"I think it pisses God off," says Shug to Celie in Alice Walker's The Color Purple, "if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it." Simmons College sociology professor Thompson (Mothering Without a Compass, Forecasts, Oct. 2, 2000) uses this metaphor of unappreciated reality to describe how centuries of political resistance by African-American, Latino and Asian activists has allowed white activists—as well as academics pursuing the emerging discipline of "whiteness studies"—to undertake social and critical antiracist work. After spending six years interviewing nearly 40 women and men who see themselves as part of a multiracial and multi-issue antiracism movement, Thompson delivers a fascinating, groundbreaking study of the longstanding role and ongoing struggles of antiracist political work in U.S. progressive culture. Examining the spectrum of political activism—including the Black Power movement, prison activism, multiracial lesbian-feminism, the Sanctuary movement, the New Left and the Weather Underground— and issues of spirituality and activism, Thompson sensitively navigates the myriad concerns, complications and contradictions of each movement (and their interactions with one another). Mapping a complicated but robust aspect of U.S. progressive politics with subtlety and exacting honesty, Thompson makes an important addition to the current popular literature on race, whiteness and feminism. (Aug.)
