The quest for racial equality is critical to the realization of the unfulfilled American promise, yet the debate around how best to achieve that goal is generally led by the most virulent voices on the issues. The result is often a storm of attacks on anyone who falls between the most extreme opinions. Author Donald Blair gives voice to the unspoken views of a majority population coming to terms with the promise and failings of our American ideals. Confessions of a Racist provides readers a look inside the thoughts of this silent Middle Majority. Caught between good intentions and cautious defensiveness, this Middle Majority rarely engages in discussions of race despite their potential to substantially contribute to a positive path forward. Through a review of the perspectives, programs, and positions that run through America’s equality efforts, Blair provides an honest - and often surprising - map of how we might progress towards a more equitable society.

The memoir of a dyed-in-the-wool racist forced to change his beliefs to succeed in the progressively changing times of twentieth-century America. This true story is about George O’Hare and his upbringing in a segregated, White, Irish Catholic, Chicago neighborhood. As an adult moving up the corporate ladder at a time when America was transitioning from Jim Crow to Civil Rights, George was asked by his manager to join the Junior Chamber of Commerce, which often worked closely with a race of people he did not want to know and did not trust. Consequently, George was faced with a dilemma. How could he be a part of this organization and fulfill his hopes of corporate success given the beliefs and principles he was taught as a child and had embraced his entire life? The path George ultimately chose to follow shaped and changed his life forever. He met some of the most iconic African Americans in the country and became good friends with Dr. Martin Luther King, comedian Dick Gregory, Father George Clements, Muhammad Ali, State Senator Barack Obama, and many others. This compelling memoir is also an historical document, giving insight into the heart of America during one of the most momentous eras in history. It is a must-read for anyone willing to look at George’s life, examine one’s own, and decide like George what each of us can do in our own small world and for our nation.

The quest for racial equality is critical to the realization of the unfulfilled American promise, yet the debate around how best to achieve that goal is generally led by the most virulent voices on the issues. The result is often a storm of attacks on anyone who falls between the most extreme opinions. Author Donald Blair gives voice to the unspoken views of a majority population coming to terms with the promise and failings of our American ideals. Confessions of a Racist provides readers a look inside the thoughts of this silent Middle Majority. Caught between good intentions and cautious defensiveness, this Middle Majority rarely engages in discussions of race despite their potential to substantially contribute to a positive path forward. Through a review of the perspectives, programs, and positions that run through America's equality efforts, Blair provides an honest - and often surprising - map of how we might progress towards a more equitable society.

Vivid and engaging, Silent Racism persuasively demonstrates that silent racism—racism by people who classify themselves as “not racist”—is instrumental in the production of institutional racism. Trepagnier argues that heightened race awareness is more important in changing racial inequality than judging whether individuals are racist. The collective voices and confessions of “nonracist” white women heard in this book help reveal that all individuals harbor some racist thoughts and feelings. Trepagnier uses vivid focus group interviews to argue that the oppositional categories of racist/not racist are outdated. The oppositional categories should be replaced in contemporary thought with a continuum model that more accurately portrays today’s racial reality in the United States. A shift to a continuum model can raise the race awareness of well-meaning white people and improve race relations. Offering a fresh approach, Silent Racism is an essential resource for teaching and thinking about racism in the twenty-first century.

In the aftermath of the George Floyd killing in 2020, as U.S. society takes a deep look at its racist underpinnings, corporations are among the institutions being called on to revamp their treatment of black people. Confessions from Your Token Black Colleague: True Stories and Candid Conversations About Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace, provides a first-hand account of the discrimination endured by Author Tali Lavarry while working for corporations that failed to rise to the occasion when it came to creating and fostering a sustainable work environment for diverse hires. Revealing the injustices and hypocrisy that prevails, she makes a case for business leaders to examine their own unacknowledged biases and take action to address systemic racism. Through conversations with progressive white business leaders and professionals in the fields of human resources and diversity and inclusion, with their help she demonstrates what has to be done to create real solutions that protect and fortify people of color and other marginalized groups. Part memoir and part blueprint for change, this book lays bare the mechanisms of workplace racism, from microaggressions to false accusations. Relentless oppression, at a series of corporate jobs, led to her nervous breakdown and confinement to a psych ward. This experience served as the catalyst for a period of soul-searching that resulted in the biggest revelation of her life and the formation of her own diversity, equity and inclusion consultancy. In this book she articulates the attitudes and behaviors of corporate staff that need changing if equity is to be achieved. Through a series of "Proposals for Atonement and Reconciliation," she introduces a strategy that opens the door to the possibility of intrinsic change.