Recent attacks on Ethnic Studies, revisionist actions in curriculum content, and anti-immigrant policies are creating a new culture war in America. This important work lays out the current debates—both in K–12 and higher education—to uncover the dangers and to offer solutions. In 2010, HB 2281—a law that bans ethnic studies in Arizona—was passed; in the same year, Texas whitewashed curriculum and textbook changes at the K–12 level. Since then, the nation has seen a rise in the legal and political war on Ethnic Studies, revisionist actions in curriculum content, and anti-immigrant policies, creating a new culture war in America. "White" Washing American Education demonstrates the value and necessity of Ethnic Studies in the 21st century by sharing the voices of those in the trenches—educators, students, community activists, and cultural workers—who are effectively using multidisciplinary approaches to education. This two-volume set of contributed essays provides readers with a historical context to the current struggles and attacks on Ethnic Studies by examining the various cultural and political "wars" that are making an impact on American educational systems, and how students, faculty, and communities are impacted as a result. It investigates specific cases of educational whitewashing and challenges to that whitewashing, such as Tom Horne's attack along with the State Board of Education against the Mexican American studies in the Tucson School District, the experiences of professors of color teaching Ethnic Studies in primarily white universities across the United States, and the role that student activists play in the movements for Ethnic Studies in their high schools, universities, and communities. Readers will come away with an understanding of the history of Ethnic Studies in the United States, the challenges and barriers that Ethnic Studies scholars and practitioners currently face, and the ways to advocate for the development of Ethnic Studies within formal and community-based spaces.

In an updated new edition of this classic work, a team of highly respected sociologists, political scientists, economists, criminologists, and legal scholars scrutinize the resilience of racial inequality in twenty-first-century America. Whitewashing Race argues that contemporary racism manifests as discrimination in nearly every realm of American life, and is further perpetuated by failures to address the compounding effects of generations of disinvestment. Police violence, mass incarceration of Black people, employment and housing discrimination, economic deprivation, and gross inequities in health care combine to deeply embed racial inequality in American society and economy. Updated to include the most recent evidence, including contemporary research on the racially disparate effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, this edition of Whitewashing Race analyzes the consequential and ongoing legacy of "disaccumulation" for Black communities and lives. While some progress has been made, the authors argue that real racial justice can be achieved only if we actively attack and undo pervasive structural racism and its legacies.

Recent attacks on Ethnic Studies, revisionist actions in curriculum content, and anti-immigrant policies are creating a new culture war in America. This important work lays out the current debates—both in K–12 and higher education—to uncover the dangers and to offer solutions. In 2010, HB 2281—a law that bans ethnic studies in Arizona—was passed; in the same year, Texas whitewashed curriculum and textbook changes at the K–12 level. Since then, the nation has seen a rise in the legal and political war on Ethnic Studies, revisionist actions in curriculum content, and anti-immigrant policies, creating a new culture war in America. "White" Washing American Education demonstrates the value and necessity of Ethnic Studies in the 21st century by sharing the voices of those in the trenches—educators, students, community activists, and cultural workers—who are effectively using multidisciplinary approaches to education. This two-volume set of contributed essays provides readers with a historical context to the current struggles and attacks on Ethnic Studies by examining the various cultural and political "wars" that are making an impact on American educational systems, and how students, faculty, and communities are impacted as a result. It investigates specific cases of educational whitewashing and challenges to that whitewashing, such as Tom Horne's attack along with the State Board of Education against the Mexican American studies in the Tucson School District, the experiences of professors of color teaching Ethnic Studies in primarily white universities across the United States, and the role that student activists play in the movements for Ethnic Studies in their high schools, universities, and communities. Readers will come away with an understanding of the history of Ethnic Studies in the United States, the challenges and barriers that Ethnic Studies scholars and practitioners currently face, and the ways to advocate for the development of Ethnic Studies within formal and community-based spaces.

North Americans are some of the least healthy people on Earth. Despite advanced medical care and one of the highest standards of living in the world, one in three Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and 50% of US children are overweight. This crisis in personal health is largely the result of chronically poor dietary and lifestyle choices. In Whitewash, Joseph Keon unveils how North Americans unwittingly sabotage their health every day by drinking milk, and shows that our obsession with calcium is unwarranted. Citing scientific literature, Whitewash builds an unassailable case that not only is milk unnecessary for human health; its inclusion in the diet may increase the risk of serious diseases including: prostate, breast, and ovarian cancers osteoporosis diabetes vascular disease Crohn's disease. Many of America’s dairy herds contain sick and immunocompromised animals whose tainted milk regularly makes it to market. Cow's milk is also a sink for environmental contaminants, and has been found to contain traces of pesticides, dioxins, PCBs, rocket fuel, and even radioactive isotopes. Whitewash offers a completely fresh, candid and comprehensively documented look behind dairy's deceptively green pastures, and gives readers a hopeful picture of life after milk.

WINNER OF THE SOUTHERN BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR NONFICTION • “A landmark work of unflinching scholarship.”—The New York Times This extraordinary account of lynching in America, by acclaimed civil rights historian Philip Dray, shines a clear, bright light on American history’s darkest stain—illuminating its causes, perpetrators, apologists, and victims. Philip Dray also tells the story of the men and women who led the long and difficult fight to expose and eradicate lynching, including Ida B. Wells, James Weldon Johnson, Walter White, and W.E.B. Du Bois. If lynching is emblematic of what is worst about America, their fight may stand for what is best: the commitment to justice and fairness and the conviction that one individual’s sense of right can suffice to defy the gravest of wrongs. This landmark book follows the trajectory of both forces over American history—and makes lynching’s legacy belong to us all. Praise for At the Hands of Persons Unknown “In this history of lynching in the post-Reconstruction South—the most comprehensive of its kind—the author has written what amounts to a Black Book of American race relations.”—The New Yorker “A powerfully written, admirably perceptive synthesis of the vast literature on lynching. It is the most comprehensive social history of this shameful subject in almost seventy years and should be recognized as a major addition to the bibliography of American race relations.”—David Levering Lewis “An important and courageous book, well written, meticulously researched, and carefully argued.”—The Boston Globe “You don’t really know what lynching was until you read Dray’s ghastly accounts of public butchery and official complicity.”—Time

As the first President of the United States of America and the Commander in Chief who led a rebel army to victory in the Revolutionary War, George Washington was a legendary leader of men. He had high expectations of his soldiers, employees, and associates. At his Virginia plantation, Mount Vernon, his expectations of his workers were no different: "I expect such labor as they ought to render" he wrote. Except there was a big difference. The workers who kept Mount Vernon operating were enslaved. And although Washington called them "my people," by law they were his property. But the people of Mount Vernon were so much more, and they each have compelling stories to tell. These are fascinating portraits of cooks, overseers, valets, farm hands, and more- essential people nearly lost in the shadows of the past- interwoven with an extraordinary examination of the conscience of the Father of Our Country.

From one of the foremost authorities on education in the United States, former U.S. assistant secretary of education, “whistle-blower extraordinaire” (The Wall Street Journal), author of the best-selling The Death and Life of the Great American School System (“Important and riveting”—Library Journal), The Language Police (“Impassioned . . . Fiercely argued . . . Every bit as alarming as it is illuminating”—The New York Times), and other notable books on education history and policy—an incisive, comprehensive look at today’s American school system that argues against those who claim it is broken and beyond repair; an impassioned but reasoned call to stop the privatization movement that is draining students and funding from our public schools. ​In Reign of Error, Diane Ravitch argues that the crisis in American education is not a crisis of academic achievement but a concerted effort to destroy public schools in this country. She makes clear that, contrary to the claims being made, public school test scores and graduation rates are the highest they’ve ever been, and dropout rates are at their lowest point. ​She argues that federal programs such as George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind and Barack Obama’s Race to the Top set unreasonable targets for American students, punish schools, and result in teachers being fired if their students underperform, unfairly branding those educators as failures. She warns that major foundations, individual billionaires, and Wall Street hedge fund managers are encouraging the privatization of public education, some for idealistic reasons, others for profit. Many who work with equity funds are eyeing public education as an emerging market for investors. ​Reign of Error begins where The Death and Life of the Great American School System left off, providing a deeper argument against privatization and for public education, and in a chapter-by-chapter breakdown, putting forth a plan for what can be done to preserve and improve it. She makes clear what is right about U.S. education, how policy makers are failing to address the root causes of educational failure, and how we can fix it. ​For Ravitch, public school education is about knowledge, about learning, about developing character, and about creating citizens for our society. It’s about helping to inspire independent thinkers, not just honing job skills or preparing people for college. Public school education is essential to our democracy, and its aim, since the founding of this country, has been to educate citizens who will help carry democracy into the future.

The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality. In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.

AMAZON'S TOP 20 HISTORY BOOKS OF 2023 * B&N BEST OF EDUCATIONAL HISTORY * THE ROOT'S BEST BOOKS OF 2023 * CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023 From acclaimed columnist and political commentator Michael Harriot, a searingly smart and bitingly hilarious retelling of American history that corrects the record and showcases the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans. America's backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory. It is the story of the pilgrims on the Mayflower building a new nation. It is George Washington's cherry tree and Abraham Lincoln's log cabin. It is the fantastic tale of slaves that spontaneously teleported themselves here with nothing but strong backs and negro spirituals. It is a sugarcoated legend based on an almost true story. It should come as no surprise that the dominant narrative of American history is blighted with errors and oversights--after all, history books were written by white men with their perspectives at the forefront. It could even be said that the devaluation and erasure of the Black experience is as American as apple pie. In Black AF History, Michael Harriot presents a more accurate version of American history. Combining unapologetically provocative storytelling with meticulous research based on primary sources as well as the work of pioneering Black historians, scholars, and journalists, Harriot removes the white sugarcoating from the American story, placing Black people squarely at the center. With incisive wit, Harriot speaks hilarious truth to oppressive power, subverting conventional historical narratives with little-known stories about the experiences of Black Americans. From the African Americans who arrived before 1619 to the unenslavable bandit who inspired America's first police force, this long overdue corrective provides a revealing look into our past that is as urgent as it is necessary. For too long, we have refused to acknowledge that American history is white history. Not this one. This history is Black AF.