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Blog Admin: Email subscription activated, Comments in WordPress
November 18th, 2009Thanks for your patience as we work out the kinks on the site re-design this week. Just a few brief blog admin updates:
And now, we return you to the regularly scheduled, insightful, engaging analysis of race, racism, politics, society and culture.
Under Reported
November 14th, 2009We’re adding a regular feature here called “Under Reported” where readers can note an area of research that is under reported and needs attention. This page will be permanently linked to the main page of the blog, and you can add a comment whenever you like. Thanks to Dr. Terence Fitzgerald for this suggestion!
Blog Admin: Offline Tonight for Site Maintenance, User Registration Coming
November 13th, 2009We’ll be taking the blog offline tonight from 11pm-1amET (and possibly longer) for site maintenance and re-design. Once the re-design goes live (in the wee hours tonight if all goes well), then all those who wish to comment here will have to register. (Comments OFF.)
Glenn Beck Refuses to Define “White Culture”
September 28th, 2009Glenn Beck infamously said that President Barack Obama holds a “deep-seated hatred for white culture.” Yet, when Katie Couric recently asked him to define what he meant by “white culture,” Beck was uncharacteristically at a loss for word (3:11):
Racism Review: Site Renovation Coming
August 4th, 2009Just a quick heads up to let folks know that we’re planning a bit of a site renovation here at Racism Review. Same compelling content in a sleeker package. This will also mean that in order to comment, you’ll have to create a login here. I know, it’s a pain – but it will make everything run more smoothly here in the long run. The launch of the new site should happen sometime in August (exact date unclear), but it will be in plenty of time for the back-to-school rush.
Sotomayor and Race in America
June 18th, 2009
(Cross-posted from http://www.newracialstudies.ucsb.edu/blog; Image from Presente.org)
The point is simple – clichéd, even. But this simple point is so often denied in the United States of 2009. The point is that race matters. More specifically, race matters in how we interpret the Constitution of the United States. Debates over the constitution, especially at the Supreme Court, often willfully ignore or obscure the living and continued significance of race and racism. The racial category you belong to plays a significant part in your life, if you’re an American, but American legal doctrine over the last several decades has refused to accept this fact.
Much as they did during the 1800s, today’s American courts allow entrenched racial discrimination to continue. Throughout the 19th century and into the 20th, the courts used openly racist thinking to enforce policies like slavery, segregation, and whites-only citizenship. Today, the courts use colorblindness to brush aside the reality of race and racism aside. They overturn and restrict race-conscious policies designed to help alleviate racism faced exclusively by people who are identified as racial and ethnic minorities. The courts can and should consider the impact of race when it deals with cases like voting rights, sentencing for drug use, law enforcement strategies that roundup random Muslim and Middle Eastern Americans, and the legality of practices and policies that drove nonwhite families into needlessly expensive “subprime” mortgages. But instead, legal scholars (including a majority of the Supreme Court Justices) regularly disagree with the need even to recognize the mere existence of socially constructed race.
It’s not a coincidence that Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court has already become contentious on the issue of race. Sotomayor’s views on race and racism are becoming an object of public debate, thanks to coverage by national media (and thanks to well-publicized and ridiculous accusations that Sotomayor is herself “racist”). Her rulings during her illustrious career show that while she’s hardly a radical, Sotomayor does favor a reality-based judiciary that understands and considers the impact of race and racism. Because of this (and in part because she is Latina), she has already faced more questions about race than any other nominee to sit on the Supreme Court than anyone else in quite a long time. And she hasn’t even sat for confirmation hearings yet.
Before Judge Sotomayor arrives on Capitol Hill for confirmation hearings, I’d like to take a moment to consider why legal scholars argue against recognizing the existence of race in America. And then let’s consider how the next decade in legal thought might be influenced, thanks to Sotomayor’s presence on the Court.
The legal argument for denying reality – for denying the existence of race – is rooted in the colorblindness doctrine. My understanding is that the basic idea behind colorblindness is: only by ignoring race can we truly transcend it. You see, if we keep talking about race, if we acknowledge it, then we allow the race concept to persist. So, what we should do is pretend that race isn’t there. If we adjust our thinking to a colorblind world, then in time, reality will catch up with our thinking. This kind of thinking has been proven wrong again and again, most thoroughly by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva.
The colorblindness perspective didn’t come out of nowhere. Read the rest of this entry “
Happy New Year — Féliz Año Nuevo — Bonne Année
January 1st, 2009
Whites Reveal Obama Reactions
November 23rd, 2008[This reflective post was written by three college student researchers, Amanda, Dave, and Hannah]
Much like Jessie and Adia, this election has been a momentous event for young people, many voting for the first time. The three of us (Amanda, Dave, and Hannah) grew up in white, middle class neighborhoods and were taught a white-washed version of history. Since entering college and realizing the gaping holes in our education, we have taken deliberate steps to learn the complete history of America. This compounds the significance of Obama’s run for President for us.
At the daycare where Hannah works, one of the few black students said to her on the day after the election, “Barack Obama has a haircut like me.” This sentiment coming from a five-year-old boy marks the significance of the election for us. Obama and his family are constant reminders to all Americans that “Joe the Plumber” is not and never was the true face of America. We hope this is the beginning of a time in our country where whites never ignore the true faces of America. We are proud of this America, the one that has elected Barack Obama, and not the white-washed one of our past, that teachers taught to us by glazing over reality. We agree with Michelle Obama, this is the first time we have felt proud of our country.
We decided to talk with white students and community members to see how they viewed this historic election. We found many people were unsure of Obama’s religion and expressed fear at the possibility of electing a Muslim president. Some respondents wanted Obama to openly declare his religion and others were explicitly hostile towards Muslims. The prevailing excuse for this overt prejudice was the 9/11 attack and President Bush’s “War on Terror.” We found that both conservatives and liberals shared this sentiment.
People often hid their racist comments to distance themselves from appearing prejudiced. This is a front stage technique and is not surprising since we interviewed people in coffee houses and other public settings.
We also found people held contradictory views about Obama as both a radical Christian and a potential Islamic terrorist. When confronted with this inconsistency, they were unable to express both views clearly. Some were confused and ended their statement in uncertainty.
As Joe has stated, many felt that Obama’s victory spelled the end of racism in America. But we found the open prejudice towards Muslims contradicts this. In addition, Obama and his family were seen by many as “white” and therefore “an exception to the race.” This statement reveals the prevalence of racism because it implies that African Americans need an exception, and it also plays into the idea that whiteness equals goodness. It attempts to minimize the significance of electing a man of color as president.
As we move forward, we must not overlook the importance of Obama’s presidency. He is our first black president and a symbol of racial progress. The election of Obama is a strong foundation for addressing our racist history but this event does not signal the end of racism or the beginning of a “color-blind” American society.
Open Thread: What Would You Like to See More Of?
June 25th, 2008Just a brief note on our blog. Our RacismReview blog has been successful so far on standard blog measures. The fact that this “expert” blog has been published (and very active for about ten months) for more than a year is significant. According to 2003 research by the Perseus Corporation, a majority of the 4.2 million blogs people created lasted, on average, only four months.
In terms of unique visitors (those who have ever visited) to our website, RacismReview has now had over 100,000 visitors to date, and now averages about 1,300 daily readers. We thank you all for coming, and would like to ask you for any input you would like to make, including on the question of what you would like to see more discussion of.
Please click below on the comments button if you wish to comment. And if you like what you see here, please encourage others to visit.
Thanks, Joe and Jessie
