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Black in White Space: The Enduring Impact of Color in Everyday Life Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 65 ratings

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.

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-listen for anyone hoping to understand the lived realities of Black people and the structural underpinnings of racism in America.

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Product details

Listening Length 9 hours and 52 minutes
Author Elijah Anderson
Narrator Leon Nixon
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date September 20, 2022
Publisher Tantor Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B0BDBT11VD
Best Sellers Rank #68,135 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#115 in Cultural & Regional Biographies (Audible Books & Originals)
#158 in African American Demographic Studies (Audible Books & Originals)
#282 in Black & African American History (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
65 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's storytelling skillful and creative. They describe it as an exciting, profound read with a well-done context. Readers praise the book's readability, saying it's a must-read and first-rate.

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4 customers mention "Storytelling"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the storytelling. They find the subject interesting and the context well-done. The book opens their eyes and provides valuable insights.

"Part of our Fall Semester Book Club. Exciting view of the subject." Read more

"...analysis of one our foremost ethnographers and from his consummate skill in telling stories. It is a must read for all of us. Gabrielle Robinson" Read more

"...The depth of framing your places and the people is spot on. Context well done. Lee Rainwater and Robert Coles have nothing on you!..." Read more

"Very profound. It should be on everyone’s read. Get it" Read more

3 customers mention "Readability"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and highly praised. They say it's a powerful, wonderful, and first-rate read.

"...Americans navigate American society in theis regard, this book is a must read. I give it a 10+." Read more

"...Black readers I imagine see this powerful book as confirmation of the reality of their experience and perhaps feel some hope that an authority like..." Read more

"“Wow! What a wonderful book. It is first-rate. The depth of framing your places and the people is spot on. Context well done...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2024
    Part of our Fall Semester Book Club. Exciting view of the subject.
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2024
    Anderson gives an ethnographic analysis of face-to-face racial interaction in today's society within a historic context based on his research in Philadelphia. If you are interested in the nuances of how African Americans navigate American society in theis regard, this book is a must read. I give it a 10+.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2022
    Black in White Space explains the burden every African American, no matter what their education or class, carries every day as they have to negotiate white space. Whether it is an ignorant or a deliberately racist remark, anything from slights to blatant discrimination is part of an African American’s daily experience. Anderson argues that they face an inherent “deficit of credibility” as many whites see and fear the “iconic ghetto” in their encounters with black people. Even when an African American thinks she/he has gained acceptance, that acceptance is only provisional and can be destroyed by a word.
    The book will be read differently by white and black readers. For white readers it brings awareness to the terrible stress African Americans have to deal with at every step. It certainly opened my eyes and alerts me not to do or say something inadvertently or out of ignorance that contributes to that load. Black readers I imagine see this powerful book as confirmation of the reality of their experience and perhaps feel some hope that an authority like Dr. Anderson spells it out this vividly and analytically.
    The book’s power comes both from the creative analysis of one our foremost ethnographers and from his consummate skill in telling stories. It is a must read for all of us.
    Gabrielle Robinson
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2022
    “Wow! What a wonderful book. It is first-rate. The depth of framing your places and the people is spot on. Context well done. Lee Rainwater and Robert Coles have nothing on you!

    While I am retired from teaching, if I were teaching, I would make [Black in White Space] required reading for both Sociology (and other social science students) and for graduate professionals students. Students, including most black students, need this depth and texture to understand our communities before they enter the professions where this level of understanding is so important.“
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2022
    Dr. Anderson has combined ethnography with sociological analysis to present the Black experience in negotiating the results of 400 years of racism. In addition to a discussion of Blacks in white spaces, he presents the experience of Whites in black spaces, with a special look at gentrification. A statement which I found telling, pointed out that Black people acquire cultural knowledge based on the experience of living in a society dominated by White people. ". . . this cultural knowledge is most often inaccessible by White people, and when confronted with it, most Whites are incredulous."
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2022
    Very profound. It should be on everyone’s read. Get it