Getting Real About Race

Stephanie M. McClure is a professor of sociology at Georgia College. She teaches classes on racial stratification, social theory, and the sociology of education. Her research interests are in the area of higher education, with a focus on college student persistence and retention across race, class, and gender, and a special emphasis on postcollege student experiences that increase student social and academic integration. She has published in the Journal of Higher Education, Symbolic Interaction, and The Journal of African American Studies.

I. LAYING THE FOUNDATION
Essay 1: “Talking About Race Just Makes Everybody Uncomfortable”: Why We Need to Discuss Race in the United States - Cherise A. Harris and Stephanie M. McClure
Essay 2: “What is Racism Anyway?”: Understanding the Basics of Racism and Prejudice - Beverly D. Tatum
Essay 3: “Blacks Are Naturally Good Athletes”: The Myth of a Biological Basis for Race - Daniel Buffington
Essay 4: “Native American/Indian, Asian/Oriental, Latino/Hispanic . . . Who Cares?”: Language and the Power of Self-Definition - Bradley Koch
Essay 5: “But Islam Is a Religion, Not a Race”: The Racialization of Religion - Moustafa Bayoumi
Essay 6: “Doesn’t Anti-blackness Only Happen in the U.S.?”: Confronting the Reality of Global Anti-blackness - Nikka Khanna
II. DEBUNKING INDIVIDUAL ATTITUDES
Essay 7: “I Just Want to Get Back to Normal”!: Silencing the Myth of a Color-Blind Society - Ted Thornhill
Essay 8: “Black People Would Make It If They Just Worked Hard”: The Myth of Meritocracy - Paula Ioanide
Essay 9: “If Only They Hadn’t. . . [Been Black]”: Race, Implicit Bias, and Stereotype Maintenance - Rashawn Ray and Jasmón Bailey
Essay 10: “My Family Had to Learn English When They Came, so Why Is Everything in Spanish for Them?”: Race and the Spanish Language in the United States - Jennifer Domino Rudolph
Essay 11: “Asians Are Doing Great, so That Proves Race Really Doesn’t Matter Anymore”: The Model Minority Myth and the Sociological Reality - Min Zhou and Victoria Tran
Essay 12: “But It’s Honoring! It’s Tradition”: The Persistence of Racialized Indian Mascots in Sports - Dana M. Williams
Essay 13: “Good Guys with Guns Protect Us”: The Intersection of Race and Gender in Gun Ownership - Angela Stroud
III. INSTITUTIONS, POLICIES, AND LEGACIES OF OPPRESSION
Essay 14: “Black People Have Money Now, So Why Are They Still Complaining?”: Exploring the Fragility of the Black Middle Class - Jonathan Grant
Essay 15: “But Parents Just Want What Is Best for Their Kids”: Sociological Realities of Privileged Parenting and Opportunity - Margaret A. Hagerman
Essay 16: “Well, That Culture Really Values Education”: Culture Versus Structure in Educational Attainment - Hersheda Patel, Emily Meanwell, and Stephanie M. McClure
Essay 17: “They Don’t Want To Be Integrated; They Even Have Their Own Organizations”: History, Institutional Context, and “Self-Segregation” on College Campuses - Stephanie M. McClure and Kaílah Jeffries
Essay 18: “I Had a Friend Who Had Worse Scores Than Me and They Got Into a Better College”: The Legal and Systemic Realities of Selective College Admissions Processes - OiYan Poon, Nikki Kahealani Chun, Joanne Song Engler, and Douglas H. Lee Politics
Essay 19: “If They Cared About Their Kids They Wouldn’t Have Broken the Law” - Kara Cebulko
Essay 20: “If Black People Aren’t Criminals, Then Why Are So Many of Them in Prison?”: Confronting Racial Biases in Perceptions of Crime and Criminals - Sara Buck Doude and Vanessa Rodriguez
Essay 21: “My Mom Says We Are Half Cherokee”: Indigenous Identity, Being, and Belonging - Angela Gonzales and Judy Kertész
Essay 22: “If Only They Would Make Better Choices . . . ”: Confronting Myths About Ethnoracial Health Disparities - Dawne M. Mouzon and Breanna D. Brock
Essay 23: “Now All the Good Jobs Go to Them!”: Affirmative Action in the Labor Market - Wendy Leo Moore
Essay 24: “But This Is Erasing History!”: The Myths and Realities of Memorializing the Confederacy - James L. Thomas
Essay 25: “Sure, Black Lives Matter But Why Do They Have to Loot and Riot?!”: Debunking Myths of Black Protest - Hersheda Patel and James Bridgeforth
IV. RACE IN EVERYDAY INTERACTIONS
Essay 26: “Why Do They Get to Use the N-Word but I Can’t?”: Privilege, Power, and the Politics of Language - Geoff Harkness
Essay 27: “It’s Appreciation, Not Appropriation! I Don’t Know Why You’re Offended!”: Understanding Cultural Appropriation - Brittney Dennis
Essay 28: “I’m Not Racist; Some of My Best Friends and Family Are . . . ”: From “Friends and Family” to Allies, Accomplices, and Co-Conspirators - Cherise A. Harris