The Gratifications of Whiteness

In The Gratifications of Whiteness, Ella Myers looks at W. E. B. Du Bois's conceptualization of American whiteness to argue that his writings offer powerful insights into the rewards that white identity has offered to Americans, both in the past and present. Focusing on three key motifs found in his work--wage, pleasure, dominion--Myers shows that to Du Bois, whiteness is not one thing, but many. Highlighting how Du Bois can help us recognize contemporary whiteness as a multifaceted formation, this book explores the pressing contemporary issue of what it means to be white through the lens developed by a major Black thinker.