White Americans have long worshiped two gods who are seemingly incompatible with one another, white supremacy and democracy. The contrast between these two superordinate constructs in white American culture is clear. Many have referred to this contrast as the American Dilemma, rightly characterizing it as a fracture in our national identity. White supremacy and democracy are ultimately at odds with one another in a multiracial nation.
Anti-racism is going mainstream. No, it won’t happen overnight. Maybe anti-racism has not gotten there yet. But it’s going. Why do you think the right-wing world has gone nuts over critical race theory, also known as CRT. They feel it, even before you do. Anti-racism’s going mainstream.
The term “diversity” describes a body of work taking place in organizational settings in the United States. Schools, businesses, nonprofits, and governmental bodies have all sponsored diversity initiatives, plans, programs and practices. Along with the worksites, a...
How we appear to others is a pressing matter for most people. We are social beings, and how well we fit with our social partners often determines how well we can lead satisfactory lives and achieve our goals. Prior research has shown that we form impressions about one...
The term “multicultural” is commonplace. Google identifies 81 million references. The term “multiracial” while not rare, is less common, yielding 14 million Google hits. For those engaged in matters of racial justice and racial equity, it’s helpful to consider the...
In a racially structured society, racial groups are assigned positions in a social hierarchy. In the United States, white people are positioned at the top in the superior position and people of color are placed below in an inferior position. Many will say that black...
Part 3 of a 3-part series. The multiracial movement failed to grapple with white supremacy, and many racial justice activists to this day suspect that multiracial identity is a thinly disguised strategy for people aspiring to become white. Nor is that suspicion...
Microaggressions have received a lot of study in recent years. Racial microaggressions are “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative” messages...
Part 2 of a 3-part series. The multiracial movement has faded now, even as the number and presence of multiracial people and families has grown. We felt we had something special to offer, standing as a rare example of people of different races living close at hand in...
Human beings everywhere form groups, and any given person may be a member of many different groups. Social psychologists have long studied the behavior of “ingroups” and “outgroups.” Wikipedia’s definitions are helpful here: “[A]n ingroup is a social group to which a...