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

by Steve Phillips

Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Despite the abundant evidence from Obama’s victories proving that the U.S. population has fundamentally changed, many progressives and Democrats continue to waste millions of dollars chasing white swing voters. Explosive population growth of people of color in America over the past fifty years has laid the foundation for a New American Majority consisting of progressive people of color (23 percent of all eligible voters) and progressive whites (28 percent of all eligible voters). These two groups make up 51 percent of all eligible voters in America right now, and that majority is growing larger every day. Failing to properly appreciate this reality, progressives are at risk of missing this moment in history—and losing.

A leader in national politics for thirty years, Steve Phillips has had a front-row seat to these extraordinary political changes. A civil rights lawyer and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, Phillips draws on his extensive political experience to unveil exactly how people of color and progressive whites add up to a new majority, and what this means for U.S. politics and policy. A book brimming with urgency and hope, Brown Is the New White exposes how far behind the curve Democrats are in investing in communities of color—while illuminating a path forward to seize the opportunity created by the demographic revolution

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620971161
Publisher:	New Press, The
Publication date:	02/02/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Steve Phillips became the youngest person ever elected to public office in San Francisco and went on to serve as president of the Board of Education. He is a co-founder of PowerPAC.org, a social justice organization that conducted the largest independent voter mobilization efforts backing Barack Obama, Cory Booker, and Kamala Harris. In 2014, he co-authored the first-ever audit of Democratic Party spending and was named one of “America’s Top 50 Influencers” by Campaigns&Elections. He has appeared on multiple national radio and television networks, including NBC, CNN, Fox News, and TV One. He was a featured speaker at the City Club of Cleveland in 2014, and his address on race and politics was nationally broadcast on C-SPAN. He holds a BA from Stanford University and a JD from Hastings College of the Law. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Brown Is the New White.

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

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

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

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