Review by Choice Review
Ross delivers a very timely and important book that documents both the historical and current racial climates on college campuses in the US. Each chapter provides a multitude of examples of how racism permeates colleges and universities, resulting in hostile campus climates. The examples Ross uses to illustrate the insidious and pervasive nature of racism in higher education are compelling and taken from very recent history, pulled from current headlines as recently as the SAE incident at the University of Oklahoma in 2015. Ross reveals the racism that exists in both the curricular and co-curricular venues on college campuses, resulting in a lack of safety for African American students enrolled in predominantly white institutions. He expertly shows the many ways that racism is infused into the structure of higher education institutions, including the naming of buildings, anti-affirmative action policies, and long-held campus traditions. Ross leaves readers with an appeal for proactive versus reactive measures--mandates that all institutions should employ immediately. Required reading for anyone involved, interested, and invested in the education of all students. Summing Up: Essential. All public and academic levels/libraries. --Jacqueline S. Hodes, West Chester University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
A college education is widely considered the great equalizer, a way for disadvantaged students to improve their lives, buttressed by initiatives like affirmative action and multicultural curricula. But in this insightful, comprehensive analysis, author and activist Ross explores the insidious persistence of racism at college campuses in the U.S., especially in so-called Greek life. Ross cites numerous racist incidents, including a party bus full of white frat boys chanting lyrics celebrating lynching and a cross burning at a black sorority in Alabama. He disputes the notion that these are isolated events, asserting that, instead, they are symptomatic of deep-seated, institutionalized racism. The sheer number of nauseating examples Ross enumerates provides convincing evidence of an epidemic that is often downplayed. Ross connects everyday microaggression that students of color experience at predominantly white institutions and analyzes the victim-blaming rhetoric that frequently arises in popular-media coverage. In light of recent events at Yale and the University of Missouri, as well as ongoing efforts by Black Lives Matter activists, Ross should be read along with Michelle Alexander, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Claudia Rankine.--Báez, Diego Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Ross (The Divine Nine) scrutinizes "some of the most racially hostile places in the United States"-the fraternities and sororities on American colleges and universities-via extended conversations with black former students of predominantly white institutions. He revisits some well-known incidents, such as the racist song performed by Sigma Alpha Epsilon of the University of Oklahoma in 2015, and discusses the types of racism black students encounter on college campuses, ranging from violent or overt acts to more common micro-aggressions (everyday indignities, whether intentional or not, that are often written off as inconsequential by other students). The special value of Ross's book is that it documents incidents in recent history and the experiences of the students involved to show the severity of racism on college campuses and its persistence. As Ross points out, even when there are probations and suspensions, old patterns quickly return; he questions whether "going to a predominantly white institution is really worth it for African-Americans." Agent: Jan Miller, Dupree/Miller & Associates. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
The zeitgeist nature of Ross's (The Divine Nine) work lends credibility to his thesis that American university campuses are extensions of our racist society at large and have therefore become unsafe and hostile environments for black students. One needs to look no further than disturbingly frequent headlines to see the evidence-the day this reviewer received Ross's book, the president of the University of Missouri had resigned over race issues on that campus. The author's assertion that campuses are hotbeds of racial friction is illuminated through myriad examples of the ways in which campus race relations are allowed to maintain white supremacy. Campus hate crimes leaked to the press are rationalized routinely by skittish administrators. As Ross proves, these crimes (often, "jokes") are not outlier actions undertaken mindlessly by tolerant and kind, if privileged and drunk, white students. Further, the university, through excusing generations of behavior, becomes complicit in these expressions, effectively robbing black students of a place on campus. Ross ends the book with a call to arms that asks universities to "move campus racism from the backwaters of their administrations to the forefront," equalizing enrollments through affirmative action and standing up to the strongholds of campus racism, fraternities and sororities, despite their creation of an alumni donor class. VERDICT Highly recommended for high school junior and seniors, college students, and educators.-Jewell -Anderson, Savannah Country Day Sch. Lib., GA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An impassioned indictment of racism in predominantly white institutions of higher learning.With the election of Barack Obama, argues journalist Ross (Money Shot: The Wild Nights and Lonely Days in Black Porn, 2007, etc.), Americans have been "seduced, and deluded, by the idea that we're now in a new state of racial being, a postracial world where race is insignificant." The reality, he writes, is far different, notably on college campuses, where African-American students encounter "some of the most racially hostile spaces in the United States," even in schools that promote rhetoric of diversity and openness. Ross traces the history of affirmative action policies, student activism, and institutional response to racist incidents on campus, and he focuses extensively on fraternities and sororities, where he finds racism endemic and "white privilegecodified." Taking into account all of the racism he documents, Ross asks whether "going to a predominantly white institution is really worth it for African Americans." Some students have declined to do so: "Highly sought-after African American students who get into the Michigans, Berkeleys, and University of Floridas" note the "paltry African American student populations of these flagship schools" and respond, "Why bother?" They choose, instead, to go to smaller private schools or historically black colleges. Most who do attend "arrive from hyper-segregated schools and neighborhoods" and find their experiences duplicated on campus. Although some schools boast of their efforts to monitor and respond to racism, Ross finds "African American Studies offices, Multicultural Affairs departments, and Greek life officeswoefully understaffed and underfunded." When racist incidents occur, "the penaltyis basically the equivalent of a hand slap." To counter this inertia, the author makes a forceful call for African-American students to create "a national Black Congress of Students" to work for reform. "Racism is icky to talk about, as everyone usually retreats to their comfortable box when dealing with it," Ross admits, but his biting critique may fuel much-needed conversation. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
