How is it that recipients of white privilege deny the role they play in reproducing racial inequality? Racing for Innocence addresses this question by examining the backlash against affirmative action in the late 1980s and early 1990s-just as courts, universities, and other institutions began to end affirmative action programs. This book recounts the stories of elite legal professionals at a large corporation with a federally mandated affirmative action program, as well as the cultural narratives about race, gender, and power in the news media and Hollywood films. Though most white men denied accountability for any racism in the workplace, they recounted ways in which they resisted-whether wittingly or not- incorporating people of color or white women into their workplace lives. Drawing on three different approaches-ethnography, narrative analysis, and fiction-to conceptualize the complexities and ambiguities of race and gender in contemporary America, this book makes an innovative pedagogical tool.
"In sum, Racing for Innocence is an important addition to the literature on race, gender, and equal opportunity and expands our knowledge as we contemplate the roots of the backlash against affirmative action."
Journal of American Ethnic History
"Interviewing the actual players-those who hire or fire employees-Jennifer Pierce takes a novel approach to understanding how the popular narrative of affirmative action became internalized. This thoughtful book demonstrates how a rather neoconservative template of opinions, metaphors, theories, and beliefs was disseminated into the main stream."
LaSalle University
"This compelling book brings affirmative action back into the spotlight. Pierce delivers insights into the thought processes of opponents of affirmative action-including white women and white men-and also offers insights into how African American attorneys, both women and men, experience white privilege and the stigma of affirmative action as expressed in the language and behavior of whites."
