Whiteness and Morality Pursuing Racial Justice through Reparations and Sovereignty

What does it mean to 'be white'? Harvey asks this question in order to consider how white U.S. Americans can fully participate in racial justice-making. Exploring native, African, and white relations at two moments of U.S. History, she illustrates how 'white' identities are embodiments of deeply problematic moral realities. She argues that movements for reparations for people of African descent and sovereignty for native peoples attempt to redress such realities and thus are critical for both racial justice and transformation of what it means to be white in the United States.

Jennifer Harvey is Assistant Professor of Religion, Drake University.