The Racial Dilemma: Confronting Islamophobia in America (plus book signing!)

AMAS is pleased to welcome guest speaker, Erik Love, to U-M. Civil rights advocates have struggled for decades to confront discrimination and racism affecting Arab, Muslim, Sikh, and South Asian Americans. Even as Islamophobia stems from White supremacist racism, in recent years, many advocates have adopted strategies that largely ignore or downplay the role of racism in Islamophobia. In this talk, Erik Love will describe this apparent contradiction, or what he calls the “racial dilemma.” In the 2010s, is it strategically beneficial for civil rights advocates to describe Islamophobia (or, indeed, any expression of White supremacy) specifically as “racism?” Should they adopt more “color-blind” and ostensibly pragmatic approaches? Interviews with dozens of civil rights advocates will inform the discussion.

Nicola's Books will be selling Erik's book, Islamophobia and Racism in America (NYU Press, 2017). There will be a book signing from 5:30-6:00pm directly following the talk.

Erik Love is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania and author of Islamophobia and Racism in America (NYU Press, 2017). His research on civil rights advocacy organizations and race has been supported by National Science Foundation, and his work has been featured on Al Jazeera and the Huffington Post.

This lecture is free and open to the public.