Race "is a false construct that conflates skin color and ancestry with behavior, intelligence, and culture. Though race is a false construct, it has real consequences for all people."
McDonald, E. (2020). Key Terms. Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Resources LibGuide. Louisiana State University Libraries.https://guides.lib.lsu.edu/c.php?g=1052777&p=7644484
"While many have sought a genetic foundation for categorizing population groups, there is no scientific consensus that racialized groups are genetically distinct. Population groups are transformed into races for political purposes on the basis of arbitrary but distinctive pheno-typic (i.e., physical appearance) and cultural criteria. The belief that groups of people identified on the basis of these criteria are also inherently different and genetically distinct is the unfortunate remnant of an outdated pseudo-scientific idea."
Neighbors, H. W., Griffith, D. M., & Carty, D. C. (2009). Racism/Race Discrimination. In D. Carr (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the Life Course and Human Development (Vol. 2, pp. 357-361). Macmillan. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3273000218/GVRL?u=deka36484&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=34548372
Ethnicity is "derived from the noun ethnos, representing people, nation, foreign people.' . . . [and] in the modern context, ethnicity generally denotes a group of people who share cultural practices, beliefs, language or linguistic commonalities, geography, and religion."
Buchanan, S. (2013). Ethnicity. In P. L. Mason (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Race and Racism (2nd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 119-124). Macmillan. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX4190600167/GVRL?u=deka36484&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=e1d9f6e0
"Race and ethnicity are neither natural nor given: they have no basis in human biology. They are defined and actualized by people who impose, accept, and contest these terms' meanings and their workings. They are therefore historical insofar as they are made and remade in place and over time. Although they are culturally constructed abstractions, race and ethnicity are given substance in the institutions and cultures of America's peoples, providing justifications and means for division and union, inequality and equality."
Okihiro, G. (2001). Race and Ethnicity. In The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. https://www-oxfordreference-com.auth.lib.niu.edu/view/10.1093/acref/9780195082098.001.0001/acref-9780195082098-e-1287.
Racism "is a system of advantage and disadvantage based on social, historical, and cultural constructions of race and ethnicity. Racism is a quintessentially cultural-psychological and socioeconomic phenomenon consisting of patterns of historically derived and selected ideas and their material instantiation in institutions, practices, [and] artifacts . . . Systems of race and racism are cultural and socioeconomic products. They have developed over time to reflect dominant understandings of relationships between groups, and they constantly evolve with changing circumstances to enable or maintain systems of domination."
Salter, P. S., & Adams, G. (2013). Racism: Overview. In P. L. Mason (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Race and Racism (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 413-418). Macmillan. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX4190600371/GVRL?u=deka36484&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=e55440f3
American Ethnic History by 
Asian American Feminisms and Women of Color Politics by 
Constructing Race and Ethnicity in America by 
Critical Race Theory by 
Critical Race Theory (Third Edition) by 
Ethnicity in College by 
Geographical Identities of Ethnic America by 
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by 
The New Americans? Migration, Protest, and the Politics of Latino by 
The Other One Percent by 
The Oxford Handbook of American Immigration and Ethnicity by 
Post-Racial or Most-Racial? by 
The Price of Whiteness by 
Race and Arab Americans Before and After 9/11 by 
Race and Ethnicity in America by 
Race or Ethnicity? by 
Racial Ambivalence in Diverse Communities by 
Racism and Everyday Life by 
Red and Yellow, Black and Brown by 
Rethinking Racial Justice by 
Shades of Difference by 
The Snake Dance of Asian American Activism by 
Stamped from the Beginning by Asian American Resource Center
The Asian American Resource Center enhances the quality of college life for Asian American students on campus through heritage programs, academic support and student organization events that foster inclusion.
The Center for Black Studies offers Northern Illinois University and its surrounding communities an interdisciplinary understanding of the histories and cultures of African Americans and the African diaspora. Supporting students, faculty, staff and community partners, the Center for Black Studies advances cultural understanding, intellectual and leadership development, professional growth and social justice while serving as a collaborative and supportive space on campus.
CenterBlackStudies@niu.edu
815-753-2495
The Center for Burma Studies celebrates the culture of Burma through regular exhibitions and events. The center curates over 10,000 items from Burma, including pieces of art and maps which can be viewed, as well as music and books that are available to check out through interlibrary loan. The NIU center is supported by the Burma Studies Foundation to be the National Center for Burma Studies.
Center for Latino and Latin American Studies
The Center for Latino and Latin American Studies celebrates Latin culture, development, resources, history and societies of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Latino/a peoples around the globe.
815-753-1531
latinostudies@niu.edu
The Latino Resource Center is a unit of the Division of Academic Affairs at NIU. Better known as the LRC by students and staff, the Latino Resource Center focuses on student-centered service by developing partnerships focused on student learning while establishing an inclusive community that builds collaborative relationships across campus and the surrounding community.
815-753-1986
Center for Southeast Asian Studies
The Center for Southeast Asian Studies combines and celebrates the cultures of the eleven countries that make up Southeast Asia. Students share and enhance their culture while learning and speaking these languages, and learn about the history and religions of Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Resources on Critical Race Theory
Resources on Race & Racial Equity
When conducting research on any group, consider the range of labels we use to identify ourselves/them:
Adapted from Benedictine University Library's Race and Social Justice Research Guide.
Databases
Journals
Selected Journals
