Beyond Racial Division

A Unifying Alternative to Colorblindness and Antiracism

By: George A. Yancey

Narrated by: Calvin Robinson

Efforts at colorblindness and antiracism have not been very effective in addressing racial tensions in the United States.

Colorblindness ignores the realities of race and the history of injustice. On the other hand, antiracism centers racial concerns and in so doing often alienates people who need to be involved in the process. Sociologist George Yancey offers an alternative approach to racial relations where all parties contribute and are mutually accountable to one another for societal well-being. He provides empirical rationale for how collaborative conversations in a mutual accountability model can reduce racial division. History and societal complexity mean that different participants may have different kinds of responsibility, but all are involved in seeking the common good for all to thrive. Avoiding unilateral decisions that close off dialogue, Yancey casts a vision for moving beyond racial alienation toward a lifestyle and movement of collaborative conversation and mutuality.

©2022 George A. Yancey (P)2022 eChristian

A good start, but short on clear examples

Yancey's approach of collaborative conversations between color blind and anti-racist proponents seems like it could be fruitful, and it is certainly better to listen well than to always be preaching from one's narrow perspective. But I did leave the book wondering what common ground could be reached between someone who thinks that racial disparities are all the fault of whites and that only whites can fix them and someone who sees ongoing disparities as only solvable through blacks taking responsibility. Perhaps conversation can bring them a little closer together and help them both to be more nuanced, but the solutions being proposed are so different that it's hard to imagine how they could be bridged. Yancey suggests an approach to dialogue which seems more humane, but doesn't give enough examples of how this dialogue would solve our problems to give confidence in his solution. So, it's a good book; but it feels incomplete.

The narrator had a great voice, but long gaps between sentences with no background noise made every sentence feel like it was recorded in a different session. Better editing would have made the experience more immersive. The solution to this problem for the listener is to turn the speed up to 1.5x so that the reading is much smoother.