Description
Book SynopsisCritics often characterize white consumption of African American culture as a form of theft that echoes the fantasies of 1950s-era bohemians, or "White Negroes," who romanticized black culture as anarchic and sexually potent. The author claims such a view fails to describe the varied politics of racial crossover over the years.
Trade ReviewLois P. Rudnick Book Prize, New England American Studies Association, 2014.
"[Davis's] readings are astute and innovative. Her study of the cross-racial empathy of white rappers and her comparison/contrast of
Do the Right Thing and
Crash are especially effective. With a solid scholarly foundation, she takes real risks in her thinking about race."
--Cecilia Konchar Farr, author of
Reading Oprah: How Oprah's Book Club Changed the Way America Reads"Davis’s book is a timely analysis of the relationship between audience reception and antiracist action. . . . Davis’s argument goes beyond the claim that educating whites in African American history and culture can lead to antiracist reading practices to say that antiracist reading is one part of white engagement with African American culture more broadly."--
Reception: Texts, Readers, Audiences, History
