A Beginning Resource List on Race, Whiteness, and Dharma
(Donald Rothberg, July 2020)
On Race
Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness (2012).
Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald, Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good
People (2013): On “implicit bias.”
Shakti Butler, Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity (film, 2013):
Ibram Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas
in America (2016), How to Be An Antiracist(2019).
Mordechai Liebling, “On American Racism” (2015), Tikkun:
https://www.tikkun.org/on-american-racism
john a. powell, Racing to Justice: Transforming Our Conceptions of Self and
Other to Build an Inclusive Society (2015)
Race: The Power of An Illusion: PBS Film (2003): See also
http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm.
Richard Rothstein, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government
Segregated America (2018)
Ronald Takaki, A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America (2008).
James Washington (ed.), A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and
Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1986).
Cornel West, Race Matters (1993); (ed. Christa Buschendorf), Black
Prophetic Fire (2014); (ed.) The Radical King (2015).
On Race and Class
Matt Bruenig, “Wealth Inequality Across Class and Race in 5 Graphs” (2019),
People’s Policy Project, https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org;“The Racial
Wealth Gap Is About the Upper Classes,” Jacobin(2020).
Jelani Cobb, "William Barber Takes On Both Poverty and Race in the Age of Trump"
New Yorker (May 14, 2018).
Ian Haney López, Dog Whistle Politics (2014); Merge Left: Fusing Race and
Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America (2019).
Poor People's Campaign: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org
On Race and Trauma
Joy DeGruy, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (2005).
Resmaa Menakem, My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the
Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies (2017)
On Whiteness
Karen Brodkin, How Jews Became White Folks & What That Says about Race in
America (1999).
Shakti Butler, Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible (film, 2008):
http://world-trust.org/mirrors-of-privilege-making-whiteness-visible/.
David Campt, The White Ally Toolkit Workbook: Using Active Listening, Empathy,
and Personal Storytelling to Promote Racial Equity (2018).
Robin DiAngelo,White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About
Racism (2018).
Debby Irving, Waking Up White (and Finding Myself in the Story of Race (2014).
Jürgen Kremer and R Jackson-Paton, Ethnoautobiography: Stories and Practices
for Unlearning Whiteness, Decolonlization, Uncoverning Ethnicities (2014).
Peggy McIntosh, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” (1988),
available online.
David Roediger, Working Toward Whiteness: How America's Immigrants
Became White: The Strange Journey from Ellis Island to the Suburbs (2006)
Tim Wise, White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son (3rd edition,
2011); White Like Me (film, 2013, available on YouTube).
On Connecting Buddhist Practice and Social Engagement
Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony: An
Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (2016).
David Loy, The Great Awakening: A Buddhist Social Theory; Money, Sex, War,
Karma (2008);Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis
(2018).
Stephanie Kaza (ed.), A Wild Love for the World: Joanna Macy and the Work of
Our Time (2020).
Joanna Macy and Molly Brown,Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our
Lives, Our World (1998).
Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, Active Hope: How to Face the Mss We’re In
without Going Crazy (2012).
Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace (1987); Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent
Social Change (1993).
Donald Rothberg, The Engaged Spiritual Life: A Buddhist Approach to
Transforming Ourselves and the World (2006)
Thanissara,Time to Stand Up: An Engaged Buddhist Manifesto for Our Earth—
The Buddha’s Life and Message through Feminine Eyes (2015)
Thanissara and Kittisaro, Listening to the Heart: A Contemplative Journey to
Engaged Buddhism (2014).
On Race and Buddhist Practice
Hilda Gutiérrez Baldoquín (ed.), Dharma, Color, and Culture (2004).
Tara Brach, “Facing My White Privilege” (2016):
https://www.lionsroar.com/facing-my-white-privilege/
Buddhadharma Magazine, Forum: Why Is American Buddhism So White? (Fall
2011)—with Charles Johnson, Larry Yang, Amanda Rivera, angel Kyodo
williams, and Bob Agoglia.
Shakil Choudhury, Deep Diversity: Overcoming Us Vs. Them (2015).
Kate Dugan & Hilary Bogert, “Racial Diversity in Buddhism in the U.S.”
(2006): http://pluralism.org/research/reports/dugan/diversity_buddhism.pdf.
Ruth King,Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out (2018).
Rhonda Magee, The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and
Transforming Our Communities through Mindfulness (2019)
Making the Invisible Visible: Healing Racism in Our Buddhist
Communities (2000): http://www.spiritrock.org/document.doc?id=9.
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, The Way of Tenderness: Awakening through Race,
Sexuality, and Gender (2015).
Lama Rod Owens, Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger
(2020).
Donald Rothberg, “Buddhist Practice and the Transformation of Racism” (two
talks, June 17/24, 2020): https://dharmaseed.org/teacher/55/talk/62047/,
https://dharmaseed.org/teacher/55/talk/62086/.
Sebene Selassie, You Belong: A Call for Connection (2020).
White Awake Website: “White Awake is an open source curriculum that utilizes
mindfulness in the development of white racial awareness”
angel Kyodo williams, Lama Rod Owens, and Jasmine Syedullah, Radical Dharma (2016).
Larry Yang, “Renouncing the Colonial Self: An Interview”
(2013): http://www.buddhistpeacefellowship.org/renouncing-the-colonial-self-
an-interview-with-dharma-teacher-larry-yang/;Awakening Together: The
Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity and Community (2017).
Training Opportunities
Beyond the Culture of Separation, https://beyondseparation.net/
Education for Racial Equity: https://www.educationforracialequity.com
Ruth King, “Mindful of Race” Trainings and Affinity Groups: https://ruthking.net.
Victor Lee Lewis and Patti Digh, Courses in 2020 and beyond on “Hard
Conversations: Whiteness, Race, and Social Justice”:
https://www.pattidigh.com/whiteness/.
San Francisco Insight, “Investigating Our White Identity through the Dharma,”
https://www.sfinsight.org/events/event/investigating-our-white-identity-through-the-dharma/
White Awake Website: “White Awake is an open source curriculum that utilizes
mindfulness in the development of white racial awareness”
White Awareness Insight Curriculum for Uprooting Privilege (WAIC UP!): A
Dharma and Racism Study Program: https://alokavihara.org/wp-
content/uploads/2018/10/INDEX_-White-Awareness-Insight-Curriculum-for-
Uprooting-Privilege-WAIC-UP.pdf