Michael Omi

Resistance is futile?: a response to Feagin and Elias

We were at first surprised by the extensive critique of our 1994 book by Joe Feagin and Sean Elias. Although we do not know Elias, we have great respect and friendship for Joe Feagin and have learned from his insightful work on race and racism over the years. We have shared conference panels with him and endorsed his books (and he ours). In 2009, we published a somewhat critical but also appreciative review of Feagin’s Systemic Racism: A Theory of Oppression (Routledge 2006) in Contemporary Sociology (March 2009). Elias subsequently wrote a critical response to our review (September 2009). Maybe this is payback? After surprise came intrigue and excitement: we realized that this was a great opportunity to examine racial politics, race theory and the dynamics of racism in the USA today. In their criticism of our work, Feagin and Elias have posed numerous crucial issues for that discussion. Let us have that debate. Their essay has an overly tendentious tone and sometimes misreads and misinterprets our book. Still there are many points of agreement between the racial formation and systemic racism theories. Where we disagree most strongly is over our respective understanding of racial politics. Feagin and Elias focus so intensely on racism that they lose sight of the complexities of race and the variations that exist among and within racially defined groups. In their ‘systemic racism’ account white racist rule is so comprehensive and absolute that the political power and agency of people of colour virtually disappear. Indeed, the ‘white racial frame’ (Feagin 2009) is so omnipotent that white racism seems to usurp and monopolize all political space in the USA. Yes, ‘counter framing’ is present, but it appears marginal at best, unable effectively to challenge the pervasiveness, persistence and power of white racism. Since Feagin and Elias dismiss ideas of ‘racial democracy’ tout court, their perspective makes it difficult to underEthnic and Racial Studies, 2013 Vol. 36, No. 6, 961 973, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2012.715177

Asian American studies : an annotated bibliography and research guide

Historical Perspectives General Works Marriage and Family Community and Organizations Culture, Communication, and Education Business, Economy, Employment, and Labor Nativism, Exclusion, and Race Relations Justice, Law, and Politics Immigration and Naturalization Acculturation, Assimilation, and Identity Religion Autobiography and Biography Local and Regional History Japanese Internment Contemporary Perspectives General Works Marriage and Family Community and Organizations Culture, Communication, and Mass Media Education and Language Learning Business, Economy, Employment and Labor Population and Demography Immigration and Refugees Acculturation, Adaptation, and Assimilation Stereotypes, Prejudice and Race Relations Counseling, Health, Social Services, and Mental Health Religion Asian American Womens Studies Bibliographies Indexes

Book Review: The Declining Significance of Race: The Declining Significance of Race, by William Julius Wilson. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1978

was a permanent fixture of American life and by putting forth a political agenda which did not include integration as its goal. This impulse, coupled with the inspiration provided by national liberation movements throughout the world, led to the formulation of both the theory of internal colonialism and scattered attempts to apply the legacy of Marxist writings on the &dquo;national question&dquo; to