Eduardo Bonilla-Silva | Scholars@Duke

Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Sociology

I am trained in class analysis, political sociology, and sociology of development (globalization). However, my work in the last 20 years has been in the area of race. I have published on racial theory, race and methodology, color-blind racism, the idea that race stratification in the USA is becoming Latin America-like, racial grammar, HWCUs, race and human rights, race and citizenship, whiteness, and the Obama phenomenon among other things. In all my work, I contend that racism is fundamentally about "racial domination," hence, racism is a collective and structural phenomenon in society (see my 1997 ASR on this matter).

Current Appointments & Affiliations

James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Sociology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2018
Professor of Sociology, Sociology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2006

Contact Information

Duke Box 90088, Durham, NC 27708-0088
Sociology, Durham, NC 27708
eb48@duke.edu (919) 660-5607

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., University of Wisconsin - Madison 1993
- M.A., University of Wisconsin - Madison 1987
- B.A., University of Puerto Rico 1984
Previous Appointments & Affiliations
- Chair in the Department of Sociology, Sociology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2012 - 2016
- Professor in the Deaprtment of African and African American Studies, African & African American Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2010 - 2013
- Research Professor of Sociology, Sociology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2005 - 2006
Recognition
In the News
- JUL 7, 2021
  
  After a Career of Challenging Racial Myths, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva Isn't Slowing Down
- JUN 16, 2020
  
  Living While Black: Raw Discussions on Race at Duke and in America
- MAY 8, 2018
  
  Eduardo Bonilla-Silva: The Strange Career of a Race Scholar
- AUG 4, 2016 The Christian Science Monitor
  
  Eduardo Bonilla-Silva comments: Claims of a new racism, and a new remedy
- JUL 19, 2016 Washington Post
  
  A majority of Americans agree race relations are bad and getting worse
- NOV 30, 2015 The Christian Science Monitor
  
  Eduardo Bonilla-Silva comments: Is there more racism in the U.S., or are we just more candid about it?
- NOV 24, 2015 CNN
  
  Eduardo Bonilla-Silva: Is racism on the rise?
- NOV 12, 2015 USA Today
  
  Eduardo Bonilla-Silva comments: University of Missouri unrest a signal for other schools, experts say
- MAR 13, 2015 MTV
  
  The hashtag campaign #NotJustSAE proves that racism is bigger than one fraternity
- DEC 1, 2014 The New York Times
  
  Eduardo Bonilla-Silva comments: When whites just don't get it, part 5
- DEC 1, 2014 CNN
  
  The new threat: 'Racism without racists'
- SEP 23, 2014 The Seattle Times
  
  Duke professor says a new social movement is needed to combat racism
- AUG 23, 2013 Los Angeles Times
  
  Eduardo Bonilla-Silva comments: Whites think race equality is nearer than blacks do, study finds
Awards & Honors
- Cox-Johnson-Frazier Award. American Sociological Association. 2011
- Oliver C. Cox Award, awarded to best book in race and ethnicity by Section of Race and Ethnic Minorities, American Sociological Association.. American Sociological Association. December 2009
Expertise
Global Scholarship
- Expertise
  - United States of America (Country)
Research
Selected Grants
- Doctoral Dissertation Research: Examining Interracial Conduct in an Integrated Neighborhood awarded by National Science Foundation 2011 - 2012
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Books
  - Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. Racism without Racists Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.
  - Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. Racism without Racists (4th Edition). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2013.
  - Doane, Ashley W., and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. White Out: The Continuing Significance of Racism. New York: Routledge, 2013.
  - Jung, Moon Kie, Joao Vargas, and E. Bonilla-Silva. The State of White Supremacy: Racims, Governance, and the USA. Stanford University Press, 2011.
  - Zuberi, Tukufu, and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. White Logic, White Methods: Race, Epistemology, and the Social Sciences. Rowman and Littlefield, 2008.
  - Darity, W., and E. Bonilla-Silva, eds. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Macmillan, 2007.
  - Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. White Supremacy and Racism in the Post-civil Rights Era. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2001.
- Academic Articles
  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “What Makes Systemic Racism Systemic?” Sociological Inquiry 91, no. 3 (August 1, 2021): 513–33. https://doi.org/10.1111/soin.12420.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “There is no racism here?: Preliminary notes about racial issues in the Americas.” Revista De Humanidades, no. 42 (December 1, 2020): 419–43.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Toward a New Political Praxis for Trumpamerica: New Directions in Critical Race Theory.” American Behavioral Scientist 63, no. 13 (November 1, 2019): 1776–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764219842614.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. ““Racists,” “Class Anxieties,” Hegemonic Racism, and Democracy in Trump’s America.” Social Currents 6, no. 1 (February 1, 2019): 14–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329496518804558.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Feeling Race: Theorizing the Racial Economy of Emotions.” American Sociological Review 84, no. 1 (February 1, 2019): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122418816958.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “What We Were, What We Are, and What We Should Be: The Racial Problem of American Sociology.” Social Problems 64, no. 2 (May 1, 2017): 179–87. https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spx006.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “The Structure of Racism in Color-Blind, “Post-Racial” America.” American Behavioral Scientist 59, no. 11 (January 1, 2015): 1358–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764215586826.
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  - Golash-Boza, T., and E. Bonilla-Silva. “Rethinking race, racism, identity and ideology in Latin America.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 36, no. 10 (October 1, 2013): 1485–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2013.808357.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “The last shall be first: Best books in the race field since 2000.” Contemporary Sociology 42, no. 1 (January 1, 2013): 31–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094306112468718a.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “The invisible weight of whiteness: the racial grammar of everyday life in contemporary America.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 35, no. 2 (February 1, 2012): 173–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2011.613997.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Examining, Debating, and Ranting about the Obama Phenomenon: Introduction to Special Section on Obama.” Political Power and Social Theory 22 (2012): 3–16.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “The Invisisble Weight of Whiteness: The Racial Grammar of Everyday Life in America.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 34, no. 12 (2012).
  - Bonilla-Silva, E., and L. Seamster. “The Sweet Enchantment of Color Blindness in Black Face: Explaining the “Miracle,” Debating the Politics, and Suggesting a Way for Hope to be “For Real” in America.” Political Power and Social Theory 22 (2012): 105–39.
  - Seamster, L., and E. Bonilla-Silva. “Introduction: Examining, debating, and ranting about the Obama phenomenon.” Political Power and Social Theory 22 (December 1, 2011): 3–15. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0198-8719(2011)0000022007.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E., and D. Dietrich. “The new racism: The racial regime of post-civil rights America.” Studies in Critical Social Sciences 32 (January 1, 2011): 41–67. https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004203655.i-461.13.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Review of Racial Justice in the Age of Obama in Ethnic and Racial Studies by Roy L. Brooks.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 33 (October 2010): 1169–70.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “The hangover is still not over: Obamerica a Year Later.” Humanity and Society 34, no. 3 (July 2010): 280–84.
  - Burton, L. M., E. Bonilla-Silva, V. Ray, R. Buckelew, and E. Hordge Freeman. “Critical race theories, colorism, and the decade's research on families of color.” Journal of Marriage and Family 72, no. 3 (June 1, 2010): 440–59. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00712.x.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “The 2008 Elections and the Future of Anti-racism in 21st Century Amerika Or How We Got Drunk with Obama’s Hope Liquor and Failed to See Reality.” Humanity and Society 34, no. 3 (2010): 222–32.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E., and S. Mayorga. “Si Me Permiten Hablar: Limitations of the human rights tradition to address racial inequality.” Societies Without Borders 4, no. 3 (October 1, 2009): 366–82. https://doi.org/10.1163/187188609X12492771031654.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Are the Americas 'sick with racism' or is it a problem at the poles? A reply to Christina A. Sue.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 32, no. 6 (July 1, 2009): 1071–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870902883536.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E., and V. Ray. “When whites love a black leader: Race matters in Obamerica.” Journal of African American Studies 13, no. 2 (June 1, 2009): 176–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-008-9073-2.
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  - Burton, Linda, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Victor Ray, Rose Buckelow, and Elizabeth Freeman. “The Color of race and Ethnicity in American Families: A Synthesis and Critique (Accepted).” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 2009.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E., and D. R. Dietrich. “The latin americanization of racial stratification in the U.S.,” December 1, 2008, 151–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79098-5_9.
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  - Berry, B., and E. Bonilla-Silva. “'They should hire the one with the best score': White sensitivity to qualification differences in affirmative action hiring decisions.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 31, no. 2 (January 1, 2008): 215–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870701337619.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Where is the love? A Rejoinder on the Latin Americanization Thesis.” Race and Society 5 (2008): 103–14.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Review of Black and Blue, African Americans, the Labor Movement, and the Decline of the Democratic Party by Paul Frymer.” Contemporary Sociology 38, no. 1 (2008): 54–55.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Prejudice in Politics: Group Position, Public Opinion, and the Wisconsin Treaty Rights Dispute By Lawrence D. Bobo and Mia Tuan Harvard University Press, 2006. $40 (cloth).” Social Forces 86, no. 1 (September 1, 2007): 364–66. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2007.0090.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E., and D. G. Embrick. “"Every place has a Ghetto⋯": The significance of whites' social and residential segregation.” Symbolic Interaction 30, no. 3 (June 1, 2007): 323–45. https://doi.org/10.1525/si.2007.30.3.323.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E., C. Goar, and D. G. Embrick. “When whites flock together: The social psychology of white habitus.” Critical Sociology 32, no. 2–3 (June 1, 2006): 229–53. https://doi.org/10.1163/156916306777835268.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Towards a New Radical Agenda: A Critique of Mainstreamed Sociological Radicalism.” Edited by R. Levine. Contemporary Sociology 35, no. 2 (2005): 111–14.
  - Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo, Carla Goar, and David G. Embrick. “When Whites Flock Together: White Habitus and the Social Psychology of Whites’ Social and Residential Segregation from Blacks.” Critical Sociology 32, no. 2–3 (2005): 229–54.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E., A. Lewis, and D. G. Embrick. “"I did not get that job because of a black man. . .": The story lines and testimonies of color-blind racism.” Sociological Forum 19, no. 4 (December 1, 2004): 555–81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11206-004-0696-3.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “From bi-racial to tri-racial: Towards a new system of racial stratification in the USA.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 27, no. 6 (November 1, 2004): 931–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/0141987042000268530.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Racial attitudes or racial ideology? An alternative paradigm for examining actors' racial views.” Journal of Political Ideologies 8, no. 1 (February 1, 2003): 63–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/13569310306082.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Where is the love? A rejoinder by Bonilla-Silva on the Latin Americanization thesis.” Race and Society 5, no. 1 (December 1, 2002): 103–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.racsoc.2003.12.007.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “We are all Americans!: The Latin Americanization of racial stratification in the USA.” Race and Society 5, no. 1 (December 1, 2002): 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.racsoc.2003.12.008.
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  - Aguirre, B. E., and E. Bonilla Silva. “Does race matter among Cuban immigrants? An analysis of the racial characteristics of recent Cuban immigrants.” Journal of Latin American Studies 34, no. 2 (June 19, 2002): 311–24. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022216X02006430.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “The linguistics of color blind racism: How to talk nasty about blacks without sounding ãƒÆ’ã‚Â¢ãƒÂ¢ã¢â€šÂ¬ã‚Â¡ãƒâ€¦ã¢â‚¬Å“racistãƒÆ’ã‚Â¢ãƒÂ¢ã¢â€šÂ¬ã‚Â¡ãƒâ€šã‚Â.” Critical Sociology 28, no. 2 (January 1, 2002): 41–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/08969205020280010501.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E., and D. G. Embrick. “Are Blacks color blind too? An interview-based analysis of Black Detroiters' racial views.” Race and Society 4, no. 1 (December 1, 2001): 47–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1090-9524(02)00034-7.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E., and G. Baiocchi. “Anything but racism: How sociologists limit the significance of racism.” Race and Society 4, no. 2 (January 1, 2001): 117–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1090-9524(03)00004-4.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “"This is a white country": The racial ideology of the western nations of the world-system.” Sociological Inquiry 70, no. 2 (January 1, 2000): 188–214. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.2000.tb00905.x.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E., and T. A. Forman. “"I am not a racist but . . .": Mapping White college students' racial ideology in the USA.” Discourse and Society 11, no. 1 (January 1, 2000): 50–85. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926500011001003.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Rethinking racism: Toward a structural interpretation.” American Sociological Review 62, no. 3 (January 1, 1997): 465–80. https://doi.org/10.2307/2657316.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. “Color-Blind Racism in Pandemic Times.” Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, n.d., 233264922094102–233264922094102. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332649220941024.
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- Book Sections
  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “From bi-racial to tri-racial.” In Theories of Race and Racism: A Reader: Second Edition, 652–68, 2020.
  - Hordge-Freeman, E., S. Mayorga, and E. Bonilla-Silva. “xposing Whiteness Because We Are Free: Emancipation Methodological Practice in Identifying and Challenging Racial Practices in Sociology Departments.” In Rethinking Race and Ethnicity in Research Methods, 95–122, 2016.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E., and T. Brookshire Childers. “The pitfalls and possibilities of prophetic race theory: Cultivating leadership: Race matters in “postracial” Obamerica and how to climb out of the Rabbit Hole.” In Repositioning Race: Prophetic Research in a Postracial Obama Age, 22–48, 2014.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E., and V. E. Ray. “Getting over the obama hope hangover: The new racism in ‘post-racial’ America.” In Theories of Race and Ethnicity: Contemporary Debates and Perspectives, 57–73, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139015431.007.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E. ““New racism,” Color-Blind racism, and the future of whiteness in America.” In White Out: The Continuing Significance of Racism, 271–84, 2013. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203412107.
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  - Bonilla-Silva, E., and A. Ashe. “The End of Racism? Colorblind-Racism and Popular Media in Post-Civil Rights America.” In Colorblind Screen, edited by S. Nilsen and S. E. Turner, 57–82. NYU Press, 2013.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Are the Americas ‘Sick with Racism’ or is it a Problem at the Poles? A Reply to Christina A. Sue.” In Latino Identity in Contemporary America, edited by martin Bulmer and John Solomos. Rouledge, 2012.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Race Matters In “Post-Racial” Obamerica and How to Climb Out Of the Rabbit Hole”.” In Edited by Sandra Barnes, Past President of ABS, 2011.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Beyond Obama’s Historical Symbolism: The Heavy Weight of Being Black/Brown in a Racist Society: A Conversation with Eduardo Bonilla-Silva.” In Rethinking Race, Class, Language, and Gender: A Dialogue with Noam Chomsky and Other Leading Scholars, edited by Pierre Orelus, 147–60. Lanham, CO: Rowman and Littlefield, 2011.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Exposing Whiteness Because We Are Free: Emancipation Methodological Practice in Identifying and Challenging Racial Practices in Sociology Departments.” In Rethinking Race and Ethnicity in Research Methods, edited by John Stanfield, 95–122. Left Coast Press, 2011.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “¿Qué es el racismo?” In Debates Sobre Ciudadanía y Políticas Raciales En Las Américas Negras, edited by Claudia Mosquera. Colección CES, serie Idcarán del Centro de Estudios Sociales de la Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, 2011.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “La verdadera historia de la caza: hacia una sociología con consciencia de raza de la estratificación racial.” In Debates Sobre Ciudadanía y Políticas Raciales En Las Américas Negras., edited by Claudia Mosquera. Colección CES, serie Idcarán del Centro de Estudios Sociales de la Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, 2011.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E., and V. Ray. “It's real! Racism, color blindness, Obama, and the urgent need for social movement politics.” In Studies in Critical Social Sciences, 17:47–58, 2010.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “The Latin Americanization of US Race Relations: A New Pigmentocracy.” In Shades of Difference, edited by Evelyn Nakano Glenn, 40–60. Stanford University Press, 2009.
  - Bonilla-Silva, David G., and David G. Embrick. “Fight the Power! Racism, Revolution, and the Role of Education in the Anti-Racism Movement.” In Everyday Antiracism: Concrete Ways to Successfully Navigate the Relevance of Race in School, edited by Mica Pollack, 334–36. New Press (From New School), 2008.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E., and D. Dietrich. “New Racism.” In Covert Racism, edited by R. Coates, 56–76. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
  - Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. “Look, A Negro! Reflections on the Human Rights Approach to Racial Justice.” In Race, Human Rights & Inequality, edited by Angela Hattery, Earl Smith, and David G. Embrick. Rowman and Littlefield, 2007.
  - Bonilla-Silva, Claudia, and David G. Embrick. “Black, Honorary White, White: The Future of Race in the United States?” In Negotiating the Color Line: Doing Race in the Color-Blind Era and Implications for Racial Justice, edited by David Brunsma, 33–49. Lynn Rienner, 2005.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E. “Introduction—‘Racism’ and 'New Racism’—The Contours of Racial Dynamics in Contemporary America.” In Critical Pedagogy and Race, edited by Z. Leonardo, 1–36. London: Blackwell, 2005.
  - Bonilla-Silva, R., and David G. Embrick. “The (White) Color of Color Blindness in 21st Century Amerika.” In Race, Ethnicity, and Education (Volume 4: Colorblind Racism: Racism/Anti-Racist Action), edited by E Wayne Ross and Valerie Ooka Pang, 1–26. New York: Praeger, 2005.
  - Bonilla-Silva, Z., and David G. Embrick. “The Race Problem in the Critical Pedagogy Community.” In Re-Inventing Critical Pedagogy: Widening the Circle of Anti-Oppression Education, edited by Cesar Rossatto, Ricky L. Allen, and Marc Pruyn, 21–35. Rowman and Littlefield, 2005.
  - Bonilla-Silva, E., and K. S. Glover. “"We are all americans": The Latin Americanization of race relations in the United States.” edited by M. Krysan and A. E. Lewis, 149–83. RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION, 2004.
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Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses
Scholarly, Clinical, & Service Activities
Presentations & Appearances
Service to the Profession
- Reviewer for Many Journals. December 10, 2009 2009

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Previous Appointments & Affiliations

In the News

Awards & Honors

Global Scholarship

Expertise

Selected Grants

Selected Publications

Books

Academic Articles

Book Sections

Recent Courses

Presentations & Appearances

Service to the Profession