Brown Is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority

by Steve Phillips

Overview

The New York Times and Washington Post bestseller that sparked a national conversation about America's new progressive, multiracial majority, updated to include data from the 2016 election

With a new preface and afterword by the author

When it first appeared in the lead-up to the 2016 election, Brown Is the New White helped spark a national discussion of race and electoral politics and the often-misdirected spending priorities of the Democratic party. This "slim yet jam-packed call to action" (Booklist) contained a "detailed, data-driven illustration of the rapidly increasing number of racial minorities in America" (NBC News) and their significance in shaping our political future.

Completely revised and updated to address the aftermath of the 2016 election, this first paperback edition of Brown Is the New White doubles down on its original insights. Attacking the "myth of the white swing voter" head-on, Steve Phillips, named one of "America's Top 50 Influencers" by Campaigns & Elections, closely examines 2016 election results against a long backdrop of shifts in the electoral map over the past generation—arguing that, now more than ever, hope for a more progressive political future lies not with increased advertising to middle-of-the-road white voters, but with cultivating America's growing, diverse majority.

Emerging as a respected and clear-headed commentator on American politics at a time of pessimism and confusion among Democrats, Phillips offers a stirring answer to anyone who thinks the immediate future holds nothing but Trump and Republican majorities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620973141
Publisher:	New Press, The
Publication date:	03/06/2018
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	608,611
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Steve Phillips is a New York Times bestselling author, columnist, and national political thought leader. He is the author of the New York Times and Washington Post bestselling Brown Is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority as well as How We Win the Civil War (both from The New Press); he is also the founder of Democracy in Color, a political media organization dedicated to race, politics, and the multicultural progressive New American Majority. Phillips is the host of “Democracy in Color with Steve Phillips,” a color-conscious podcast on politics. He is regular columnist for The Nation and The Guardian. He lives in San Francisco.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Paperback Edition xiii

Author's Note xxiii

Introduction: "They Said This Day Would Never Come" xxv

1 51 Percent (and Growing Every Day): The New American Majority 1

2 Meet the New American Majority 15

3 Blinded by the White 45

4 Requiem for the White Swing Voter 61

5 Fewer Smart-Ass White Boys 79

6 Invest Wisely 97

7 What Is Justice? Policy Priorities for the New American Majority 117

8 Conservatives Can Count 151

Conclusion: From Fear to Hope 167

Afterword: A Road Map for Taking Back Our Country 177

Acknowledgments 191

Appendix A Math and Methodology 195

Appendix B What's in a Name? 205

Appendix C Recommended Reading 211

Appendix D Math, Not Myth 213

Notes 221

Index 255

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Brown Is the New White

A New York Times and Washington Post bestseller in hardcover

"[A]stute...Phillips' writing style is clear and concise—laying out his argument with deceptively simple grace."
— The Root

"A detailed, data-driven illustration of the rapidly-increasing number of racial minorities in America."
—NBC News

"This slim yet jam-packed call to action will be in demand, both because Phillips is a popular pundit and because the time is ripe for an upheaval in politics-as-usual."
— Booklist

"[M]akes a compelling argument for prioritizing people of color in campaign design."
— Publishers Weekly

"A passionate discussion of race and politics sure to inspire heated debate and, hopefully, proactive solutions."
— Kirkus Reviews

"Steve Phillips has provided a vital roadmap to a more hopeful, more inclusive America."
—Van Jones, founder, the Dream Corps, CNN contributor, and author of The Green Collar Economy and Rebuild The Dream

"Steve Phillips is not only an author writing about the potential of a 'New American Majority.' He is one of its gifted architects, an innovator with deep roots in electoral politics and a passion for connecting people of every race and background in common purpose. His energetic book, Brown Is the New White, is both a fascinating exploration of today's rapidly changing demographic landscape and an opportunity to see the future through the eyes of one of America's most engaging public servants and progressive political minds."
—Henry Louis Gates Jr., Alphonse Fletcher UniversityProfessor, Harvard University

"Steve Phillips has a deep understanding of how the civil rights movement changed America. His book sparks an important conversation about what increasing racial and cultural diversity will mean for American politics and policy."
—Senator Cory Booker

"It's good news that, by some ways of figuring, America already has a progressive, multiracial majority. Now we all need to get to work mobilizing ourselves so that actual political power reflects that new math—this volume is a big help!"
—Bill McKibben, environmentalist and author of Hope, Human and Wild

"A must-read for anyone seeking to make change happen, from small towns to the halls of Congress to the White House."
—John Podesta, former Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton and former Counselor to President Barack Obama

"A wake-up call showing that conservatives are actively courting Latino voters, knowing they must expand their tent. Progressives had better heed this call and invest in a broader, more ambitious strategy to solidify the support of the Obama coalition."
—Maria Echaveste, former White House deputy chief of staff to President Bill Clinton

"In this compelling new book, Steve Phillips lays out the plain facts regarding why progressives must act now to turn America's changing demographics into a political majority that could lead our nation for decades to come."
—Congressman Mark Takano

"Steve Phillips has been far ahead of the curve in understanding not only where America is but what America will be. Both the analysis and vision that runs through this book should be required reading for all policy makers and political leaders committed to ensuring our country works for all of us."
—Neera Tanden, president, Center for American Progress

"Steve Phillips understands, honors, and illuminates how the transformational work of Dr. King fundamentally changed the composition of the country such that justice-making is possible now more than ever. Decades after Nixon's cynical political calculation, the time is ripe for a new Southern strategy. This book helps point the way."
—Reverend Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, spiritual home of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

From the Publisher

01/04/2016
A lethal combination—a poor understanding of demographics data and a myopic focus on white swing voters—is leading political candidates and their strategists to election disaster, says Phillips, co-founder of PowerPAC.org. He argues that Democrats lost midterm elections not because white voters swung right, but because "progressive Whites and people of color alike sat out the midterms." He posits that getting out the vote among voters of African, Asian, Native American, Latino, and Arab descent will lead to election wins and better policy: "In a changing population where people of color are nearly 40 percent of the country... speaking boldly and unapologetically to the causes of inequality has proven to be good and smart politics." As outlined here, the requirements for success include paying attention to demographers as well as donors, hiring diverse campaign personnel, and investing in the unsexy but necessary work of canvassing, rather than in television commercials. This book, squarely aimed at politicians with a progressive agenda, makes a compelling argument for prioritizing people of color in campaign design. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

2015-12-06
An activist treatise on how shifting American demographics are changing the political climate. In a hard-hitting, peremptory discourse, social justice authority and civil rights attorney Phillips appeals for profound political changes significant enough to match what he claims is an encroaching wave of multiracial progressive voters he dubs the "New American Majority." With abundant use of solid statistics, the author delivers the news that over the past five decades, the population of American people of color has tripled in growth. He advocates for the ushering in of a new era in which political candidates duly recognize this majority. Phillips cautions that Pprogressive Pparty constituents won't gain political offices without multiracial support and that this particular demographic must be tapped much more aggressively than it currently is. He lucidly presents and supports the math behind the census demographics and further enumerates the varied racial groups who collectively make up this new majority. However, his critical scrutiny of America's historical preoccupation with what he calls the "White superiority mindset" (and with the Caucasian race in general) undermines his root goal of social equality. He speculates why white politicians have been so ineffective in creating positive social change and critiques the progressive movement's poor performance in acknowledging and harnessing the voting power of this diverse population. Alongside brilliant commentary on the urgent necessity of cultural competence, the book's closing chapters offer practical remedies and show how to integrate the strategies of the business world in stemming campaign funding wastefulness and an overhauling American public policy. Though overly heavy-handed at times, Phillips' robust plea for profound political changes is motivating and will invite those new to the discussion to join in the fight for social change and racial equality in America. A passionate discussion of race and politics sure to inspire heated debate and, hopefully, proactive solutions.

Kirkus Reviews