White Philanthropy

"Since its publication in 1944, many Americans have described Gunnar Myrdal's An American Dilemma as a defining text on U. S. race relations. Here, Maribel Morey confirms with historical evidence what many critics of the book have suspected: that An American Dilemma never was commissioned, funded, or written with the goal of deeply challenging white supremacy. It was commissioned by Carnegie Corporation President Frederick Keppel, and researched and written by Myrdal, precisely with the intent of solidifying white rule over Black people in the U. S. Morey details the complex global origins of An American Dilemma, illustrating how the book was part of Carnegie Corporation's efforts to finance social science studies that would help white policymakers in the Anglo-American world address perceived problems in their governance of Black people. Morey also unpacks the text itself, arguing that Myrdal ultimately complemented his funder's intensions for the project by keeping white Americans as his principal audience and guiding them towards a national policy program on Black Americans that would keep intact white domination. Because for Myrdal as Carnegie Corporation, international order rested on white Anglo-Americans' continued ability to dominate effectively"-