Diversityland: Hiding Racial Inequality in an American Suburb - Hardcover

by Kiara Wyndham (Author)

Fort Bend County, Texas, looks like the America we claim to want: a suburb where Black, White, Asian, and Latinx families share cul-de-sacs, schools, and celebrations. Residents trade dishes, honor one another's traditions, and take pride in their community's diversity. Yet beneath this harmony lies what sociologist Kiara Wyndham calls "the diversity contract"--an unspoken agreement that racial diversity may be celebrated, but racial inequality must not be named. Drawing on two years of ethnographic research and more than 150 interviews, Diversityland reveals how the language of inclusion can obscure enduring racial hierarchy. In Fort Bend and communities like it, White advantage adapts to diversity rather than disappearing. Vivid and deeply researched, Diversityland transforms how we understand suburban life and challenges foundational narratives of what racial progress will look like in 21st century America.

Back Jacket

"Diversityland makes a compelling case that diverse suburban communities are often characterized by the 'diversity contract'--that is, an unspoken shared value of diversity alongside norms that discourage voicing racial inequality. This book's detailed, holistic research approach and strong narrative are a vital contribution to our growing understanding of how 'diversity talk' emerges in different communities, especially those often overlooked in studies of racial inequality."--Natasha Warikoo, author of Race at the Top: Asian Americans and Whites in Pursuit of the American Dream in Suburban Schools

"Kiara Wyndham's rich ethnographic research and precise argumentation bridge deep, place-based knowledge of Fort Bend (a community Wyndham grew up in) with macro-theorizations of race, racism, and class. Diversityland is eminently readable--an incredible feat, given its theoretical complexity."--Sarah Mayorga, coauthor of A Good Reputation: How Residents Fight for an American Barrio

Author Biography

Kiara Wyndham is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Washington University in St. Louis.