White Privilege

Why and how do those from black and minority ethnic communities continue to be marginalised? Despite claims that we now live in a post-racial society, race continues to disadvantage those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Kalwant Bhopal explores how neoliberal policy making has increased rather than decreased discrimination faced by those from non-white backgrounds. She also shows how certain types of whiteness are not privileged; Gypsies and Travellers, for example, remain marginalised and disadvantaged in society.

Drawing on topical debates and supported by empirical data, this important book examines the impact of race on wider issues of inequality and difference in society.

'Addressing and challenging white privilege' on Transforming Society
'BLACK LIVES MATTER' on Reasons to be Cheerful with Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd
'What can be done to tackle racism in the Midlands?' on BBC Midlands
'Books interview: Kalwant Bhopal' in Times Higher Education
'Towards a post-racial society: how to make universities more inclusive' in The Guardian
'Why a post-racial British society remains a myth – even in universities' in The Conversation
'The myth of a post-racial society: white privilege is still being perpetuated in English schools' in the LSE British Politics and Policy Blog
'Race, white privilege and business as usual' in HEPI
'UK's white female academics are being privileged above women – and men – of colour' in The Guardian
'White Privilege author is key contributor in international debate on racism' on Transforming Society

“An excellent investigation into whiteness and white privilege in contemporary society.” American Sociological Association

“In this book Bhopal effectively explodes the myth of ‘a post-racial society’ – that racism is no longer a problem – and robustly establishes the importance and urgency of addressing race and racism.” British Journal of Sociology of Education

“... offers a captivating rebuttal to the logics of post-racialism in public discourse that shore up whiteness as a hegemonic force on both sides of the Atlantic... an accessible contemporary primer on whiteness and white privilege that should be read by students and scholars of education, institutional racism and critical race studies.” Sociology

“…those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are consistently disadvantaged... Bhopal connects this inequality to neoliberalism in ways I hadn’t considered before.” Make Wealth History

"White Privilege brilliantly dismantles the myth of a post-racial society. It is a 'must-read' for all those concerned about inequalities of race in society." Diane Reay, University of Cambridge

"Many of the critical analyses of neoliberalism in education have neglected the ways in which neoliberalism as a theory and as a set of policies and practices is deeply connected to racialisation. In White Privilege, Kalwant Bhopal provides us with a clear and powerful analysis of these connections and of why they are so crucial to understand." Michael W. Apple, John Bascom Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Policy Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison

"A lucid straightforward illumination of whiteness and white privilege, as it is currently acted-out in school and society, despite social justice policies. It puts before readers the pervasiveness and meanness of white privilege in education/schooling and society in this neoliberal, non-post-racial era. Timely and deserving of urgent attention." Carl A. Grant, Hoefs Bascom Professor University Wisconsin-Madison and author of Du Bois and Education.

"More than ever, the study of whiteness proves indispensable. Kalwant Bhopal is a voice of reason in a cacophony of fervor. She takes to task the presumptions of post-raciality and defies its pretenders. We will be post-racial in a condition of post-racism. Until then, evidence and ethics are on her side." Zeus Leonardo, University of California, Berkeley, Author of Race Frameworks: A Multidimensional Theory of Racism and Education

"A valuable insight into the complexities and subtleties of modern day racism, the intersection of race and class and the unfinished battle to transcend white hegemony." Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner

"In this wide-ranging book Bhopal addresses racial inequality in Britain and the United States. She demonstrates how racial inequality is pervasive in British society across sectors, especially education and the labor market, an important perspective for scholars. A great introduction to issues of racial inequality." Natasha Kumar Warikoo, Harvard University, Graduate School of Education.

"Offers a crucial and timely focus on the perpetuation of white privilege in a society that claims to be post-racial, and the continuing disadvantages experienced by black and minority ethnic groups... provides a wealth of data on social, educational and economic inequalities in both the UK and USA where white supremacist hate is increasing. It should be read by policy makers, practitioners and the public to help them realise how white privilege works and disadvantage is perpetuated" Sally Tomlinson, University of Oxford