On Race ii On Race 34 Conversations in a Time of Crisis George Yancy 1 iv 1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Yancy, George, interviewer. Title: On race : 34 conversations in a time of crisis / George Yancy. Description: New York : Oxford University Press, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017002553 (print) | LCCN 2017033270 (ebook) | ISBN 9780190498566 (updf) | ISBN 9780190498573 (ebook) | ISBN 9780190498559 (hbk. : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Race—Philosophy. | Race awareness. Classification: LCC HT1521 (ebook) | LCC HT1521 .Y363 2017 (print) | DDC 305.8—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017002553 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America In loving memory of Manomano M. M. Mukungurutse My dear friend, a remarkable human being, a brilliant philosopher vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments  ix Contributor Biographies  xi Introduction: Dangerous Conversations  1 George Yancy PART I Race and the Critical Space of Black Women’s Voices bell hooks  15 Patricia Hill Collins  25 Hortense Spillers  37 Joy James  43 Discussion Questions  48 PART II Race and the Naming of Whiteness Judith Butler  53 Alison Bailey  61 John D. Caputo  73 Shannon Sullivan  81 Craig Irvine  87 Joe Feagin  97 Discussion Questions  103 PART III Race, Pedagogy, and the Domain of the Cultural Lawrence Blum  107 Dan Flory  117 David Theo Goldberg  131 Discussion Questions  143 PART IV Race, History, Capitalism, Ethics, and Neoliberalism Noam Chomsky  147 Nancy Fraser  155 viii Peter Singer  167 Seyla Benhabib  173 Naomi Zack  179 Charles Mills  185 Falguni A. Sheth  193 Discussion Questions  199 PART V Race Beyond the Black/ White Binary Linda Martín Alcoff  205 Eduardo Mendieta  213 David Haekwon Kim  225 Emily S. Lee  231 Discussion Questions  236 PART VI Race and Africana Social and Political Frames Molefi Kete Asante  241 Bill E. Lawson  247 Lucius T. Outlaw Jr.  255 Cornel West  263 Kwame Anthony Appiah  271 Clevis Headley  279 Discussion Questions  292 PART VII Race Beyond the United States Fiona Nicoll  297 Paul Gilroy  309 Discussion Questions  313 PART VIII Race and Religion: At the Intersections Charles Johnson  317 Traci C. West  327 Discussion Questions  333 Index  337 [ viii ] Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank Lucy Randall, editor at Oxford University Press, for taking such a keen interest in this project. Your enthusiasm for this text, its deep relevance and importance, made the process of bringing it to fruition all the more exciting. Hannah Doyle, editorial assistant at OUP, thanks for your wonderful logistical help. Emma Clements, project manager, and her team are to be thanked for their expertise and enthusiasm. A special thanks to Asha Fradkin for her keen eyes. Thanks to the anonymous readers/r eviewers for their deep excitement for this project. I’m appreciative. Thanks to philosopher Simon Critchley and editor Peter Catapano at the New York Times, cofounders of The Stone, who have provided an indispensable, historical, philosophical, and metaphilosophical space for engaging philoso- phy outside the confines of the academy. My work with the two of you has been a real honor. Simon, thanks for your philosophical acuity and adventur- ous ideas. Peter, thanks for your deep editorial insight, knowing where to cut and where to emphasize. Personally, I would also like to thank Peter for being such an incredible human being and for reminding me of just how vital it is for me to, at important times, remain silent, stay calm, and appreciate complex processes that happen beyond my ego. To all 34 contributors, thanks for your time, your energy, and your com- mitment. These conversations are gifts for which I am very thankful. I have learned much and have modified my thinking accordingly. Your courage is appreciated during this time of crisis. I am deeply honored for the opportunity to share this space of dialogue. Given your busy schedules and other commit- ments, sharing your time with me was generous and much appreciated. And thanks in advance to all of the readers who will join this specific conversation by engaging this text, engaging the questions raised, and the ideas advanced. You, too, are part of this conversation. We all are. I send special thanks and appreciation to philosopher Kelsey Ward who, under serious time constraints, came through for me and this project. She read through the entire manuscript within a very short period of time, devel- oped conceptually rich discussion questions for all eight sections of the book, and did so with deep insight, creativity, and philosophical nuance. As Cicero