Overview

A White Side of Black Britain explores the racial consciousness of white women who have established families and had children with black men of African Caribbean heritage in the United Kingdom. Filling a gap in the sociological literature on racism and antiracism, France Winddance Twine introduces new theoretical concepts in her description and analysis of white “transracial” mothers raising their children of African Caribbean ancestry in a racially diverse British city. Varying in age, income, education, and marital status, the transracial mothers at the center of Twine’s ethnography share moving stories about how they cope with racism and teach their children to identify and respond to it. They also discuss how and why their thinking about race, racism, and whiteness changed over time. Interviewing and observing more than forty multiracial families over a decade, Twine discovered that in most of them, the white woman’s racial consciousness and her ability to recognize and negotiate racism were derived as much from her relationships with her black partner and his extended family as from her female friends. In addition to the white birth mothers, Twine interviewed their children, spouses, domestic partners, friends, and members of their extended families. Her book is best characterized as an ethnography of racial consciousness and a dialogue between black and white family members about the meaning of race, racism, and whiteness. It includes intimate photographs of the family members and their communities.

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9780822349006

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Reviews

A White Side of Black Britain is likely to become a landmark text in the fields of 'mixed race' and whiteness studies. France Winddance Twine offers a sympathetic and generous treatment of a complex and fraught subject, and she combines compelling, intimate vignettes and photos with nuanced analysis and thought-provoking links to contemporary debates. oClaire Alexander, author of The Art of Being Black: The Creation of Black British Youth Identities What happens to the racial consciousness of white women who marry black men and have black children? France Winddance Twine reveals through a deep and extensive ethnography with forty white women in such relationships how their consciousness changes, allowing them to become sensitive and adept at recognizing and dealing with racism. This is truly original research that deserves a wide readership. oEduardo Bonilla-Silva, author of Racism without Racists

A White Side of Black Britain is likely to become a landmark text in the fields of 'mixed race' and whiteness studies. France Winddance Twine offers a sympathetic and generous treatment of a complex and fraught subject, and she combines compelling, intimate vignettes and photos with nuanced analysis and thought-provoking links to contemporary debates. oClaire Alexander, author of The Art of Being Black: The Creation of Black British Youth Identities

Author Information

France Winddance Twine is Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is the author of Racism in a Racial Democracy: The Maintenance of White Supremacy in Brazil.

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