Contemporary discussions of race, gender, and cultural identity often seem to presuppose an exclusively American context. Yet as Philomena Essed points out in this forcefully argued book, continuing migration has given rise to ever more diverse societies. At the same time, the erosion of traditional national identities has sparked a backlash against racial and ethnic minorities.

Essed examines these problems in a series of interrelated essays, urging us throughout the book to create a society in which diversity is accepted, encouraged, and made central to everyday life.

“Essed provides us with compelling accounts and accessible analyses that will arm her readers with the critical capacity to recognize and challenge new forms of racism—ethnicized, gendered, and increasingly camouflaged. North American readers of Diversity will discover that social movements contesting the rising assault on immigrants have a great deal to learn from the European experience.”—Angela Y. Davis

“Writing lucidly about the complex historical, economic, and cultural processes that underlie forms of European racism and racialization in the age of transnationalism, Essed succeeds in mapping the contradictions of ‘the color line’ and in envisioning workable strategies and pedagogies of dissent. An accessible, unsettling, and provocative book useful for everyone working against racism and sexism and for social justice.”—Chandra Talpade Mohanty

“Of particular importance is Essed's analysis of what she calls ‘paternalistic racism’ and her exposure of some of the traps the social dynamics of ‘positive action’ policies could fall into.”—Nira Yuval-Davis