

"Sheena Michele Mason is a timely and refreshing voice in the antiracist soundscape. The Raceless Antiracist, at once descriptive and didactic, educates and even invites its readers to a more nuanced, honest look at the inner workings of what we'd otherwise call 'race.' The sooner the togetherness wayfinder makes its way into graduate seminars, journal articles, academic books, popular press, and public discourse . . . the better." -- Russell Galloway, Graduate Teaching Assistant, PhD Student, University of Alabama