White Lies: Dismantling Ten Cultural Myths About Race

A timely analysis of the myths that underpin white supremacy--and how to counteract themFor centuries, white men in the West have cultivated and perpetuated a set of false narratives about Black people in order to subjugate and maintain power over them.Some of these myths originated abroad but flourished in America, while others were cultivated solely on American soil.All of them, however, continue to find expression in the present as white supremacy strains to maintain its privilege.These myths have been expressed in almost every form of discourse, from court rulings and sermons to literature and film to material culture and textbooks.They vary from the biological--Black Africans and their descendants are mentally inferior to whites--to the anthropological--Black Africans are incapable of governing themselves and require the supervision of whites--and all have helped to perpetuate Black Americans' enslavement, imprisonment, and exclusion. White Lies analyzes ten of the most dangerous