Stain Removal: Ethics and Race

217 Pages·2016·1.69 MB·English

by  J. Reid Miller

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Stain Removal
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Stain Removal
Ethics and Race
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J. REID MILLER
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Press in the UK and certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
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© Oxford University Press 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
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You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Miller, J. Reid, author.
Title: Stain removal: ethics and race / J. Reid Miller.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2017. | Includes
bibliographical references and index. | Description based on print version
record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016015919 (print) | ISBN 9780190280970
(hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: Ethics and race—The everlasting stain—The secret of the mark—Cursed inheritance—
Criminal suspicions.
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016015919
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Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
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Your Stain Removal kit includes:
—i nstruction manual
— patented removal solution (dry packet and activator)
— mixing tub
— mixing spoon
— cleansing pad
Always begin with mildest treatment; increase strength as necessary.
(Note: Heavy stains may require repeat applications.)
Caution: Use only in well-v entilated areas
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Contents
Acknowledgments  ix
Introduction: Setting the Stain  1
1. Ethics and Race  29
2. The Everlasting Stain  58
3. The Secret of the Mark  90
4. Cursed Inheritance  119
5. Criminal Suspicions  144
Conclusion: Dreams and Nightmares  165
Notes  173
Bibliography  191
Index  197
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Acknowledgments
I am fortunate to have had a great deal of support during the produc-
tion of this book.
My appreciation to those who contributed to the content of the manu-
script at various stages: David Hoy, Jocelyn Hoy, Joel Yurdin, Aryeh Kosman,
James Gulick, Naomi Koltun- Fromm, David Marriott, Ravi Sharma, Keith
Bolton, and Lewis Gordon. My deepest thanks as well to those who provided
support and encouragement during this time: Andrea Morris, Lisa Jane
Graham, Darin Hayton, Rajeswari Mohan, Juno (Rheana) Salazar Parreñas,
Rhacel Salazar Parreñas, Andrew Friedman, Bethel Saler, Erica Cho, Chi-
ming Yang, Gus Stadler, Matthew Budman, Farid Azfar, Noah Tamarkin,
David Sedley, Wendy White, Chiou- Ling Yeh, Stephen Sohn, Juliana Chang,
and Richard T. Rodriguez. Special thanks to Alison Wittenberg, Tilden
Broemser, Charles Easley, Melanie Boyd, E.B., Irene Miller, the inner circle,
and especially to Bill Bellone for years of hot tea and shocking embellish-
ments that kept me alert and skeptical. Cristina Beltran’s friendship and gen-
erosity was instrumental to the publication of this book. Danielle Macbeth’s
guidance through the process of writing sustained my belief and focus on the
project. Sometimes one needs a room of one’s own; other times a borrowed
one is what’s called for— special thanks to Teresa de Lauretis for providing
this room, intellectually and geographically, during the production of this
work. And finally, for everything and everything, then now and to come,
thank you Celine Parreñas Shimizu.
Convention holds that I include here the caveat that, despite the con-
tributions of those above, any and every mistake of the book is solely mine,
although, honestly, I don’t see why I should have to take all the blame. How
is it that those who receive credit for the success of a venture bear no respon-
sibility for its failure? But here the argument of the book itself defeats me,
for one of the consequences of rethinking value through the metaphor of the