Sources: Race and Racism in the United States: An Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic

Race and Racism in the United States: An Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic. Ed. By Charles A. Gallagher and Cameron D. Lippard. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2014. 4 vols. Acid free $399 (ISBN 978-1-4408-0345-1). E-book available (978-1-4408-0346-8), call for pricing.

This new four-volume set purports to be a definitive source on race-related topics in the United States, both historically and in the present. Not focusing exclusively on black and white race relations, the scope of the set is extensive. The cover images of the handsome print edition give a good representation of the variety of issues covered. A drawing of a slave in chains entitled, “Am I Not a Man and a Brother?” from a broadside edition of an 1835 poem is the oldest image, while a photograph from a Los Angeles May Day rally in 2012 is the most recent. In between chronologically are a black-and-white photograph of Japanese Americans under armed guard at an internment camp, black and white college students holding hands and singing while working to register black voters in the American South, a cross burning at a KKK rally, and a contemporary protest of the Washington Redskins team nickname. These represent some of the typical entries in this encyclopedia, portraying the complex reach of racial issues across American society and history.

Entries cover noteworthy figures and personalities, memorable events, and other sundry race-related topics. Alphabetically ordered, they typically contain “See Also” references and usually at least ten resources for further reading. While relatively brief—usually only a few pages—the entries are also complemented by sidebars providing additional information and context for users. For example, the entry on the Nation of Islam contains side boxes on both the Million-Man March on Washington in 1995 as well as the Reverend Louis Farrakhan. Other features are an index that refers users both to main entries and persons and subjects within entries. Additionally, a topical list of entries, a chronology, preface, and an introduction on the history of American racial issues are also presented. Most of volume 4 of this set consists of primary documents, many representing legal and codified racism, ranging from the old—the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the Slave Codes of the State of Georgia, 1848—to the new—Arizona Senate Bill 1070 of 2010, which allows law enforcement to detain suspected illegal immigrants.

There are other current and similar encyclopedia sets on the market. The Encyclopedia of Race and Racism (Macmillan, 2007), edited by John H. Moore, and the Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society (Sage, 2008), edited by Richard T. Schaefer, are two of the most popular. In truth, there is little significant difference between the slightly older set and the new Greenwood edition other than the obvious fact that the newer is more up-to-date. Many of the same topics are covered in both sets, and the differences are minor—Moore has entries on Boxing and Buffalo Soldiers, Schaefer on the Amish and Glass Ceiling, while Gallagher and Lippard cover al-Qaeda and Amos ‘n’ Andy. A similar point could be made about the primary sources in each resource. Yet with the variety of subject matter, these sets could be seen to complement each other as much as compete with each other.

It is difficult for any one resource on such a nebulous topic to be truly definitive, but this set does an excellent job exploring multifarious aspects of racism and its permutations. It certainly provides some valuable background information and serves as a solid starting point for further research. The diversity of subject matter emphasizes the prominent place race still has in American society, even if it seems to be a more subtle presence than in the past. Well-suited for academic and high school libraries.—Mike Tosko, Associate Professor, Research and Learning Services, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio