Summary Of Matthew Hughey's White Bound

BACKGROUND Matthew Hughey published White Bound in 2012. Within the 196 pages Hughey explains how he spent a little over a year observing two well-known organizations along the East Coast of the United States. These organizations are National Equality for All (NEA) and Whites for Racial Justice (WRJ). The purpose of the research is to define how each group views white racial identity and the path to hegemonic whiteness. Hughey collected both quantitative and qualitative data through in depth interviews, attending meetings, and literature. Hughey claims that he is neither for nor against either group, but simply stating his research on each organization.
CHAPTER REVIEWS
Chapter One – Racists versus Antiracists? In the first chapter of his …show more content…
20) to their lives at home. In the beginning, he discusses his first official meeting with the group. The group had a meeting scheduled with guest speakers at a hotel. Hughey found after waiting and searching for an hour that they meeting had been moved to an alternate location. Hughey stated that “shouting antiracist protestors” (pg. 20) were taking over the original location and threatening the NEA. Hughey was also not the only guest at the meeting. There was a group of college-aged students who were sitting behind him that stood against what NEA was advocating for. One white female expressed her feelings of how what they were doing was wrong by wanting white business and neighborhoods but felt that it was necessary for the black population to achieve the same actions. She stated that the NEA was hiding their racism and that “It just feels wrong” (pg. 24). After the meeting, Hughey met with the leaders and initially, the members were hesitant of Hughey and what his wish was. They eventually let Hughey come around whenever was convenient for him. During the workdays, Hughey witnessed moments of what seemed like racial invitations by members of the organization. One of the newer members had racist cartoons loaded on his computer screen and found them comical; the member asked Hughey to keep the cartoons between them. When Hughey confronted an older member of the group he admitted that …show more content…
62). This reinforces white supremacy without creating racist judgments or assumptions of black and brown people. NEA claims that black and brown people are biologically unable to behave as white people; hence the consequence of incarceration due to drug use and other illegal actions. Harry, a member of the NEA, quotes that “We just know how to act right” (pg. 66) with we referring to white people. They believe that it is not white people who are racist for stating the facts that black and brown people are unable to create a life without crime. Another example Hughey uses is that black and brown women are more “promiscuous” (pg. 67) than white women. One man even delayed an interview for hours to research numbers based on how many more black women do not know the word “no” (pg. 68) when it comes to men. This member even claimed that black women also have more babies because of this. NEA even admitted to ostracized a female because she found joy in spending time with black people and agreeing to their actions of drug use. NEA uses this material as evidence that all black and brown people are doomed to a lifestyle less successful than whites. On the other hand, WRJ members claim that black and brown people’s actions are due to the oppression that has been going on for several years. WRJ discusses white privilege and how that makes it easier on white people to succeed in their lives. WRJ’s thoughts