White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide

Following Anderson's theory, describe an instance of white rage that is not covered in the book. Remember that "white rage" is not the same thing as racism or white supremacy, but a reaction to the (perceived) advancement of African Americans.

Anderson argues that white rage has "undermined democracy" and "warped the Constitution." Is white rage—and systemic racism, more broadly—incompatible with democratic principles? Why or why not?

Explain what Anderson means when she refers to Jim Crow laws as "slavery by another name," giving examples of specific laws and policies.

Anderson's argument is richly grounded in African-American history. But African Americans are not the only minorities in American society. Does Anderson's theory apply to the history other races and ethnicities in the United States? If not, how might the paradigm of white rage be modified or expanded?

According to Nixon's campaign strategist, Lee Atwater, Republican candidates after the Civil Rights era replaced the N-word with coded “dog whistles” like "states' rights" and "forced busing" to endorse racist policies without admitting to being racist. Do you think political candidates still make use of this strategy? Give specific examples.

Choose a significant Supreme Court decision that Anderson refers to (other than Plessy vs. Ferguson or Brown vs. Board of Education). Discuss its impact on African Americans and the repercussions or backlash it created.

Chapter 2 of White Rage focuses on the Great Migration and the working conditions of African Americans in the agricultural South and the industrial North. Using Anderson's text, construct an argument about how economic systems and racial prejudice interact. Do racial tensions aggravate class conflict, or vice versa? Why is it important to consider economic factors in discussing the history of race relations?

Anderson writes that Abraham Lincoln "had neither the clarity, the humanity, nor the resolve necessary to fix what was so fundamentally broken" (9). Do you agree with this representation of the person who freed the slaves? Why or why not?