Racism and Science

West, Keon.  The Science of Racism: Everything You Need to Know But Probably Don't - Yet.  

        New York: Abrams, 2025.  ISBN: 9781419774379  

So what is racism?  How many folks are racist?  Could you be racist?  Just some of the questions that get swirled around a lot on the news and social media.  But these are questions that need to be answered.   Keon West, a researcher from England, has spent his time in the trenches of this research and aims to share with the reader his scientific findings, not just anecdotes.  

Keon West breaks the book into four parts.  Part I deals with how do we know that racism is real and what evidence does science have on this topic with chapters discussing definitions of terms, how science comes to a consensus on a topic, and how pervasive racism might be and its relationship to power.  Part II looks at unconscious bias, outright deception/lying, and games people play on themselves to hide their own racism.  Part III gets down into the weeds to examine the complexities of racism - how it is not all black and white, but rather very nuanced.  Part IV provides various approaches to dealing with racism scientifically.  Some of these approaches include colour-blind approach, diversity initiatives, and what really does work.  West finishes the book with a call-out to other related issues of bias beyond race - i.e. gender, class, status, and a multitude of other issues that all interplay with racism.  

So, if you are interested in learning what science has on this topic, The Science of Racism will be a great place to start.  Keon West documents his points and provides plenty of references for the reader to explore.  A recommended read for anyone interested in racism.