A new vision of democratic individualism in ‘Awakening to Race’

Jack Turner , UW assistant professor of political science, is the author of " Awakening to Race : Individualism and Social Consciousness in America,” published this month by University of Chicago Press. He answered a few questions about his book for UW Today. What's the central concept behind "Awakening to Race”' The book addresses the challenge of racial justice by asking, "What does it mean to be a self-aware human being? What does it mean to be awake to reality?" In part, it means confronting the worst aspects of ourselves and our lives. Being awake to reality in the United States means confronting the ways America's history of slavery, Jim Crow and white supremacy still shapes the present - the opportunities we have or we lack, the confidence we have in ourselves or fail to have in others, the ways our chances for success are still color coded. If we're white, we're more likely to have good chances. This is the ugly reality. The book explores what it means to confront this reality honestly.