Frequently Asked White Questions

Ajay Parasram is a transnational, multigenerational byproduct of the British empire. He is an associate professor cross appointed to the departments of International Development Studies, History, and Political Science at Dalhousie University. Ajay’s research surrounds themes of the “colonial present” or how historical colonial entanglements such as colonial state formation and the calcification of structures like race, gender, class, and caste in the last four centuries continue to limit the possibility of collective liberation. He is currently researching the political economy of “improvement” and the morality of capitalism and colonialism in the mid-late 19th century, specifically in the imperial transition from slavery to indentureship. He is the author of Pluriversal Sovereignty and the State: Imperial Encounters in Sri Lanka which was awarded the Centre for Advanced International Theory (CAIT) Sussex International Theory Prize and the Best Book Prize by the Global Development Studies section of the International Studies Association. With Alex Khasnabish, he co-authored Frequently Asked White Questions (Fernwood Publishing, 2022) and he is currently writing a monograph for Fernwood Publishing entitled How To Talk To Your Racist Uncle expected to be published in 2026.Ajay is a member of The Racialization of Asian International Students Collective. Alex Khasnabish is a writer, researcher and teacher committed to collective liberation living in Halifax, on unceded and unsurrendered Mi’kmaw territory. He is a professor in sociology and anthropology at Mount Saint Vincent University. His research focuses on radical imagination, radical politics, social justice and social movements.

“Frequently Asked White Questions makes an important contribution to the literature on race. The book is a practical, readable, no-nonsense guide providing answers to questions that white people frequently ask about race. Parasram and Khasnabish take a complex, emotionally charged, serious subject and make it accessible and interesting to readers. Their goal is to invite people, especially white people, into conversations about race and to do so without shaming or dissing them yet holding whites accountable for our role in maintaining white privilege and white supremacy. They do a masterful job of explaining complex terms and ideas (e.g., critical race theory, cultural appropriation, structural racism) in clear, direct language, debunking the mythologies about them created in our everyday discourse, and giving people the tools to respond when the terms are misused. The book is focused on Canadian issues regarding race, primarily around Indigenous Peoples and colonialism, but these issues have broad relevance throughout the world, and are especially salient for US readers. The book provides an excellent way for US readers to understand white supremacy as an issue that is not limited to the US. The authors use numerous examples of real conversations people might have and provide pragmatic suggestions for how to keep those conversations going plus good advice for when people should consider not engaging in further conversation. This book offers an excellent addition to our toolbox for moving the discourse on building an equitable and inclusive society forward.”

• : Introduction: For FAWQ’s Sake: Can you be racist against white people?: How do we fix past wrongs without creating new ones?: How does racism relate to other forms of oppression? : How can I make anti-racism part of my family life?: How can I talk about social justice without turning people off?: What’s the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation? : Can members of an oppressed group be oppressors?: How can white people be involved in anti-racist struggles without centring themselves?: How can I be anti-racist in my everyday life? : How can we build the world we deserve? : Conclusions: The Race Card