“The Hero’s Fight: African-Americans in West Baltimore and the Shadow of the State,” by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, was published Feb. 1, 2014, by Princeton University Press. See http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10328.html#.VPHv1BBwbLw.gmail. If you click on the link, you may be struck by the unconscious bias in one sentence in the summary:  “While ordinary Americans are treated as citizens and consumers, deprived and racially segregated populations are seen as objects of surveillance, containment, and punishment.”  It is easy to infer that, by “ordinary Americans” the writer means “white Americans,” since “racially segregated populations” clearly means populations of color.  We (whites) still tend to think of ourselves as the “ordinary” Americans.  Even this blurb writer has fallen into that trap. One can only wonder what Fernández-Kelly thinks of that description of her book, if she has noticed it.  One can also wonder how often any of us fall into that same trap.

This column is prepared by the BYM Working Group on Racism (WGR) and sent to the designated liaisons at each Monthly and Preparative Meeting for publication in their newsletter or other means of dissemination. The WGR meets most months on the third Saturday from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, usually at Bethesda Friends Meeting or Friends Meeting of Washington. If you would like to attend, on a regular or a drop-in basis, contact clerk David Etheridge, david.etheridge@verizon.net.