Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America by Rich Benjamin

From the Publisher

Between 2007 and 2009, Rich Benjamin, a journalist-adventurer, packed his bags and embarked on a 26,909-mile journey throughout the heart of white America, to some of the fastest-growing and whitest locales in our nation.

By 2042, whites will no longer be the American majority. As immigrant populations—largely people of color—increase in cities and suburbs, more and more whites are moving to small towns and exurban areas that are predominately, even extremely, white.

Rich Benjamin calls these enclaves "Whitopias" (pronounced: "White-o-pias").

His journey to unlock the mysteries of Whitopias took him from a three-day white separatist retreat with links to Aryan Nations in North Idaho to the inner sanctum of George W. Bush's White House—and many points in between. And to learn what makes Whitopias tick, and why and how they are growing, he lived in three of them (in Georgia, Idaho, and Utah) for several months apiece. A compelling raconteur, bon vivant, and scholar, Benjamin reveals what Whitopias are like and explores the urgent social and political implications of this startling phenomenon.

The glow of Barack Obama's historic election cannot obscure the racial and economic segregation still vexing America. Obama's presidency has actually raised the stakes in a battle royale between two versions of America: one that is broadly comfortable with diversity yet residentially segregated (ObamaNation) and one that does not mind a little ethnic food or a few mariachi dancers—as long as these trends do not overwhelm a white dominant culture (Whitopia).

Rich Benjamin is Senior Fellow at Demos, a nonpartisannational think tank based in New York City. His social and political commentary is featured in major newspapers nationwide, on NPR and Fox Radio, and in many scholarly venues. He holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. from Stanford University.

Publishers Weekly

Starting in 2007, Benjamin, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan think tank Demos, and, more significantly, an African-American, spent two years traveling through America's whitest communities—patches of Idaho and Utah and even pockets of New York City—where, according to his research, more and more white people have been seeking refuge from the increasingly multicultural reality that is mainstream America. There's plenty of potential in this premise, but Benjamin writes without any sense of purpose, alternating between undigested interviews with policy experts, self-indulgent digressions on the pleasures of golf and real estate shopping and sketchy portraits of his subjects. Despite Benjamin's countless conversations with everyone from Ed Gillespie, former head of the GOP, to a drunk in an Idaho bar, he never offers any fresh insights or practical suggestions. He concludes by barraging the reader with a series of unearned “musts”: “we must revitalize the public sector,” “we must work hard for a new universalism.” If his time in the nation's whitest enclaves gave him any specific thoughts about how those ideals might be achieved, he would have done well to share them. (Nov.)

Library Journal

Widely reported demographic shifts in contemporary America include the increase and diffusion of Latino populations and the relative population decline of Caucasians. Alongside these is a perhaps more subtle corollary, a phenomenon journalist Benjamin calls Whitopia ("white-opia"): disproportionately (generally over 90 percent) white communities that have grown rapidly in recent years, with most of the population growth also white. To learn about such communities, Benjamin here immerses himself in the life, culture, and politics of St. George, UT; Coeur d'Alene, ID; Forsyth County, GA; and Manhattan's Upper East Side Carnegie Hill area. A well-traveled black writer from a multiracial family, Benjamin hardly undertakes this venture incognito. But with his tact, genuine interest in people, and zest for golf, real estate, and socializing, Benjamin ingratiates himself nearly everywhere he goes and gains significant insights from residents, businesspeople and civic leaders. Benjamin's timely journey is surprising and provocative. He critically examines racial and economic segregation, structural racism, hostility to immigration, the rising political power of exurbs, and other sociopolitical realities that bespeak, in his assessment, a growing failure in commitment to the common good—yet he also demonstrates respect for his interviewees and offers his pointed assessments only after a thoughtful, open-minded exploration. VERDICT Written at the lay reader's level and in highly anecdotal narrative fashion, this is for all readers interested in the sociopolitics of America today. It will also be valued by policymakers and social scientists.—Janet Ingraham Dwyer, Worthington Libs.,OH

Kirkus Reviews

A black scholar moves into some of America's whitest communities, attempting to do for race what Barbara Ehrenreich did for class. Benjamin opens with a surprising statistic. "By 2042," he writes, "whites will no longer be the American majority." Perhaps even more surprising was the response that he noticed from white communities, particularly in urban areas. In an almost exaggerated version of "white flight," white populations were rising in particular communities across America. The author decided to spend time in three of those places. His first stop was St. George, Utah, home to both a bustling community of new retirees as well as a growing population of young families. There Benjamin rented a house from a rare black Mormon, joined a poker group and befriended a group of retired women. Next was Couer d'Alene, Idaho, where he settled into a pleasant life of work and dinner parties in a community that valued the outdoors. Finally, Forsyth, Ga., where Benjamin immersed himself in a church youth group. The author's experiences in "Whitopia" were surprisingly pleasant, particularly compared to a mugging incident near his home in racially diverse New York. But Benjamin is clear in his conclusion that this trend is not healthy for either white or minority communities. Ideally, he writes, each group should thrive on the resources of the city and on the influence of the other groups. Already, white communities are suffering from problems like unchecked sprawl and bad schools, and low-income minority groups are also losing access to the social capital of middle-class groups. Benjamin's points are articulate and well-reasoned, but many of them seem to function independently of his actual journeyor his time spent in each community. Interesting social experiments unevenly integrated into an intriguing thesis. Agent: Tina Bennett/Janklow & Nesbit

What People Are Saying

Barbara Ehrenreich
Benjamin goes where no (sane) black man has gone before—into the palest enclaves, like Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to those places where white Americans have fled to escape the challenges of diversity. (Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed)

David Sirota
A courageous book that holds a mirror up to our country—and the reflection is one we can no longer afford to ignore. (David Sirota, author and syndicated columnist)

Andrew Ross
Searching for Whitopia will be a major publication, widely read and discussed. (Andrew Ross, author of The Celebration Chronicles)

Edwidge Danticat
An essential tool in questioning, appreciating, and better understanding these most historic times. (Edwidge Danticat, author of Breath, Eyes, Memory)

Christian Lander
The revelatory chapters about New York City made me want to cry . . . Generous and understanding to all of its subjects, Searching for Whitopia is a eulogy for an unsustainable America lifestyle. (Christian Lander, creator of Stuff White People Like)

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