Being White: Finding Our Place in a Multiethnic World

by Paula Harris, Doug Schaupp, Paula Harris

Book Overview

What does it mean to be white? When you encounter people from other races or ethnicities, you may become suddenly aware that being white means something. Those from other backgrounds may respond to you differently or suspiciously. You may feel ambivalence about your identity as a white person. Or you may feel frustrated when a friend of another ethnicity shakes his head and says, "You just don't get it because you're white."

So, what does it...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0830832475
• ISBN13: 9780830832477
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: IVP
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Loved it!!

As a white woman, I really apreciated this book. It is a great way for white people to dive into the arena of racial reconciliation. I also loved that it is written by a man and a woman, that doesn't happen very often.

"A wonderful resource"

"Paula's and Doug's personal stories and practical illustrations challenge us without overwhelming us with unachievable ideals. They advocate humility but never leave us feeling that we have nothing to offer. They exhort us to be responsible in racial healing without burying us in paralyzing guilt. The authors have presented us white folks with a wonderful resource to help us discover where we 'fit' and how we can grow in the changing ethnic context of our lives." *Paul Borthwick, Senior Consultant, Development Associates International*

"Challenging and Inspiring"

"Being White provides testimony that is as challenging as it is inspiring. Unlike the cover illustration that shows a white jigsaw piece at a safe distance from the other interlocking colored pieces, Paula Harris and Douglas Schaupp have placed themselves right in the picture. They each have experience of a crosscultural marriage, and they write from their involvement with people of many ethnicities with candor, humility and discernment. They are prepared to make themselves vulnerable in telling the stories of their struggles and of the rewards of seeing understanding grow, barriers tumble and trust building to the point that relationships are mutually enriching. They challenge their readers to share their experience." Eddie Gibbs, Professor of Church Growth, School of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary

A Seminary Professor's Perspective--School of Intercultural Studies

Paula Harris and Doug Schaupp are onto something big. Their personal experiences in cross-ethnic relationships have led them to discover a major paradigm for how God shapes people to understand and experience others who differ from themselves racially and culturally. They have identified five stages involved in the important process of learning to adjust to others in our multiethnic world. Their concept of displacement and how it works is worth the price of the book. I am going to highly recommend this book to all my fellow professors who are teaching any kind of course dealing with crosscultural relationships. This book is a winner. God has shaped me personally as I interacted with it." J. Robert Clinton, Professor of Leadership, School of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary

Insightful and Hopeful

Harris and Schaupp speak pointed words to Whites, but they are the "wounds of a friend" that can be trusted (Prov 27:6)-they speak to Whites loyally encouraging them forward in their efforts to build bridges of understanding and personal relationship with people of color. They present a model of cross-ethnic friendship and multi-ethnic community that is winsome and not condescending, and they hold out needed hope for these things. Their insights are not borne simply out of sociological principles or "PC" fad, but out of thoughtfully examined scripture and their own varied lived experience. I did not find myself agreeing with everything they said, but I was challenged and affirmed by their conclusions and invitation for Whites to go deeper in this journey that, unfortunately, seems only optional to many. The reality is that for people of color multi-ethnic understanding is non-optional, which is why a book specifically for Whites is needed in the first place, as the authors acknowledge early on. While I am sure this book was not meant to be the final word on the topic, I believe it is an important contribution to the conversation-one well worth reading for Whites who would like more insights for the journey, and hope to keep them at it.