The Raceless Antiracist Why Ending Race Is the Future of Antiracism

Many scholars and activists argue that the practice of racialization and the belief in race are necessary because even if race is not real, racism is. While such an approach might help lessen some effects of racism, it inevitably strengthens the very foundation of racism. As Sheena Michele Mason argues in The Raceless Antiracist, fighting racism by ignoring or upholding the idea of race and the practice of racialization is like trying to stop a flood by dousing it with water. To end racism, particularly antiblack racism, we must question, acknowledge, and translate race as an integral part of racism itself. In presenting her case for charting a future without racism, Mason weaves insights from philosophy, sociology, statistics, biology, history, and literary studies. She presents a map, which she refers to as the “togetherness wayfinder,” for how to discuss, teach, identify, and stop the causes and effects of racism without hardening any of its components. With this guide, we can end the idea of race and the practice of racialization and start to navigate more effectively toward a post-racist world.

Sheena Michele Mason is an assistant professor of English at SUNY Oneonta, where she specializes in Africana literature. She is also co-founder of Theory of Racelessness, an educational firm that helps people achieve truly antiracist outcomes through racelessness, and author of The Theory of Racelessness. She holds a PhD in English literature from Howard University and lives in upstate New York.