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Black in White Space: The Enduring Impact of Color in Everyday Life
From the vital voice of Elijah Anderson, Black in White Space sheds fresh light on the dire persistence of racial discrimination in our country.
A birder strolling in Central Park. A college student lounging on a university quad. Two men sitting in a coffee shop. Perfectly ordinary actions in ordinary settings—and yet, they sparked jarring and inflammatory responses that involved the police and attracted national media coverage. Why? In essence, Elijah Anderson would argue, because these were Black people existing in white spaces.
In Black in White Space , Anderson brings his immense knowledge and ethnography to bear in this timely study of the racial barriers that are still firmly entrenched in our society at every class level. He focuses in on symbolic racism, a new form of racism in America caused by the stubbornly powerful stereotype of the ghetto embedded in the white imagination, which subconsciously connects all Black people with crime and poverty regardless of their social or economic position. White people typically avoid Black space, but Black people are required to navigate the “white space” as a condition of their existence. From Philadelphia street-corner conversations to Anderson’s own morning jogs through a Cape Cod vacation town, he probes a wealth of experiences to shed new light on how symbolic racism makes all Black people uniquely vulnerable to implicit bias in police stops and racial discrimination in our country.
An unwavering truthteller in our national conversation on race, Anderson has shared intimate and sharp insights into Black life for decades. Vital and eye-opening, Black in White Space will be a must-read for anyone hoping to understand the lived realities of Black people and the structural underpinnings of racism in America.
A birder strolling in Central Park. A college student lounging on a university quad. Two men sitting in a coffee shop. Perfectly ordinary actions in ordinary settings—and yet, they sparked jarring and inflammatory responses that involved the police and attracted national media coverage. Why? In essence, Elijah Anderson would argue, because these were Black people existing in white spaces.
In Black in White Space , Anderson brings his immense knowledge and ethnography to bear in this timely study of the racial barriers that are still firmly entrenched in our society at every class level. He focuses in on symbolic racism, a new form of racism in America caused by the stubbornly powerful stereotype of the ghetto embedded in the white imagination, which subconsciously connects all Black people with crime and poverty regardless of their social or economic position. White people typically avoid Black space, but Black people are required to navigate the “white space” as a condition of their existence. From Philadelphia street-corner conversations to Anderson’s own morning jogs through a Cape Cod vacation town, he probes a wealth of experiences to shed new light on how symbolic racism makes all Black people uniquely vulnerable to implicit bias in police stops and racial discrimination in our country.
An unwavering truthteller in our national conversation on race, Anderson has shared intimate and sharp insights into Black life for decades. Vital and eye-opening, Black in White Space will be a must-read for anyone hoping to understand the lived realities of Black people and the structural underpinnings of racism in America.
272 pages, Hardcover
Published January 5, 2022
About the author
Elijah Anderson
32 books55 followersElijah Anderson holds the William K. Lanman, Jr. Professorship in Sociology at Yale University, where he teaches and directs the Urban Ethnography Project. His most prominent works include The Cosmopolitan Canopy and the award-winning books Code of the Street and Streetwise. His writings have also appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and The New York Times Book Review. He lives in New Haven and Philadelphia.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 28, 2021
Black in White Space by Elijah Anderson is a remarkably clear explanation of both the impact and the experience of being Black in predominantly white spaces.
The richness of the text is in Anderson's ability to explain the theory without being a "theory book." So often people read and enjoy theory but what they do is really relatively empty because they don't recognize applied theory. Ethnographic and sociological research in particular means nothing if not taken from real life (what some so-called theorists call anecdotes but what is really qualitative research) and then, once analyzed, applied back to real life. If you are familiar with the theory you will see it on every page yet it is not front and center. The actual world, with all of its nuance, is presented. Explanations are kept largely jargon-free so this can be appreciated by anyone open to understanding.
I will say that it took a while for me to appreciate the writing style, it is so readable that I almost let some of the subtlety of the delivery detract from the power of the observations. Once I gained an awareness of how well Anderson is making this material accessible I found myself learning so much more than what just reading the research as anecdotes would have allowed. But don't be fooled, accessible does not equate to dumbed down or theory-free.
I would recommend this to any "white" reader who wants to better understand the world around them and to any reader of color who might sometimes feel like they are isolated in their experiences. All readers should read this with an eye toward doing more than understanding, but rather to use that understanding to make society better.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
The richness of the text is in Anderson's ability to explain the theory without being a "theory book." So often people read and enjoy theory but what they do is really relatively empty because they don't recognize applied theory. Ethnographic and sociological research in particular means nothing if not taken from real life (what some so-called theorists call anecdotes but what is really qualitative research) and then, once analyzed, applied back to real life. If you are familiar with the theory you will see it on every page yet it is not front and center. The actual world, with all of its nuance, is presented. Explanations are kept largely jargon-free so this can be appreciated by anyone open to understanding.
I will say that it took a while for me to appreciate the writing style, it is so readable that I almost let some of the subtlety of the delivery detract from the power of the observations. Once I gained an awareness of how well Anderson is making this material accessible I found myself learning so much more than what just reading the research as anecdotes would have allowed. But don't be fooled, accessible does not equate to dumbed down or theory-free.
I would recommend this to any "white" reader who wants to better understand the world around them and to any reader of color who might sometimes feel like they are isolated in their experiences. All readers should read this with an eye toward doing more than understanding, but rather to use that understanding to make society better.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
February 26, 2022
Look at how racial disparities affect African Americans in real time and life. Academic point of view. Excellent.
April 28, 2023
A must-read.
February 8, 2024
Such an insightful book that explains the structural inequalities against African Americans in the U.S. contributing to long lasting stereotypes of the “Iconic Ghetto” and how these perceptions affect everyday black lives.
April 12, 2022
Trigger warning for all BIPOC who’ve been in white spaces. Nothing but truth in this book. Even for those of us who are not Black, we all experience our version of the n word moment
January 12, 2024
So I enjoyed this book for what it was. But I do wish the author touched slightly on the intersectionality of the black experience in white spaces. Black women, black LGBTQ+ black disabled people and etc…
I think the perspective is very much so from the perspective of a black man, which is fair enough as that is his experience. But I still would have loved him mentioning that there is room for intersectionality in regards to these experiences. He doesn’t have to dive into, but just acknowledge it.
I think the perspective is very much so from the perspective of a black man, which is fair enough as that is his experience. But I still would have loved him mentioning that there is room for intersectionality in regards to these experiences. He doesn’t have to dive into, but just acknowledge it.
May 21, 2022
A compelling book, but lacking in structure and methods section. His disdain for what he calls "the ghetto" (and people therein) called for a structural analysis of racism rather than just a condemnation of the persisting conditions. Some of Dr. Anderson's earlier books were more approachable and original. My favorite part was the scenes with the men of the car wash.
July 3, 2022
Most white people spend almost no time in majority-Black spaces, whereas Black people who want to achieve any measure of economic success or participation in civic institutions need to spent a lot of time in white spaces. This is something I've thought about on-and-off for years since for the first ten or so years I lived in DC, my neighborhood was majority-Black (as was the city as a whole, the police department, etc) so I frequently was in Black space. But I didn't really have a good conceptual or empirical handle on it and was excited to see Elijah Anderson's book on the subject.
A lot of his work, historically, has been focused on ethnography in heavily segregated low-income Black neighborhoods.
The new book spends a fair amount of time discussing such communities and their very real problems and dysfunctions. But Anderson argues that alongside the actual ghetto as a literal place there is an iconic ghetto that serves in American culture as essentially the *idea* of "where the Black people live" and what they are like. Middle-class African-Americans have ambivalent and varied relationships to this iconic ghetto, which they may have personal or family ties to, but white Americans simply find it frightening and alarming. The burden on Black people in white space is that they are mentally associated by white people as extensions of the iconic ghetto. They can to an extent avoid this association through deliberate choices about self-presentation (many references to Goffman), by having white friends vouch for them, etc. But this acceptance is always somewhat provisional and there are always new strangers lurking around the corner. It is hard to be accepted as genuinely belonging in white space, and you are dealing at a minimum with a constant background condition of stress and anxiety about how you are being perceived and by whom.
Closer to the spirit of Critical Race Theory as I understood it before it became a hot-button political issue, Anderson doesn't really have a lot of policy prescriptions or optimism. Gentrification, as he notes and as I experienced firsthand, does a little to complicate these barriers but they basically just reassert themselves as the space reorganizes and the long-term neighborhood residents tend not to benefit from neighborhood investment (here of course I have a lot to say about housing policy). And the most upbeat section of the narrative is actually a very conservative in its implications — it's about a kid with a rough upbringing who with some help from Anderson and other mentors very dramatically went all-in on operating in white space, attending Bowdoin and Dartmouth in the literally whitest states in America and altering his whole wardrobe, hairstyle, manner of speech, etc. to conform. And it worked, just as Anderson himself is a successful professor and widely published author. But this still involves lots of slights, anxieties, and especially for younger Black men genuine physical perils.
A lot of his work, historically, has been focused on ethnography in heavily segregated low-income Black neighborhoods.
The new book spends a fair amount of time discussing such communities and their very real problems and dysfunctions. But Anderson argues that alongside the actual ghetto as a literal place there is an iconic ghetto that serves in American culture as essentially the *idea* of "where the Black people live" and what they are like. Middle-class African-Americans have ambivalent and varied relationships to this iconic ghetto, which they may have personal or family ties to, but white Americans simply find it frightening and alarming. The burden on Black people in white space is that they are mentally associated by white people as extensions of the iconic ghetto. They can to an extent avoid this association through deliberate choices about self-presentation (many references to Goffman), by having white friends vouch for them, etc. But this acceptance is always somewhat provisional and there are always new strangers lurking around the corner. It is hard to be accepted as genuinely belonging in white space, and you are dealing at a minimum with a constant background condition of stress and anxiety about how you are being perceived and by whom.
Closer to the spirit of Critical Race Theory as I understood it before it became a hot-button political issue, Anderson doesn't really have a lot of policy prescriptions or optimism. Gentrification, as he notes and as I experienced firsthand, does a little to complicate these barriers but they basically just reassert themselves as the space reorganizes and the long-term neighborhood residents tend not to benefit from neighborhood investment (here of course I have a lot to say about housing policy). And the most upbeat section of the narrative is actually a very conservative in its implications — it's about a kid with a rough upbringing who with some help from Anderson and other mentors very dramatically went all-in on operating in white space, attending Bowdoin and Dartmouth in the literally whitest states in America and altering his whole wardrobe, hairstyle, manner of speech, etc. to conform. And it worked, just as Anderson himself is a successful professor and widely published author. But this still involves lots of slights, anxieties, and especially for younger Black men genuine physical perils.
July 25, 2024
Elijah Anderson is an ethnographer and ethnography is "the scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures." That is both this book's strength and weakness. I think this book is an accurate portrayal of how Black people see themselves in America. It's a confounding experience. The internal emotional contradictions at play must be intense.
There are two weaknesses with this book. One, is that ethnographies describe the "customs of peoples and cultures". This presents one-sided story. The use of the "dominant/subordinate" culture precludes things about the relationship of one culture to another or that this kind of relationship shouldn't exist or that it's only because of racism. Anderson makes no attempt to present a fuller picture outside of his own limited observations, of which he even cites his own material on several occasions. The type of book and his observations give this book a subjective anecdotal feeling on many occasions where it seems like he's just presenting an editorial of his subjective opinion versus providing any data that could lead to an actionable conclusion.
The second weakness is much of this book is retread. Do you want to know about street life in the hood? Geoffrey Canada's "Fist Stick Knife Gun" described it 30 years ago. Want to know about the multifactorial causes of ghetto neighborhoods. Read William Julius Wilson books from 30 years ago. In fact, read WJW instead. At least he went into the neighborhoods and did research. WJW is actually cited a few times however these seem cherry picked and ignore crazy statistics such as "74% of white employers had unfavorable views of black workers yet 82% of black employers held the same view" Wilson, "When Work Disappears".
We live in a world of humans and our species' preponderance for stupidity, biases, and desire for simple answers will make a mess of things quite often. A small portion of whites will continually give Black people reason to feel unsafe and subordinate and a small portion of Blacks will influence the opinions of whites in a similar negative manner. It's gotten a lot better, as Anderson will begrudgingly point out. Can we come to grips with it never being perfect?
There are two weaknesses with this book. One, is that ethnographies describe the "customs of peoples and cultures". This presents one-sided story. The use of the "dominant/subordinate" culture precludes things about the relationship of one culture to another or that this kind of relationship shouldn't exist or that it's only because of racism. Anderson makes no attempt to present a fuller picture outside of his own limited observations, of which he even cites his own material on several occasions. The type of book and his observations give this book a subjective anecdotal feeling on many occasions where it seems like he's just presenting an editorial of his subjective opinion versus providing any data that could lead to an actionable conclusion.
The second weakness is much of this book is retread. Do you want to know about street life in the hood? Geoffrey Canada's "Fist Stick Knife Gun" described it 30 years ago. Want to know about the multifactorial causes of ghetto neighborhoods. Read William Julius Wilson books from 30 years ago. In fact, read WJW instead. At least he went into the neighborhoods and did research. WJW is actually cited a few times however these seem cherry picked and ignore crazy statistics such as "74% of white employers had unfavorable views of black workers yet 82% of black employers held the same view" Wilson, "When Work Disappears".
We live in a world of humans and our species' preponderance for stupidity, biases, and desire for simple answers will make a mess of things quite often. A small portion of whites will continually give Black people reason to feel unsafe and subordinate and a small portion of Blacks will influence the opinions of whites in a similar negative manner. It's gotten a lot better, as Anderson will begrudgingly point out. Can we come to grips with it never being perfect?
September 14, 2022
Some strong and fascinating arguments about Black peoples navigating within majority white parts of the Philadelphia area. And the work to recount either short stories or individuals or more detailed reviews of the car wash and the gym are absolutely captivating.
Unfortunately, the book also shows the limits of academic books. The academic style detracts from how well the other parts work. The result is it made me really wish this was more structured as a work of journalism that brings in insights and allows the impressive work to shine better.
Unfortunately, the book also shows the limits of academic books. The academic style detracts from how well the other parts work. The result is it made me really wish this was more structured as a work of journalism that brings in insights and allows the impressive work to shine better.
October 16, 2023
This book was good the way getting a vaccine shot is good: it hurts some, but it ultimately helps you. For me it hurt because I have always been in the majority and have not had to deal with or think about many issues presented in the book. It hurts to know that many people can't NOT deal with or think about them.
I listened to this book because I wanted to get a better perspective on how minorities in my school feel. I want to argue with the terms "black space" and "white space," but that is the felt reality of many.
I listened to this book because I wanted to get a better perspective on how minorities in my school feel. I want to argue with the terms "black space" and "white space," but that is the felt reality of many.
November 13, 2022
A strangely uneven book, with some brilliant sections and some fairly trite ones. The structure was a bit confusing, because it was topical rather than chronological. Some parts seemed quite out of date, because they were based on research from the 80s and 90s, but presented as contemporary. The excerpts of primary sources were really excellent and a highlight of the book.
August 15, 2023
This is an amazing book. I consider myself very liberal and race conscious but learned that I need to change some things: I greet everyone that comes to a building where I am a guide with, “May I help you?” and didn’t know this had a different context for Blacks. Now I say, “Welcome to *****” instead.
December 2, 2023
An important ethnographic examination of the symbolic roots of today’s persistent racial disparities in residence, education, health, and employment. Anderson bases his work in Philadelphia as a participant observer. He explains segregated civil society as a mosaic of places conditioned by the after effects of slavery.
March 13, 2023
3.5. Would have been a good book to read with a book club. Lots to think about.
January 8, 2024
Enlightening. A perspective I needed to read.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews