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People on the right get indignant and angry when called out on racism. They all claim not to see color, they claim to be color blind. But they are far from it. Edward Bonilla Silva calls this Colorblind Racism. Bonilla-Silva argues that whitesâ views constitute an ideology rather than mere prejudice.
For analytical purposes, racial ideology can be conceived as comprising the following three elements: frames, styles, and racial stories. The central frames or themes of this ideology are set paths for interpreting information. There are four principal frames: (1) abstract liberalism, (2) naturalization of race-related matters, (3) cultural racism, and (4) minimization of racism.
The frame of abstract liberalism uses ideas typically associated with liberalism, such as âequal opportunity,â âmeritocracy,â and âindividual effort,â in an abstract and decontextualized way to account for inequality. For example:
I donât think they should be provided with unique opportunities. I think that they should have the same opportunities as everyone else ⌠I donât think that just because theyâre a minority that they should, you know, not meet the requirements, you know. (Bonilla-Silva 2003)
This response ignores the effects of past and contemporary discrimination on the social, economic, and educational status of minorities. Therefore, by saying âthey should have the same opportunities as everyone else,â this person is defending racial inequality in the educational realm while maintaining her non-racist image.
The naturalization frame explains racial matters, such as residential segregation or whitesâ preferences for whites as partners and friends, as natural outcomes. An example:
I donât think itâs anybodyâs fault. Because people tend to group with their own people. Whether itâs white or black or upper-middle class or lower class or, you know, upper class, you know, Asians. People tend to group with their own.... You know, people group together for lots of different reasons: social, religious. You canât force that. (Bonilla-Silva 2003)
By suggesting that segregation is natural, this respondent ignores the legacy of legalized Jim Crow segregation and the structural dynamics that exist in the early twenty-first century to keep racial groups apart.
The cultural racism frame relies on arguments based on culture to explain the position of racial groups in society. In essence, whites âblame the victimâ by suggesting that the position of minorities is due to their family disorganization, lack of effort, or laziness. An example:
If they worked hard, they could make it just as high as anyone else could. (Bonilla-Silva 2003)
Believing that blacks live in the projects because they do not work hard, as this person suggests, shows whitesâ amnesia about past and contemporary discrimination in the labor and housing markets.
The minimization of racism frame suggests discrimination is no longer a real problem because civil rights legislation eradicated all racial ills and people are now âbeyond race.â An example:
I think sometimes itâs an excuse because people felt they deserved a job, whatever! I think if things didnât go their way I know a lot of people have tendency to use prejudice or racism as whatever, as an excuse. (Bonilla-Silva 2003)
By minimizing the significance of discrimination, whites can deflect minoritiesâ claims of discrimination and bounce them back to them as âexcuses,â or as playing the infamous ârace card.â
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Color-Blind Racism
For analytical purposes, racial ideology can be conceived as comprising the following three elements: frames, styles, and racial stories. The central frames or themes of this ideology are set paths for interpreting information. There are four principal frames: (1) abstract liberalism, (2) naturalization of race-related matters, (3) cultural racism, and (4) minimization of racism.
The frame of abstract liberalism uses ideas typically associated with liberalism, such as âequal opportunity,â âmeritocracy,â and âindividual effort,â in an abstract and decontextualized way to account for inequality. For example:
I donât think they should be provided with unique opportunities. I think that they should have the same opportunities as everyone else ⌠I donât think that just because theyâre a minority that they should, you know, not meet the requirements, you know. (Bonilla-Silva 2003)
This response ignores the effects of past and contemporary discrimination on the social, economic, and educational status of minorities. Therefore, by saying âthey should have the same opportunities as everyone else,â this person is defending racial inequality in the educational realm while maintaining her non-racist image.
The naturalization frame explains racial matters, such as residential segregation or whitesâ preferences for whites as partners and friends, as natural outcomes. An example:
I donât think itâs anybodyâs fault. Because people tend to group with their own people. Whether itâs white or black or upper-middle class or lower class or, you know, upper class, you know, Asians. People tend to group with their own.... You know, people group together for lots of different reasons: social, religious. You canât force that. (Bonilla-Silva 2003)
By suggesting that segregation is natural, this respondent ignores the legacy of legalized Jim Crow segregation and the structural dynamics that exist in the early twenty-first century to keep racial groups apart.
The cultural racism frame relies on arguments based on culture to explain the position of racial groups in society. In essence, whites âblame the victimâ by suggesting that the position of minorities is due to their family disorganization, lack of effort, or laziness. An example:
If they worked hard, they could make it just as high as anyone else could. (Bonilla-Silva 2003)
Believing that blacks live in the projects because they do not work hard, as this person suggests, shows whitesâ amnesia about past and contemporary discrimination in the labor and housing markets.
The minimization of racism frame suggests discrimination is no longer a real problem because civil rights legislation eradicated all racial ills and people are now âbeyond race.â An example:
I think sometimes itâs an excuse because people felt they deserved a job, whatever! I think if things didnât go their way I know a lot of people have tendency to use prejudice or racism as whatever, as an excuse. (Bonilla-Silva 2003)
By minimizing the significance of discrimination, whites can deflect minoritiesâ claims of discrimination and bounce them back to them as âexcuses,â or as playing the infamous ârace card.â
Color-Blind Racism | Encyclopedia.com
Color-Blind RacismWHITE RACIAL ATTITUDES IN THE POSTâCIVIL RIGHTS ERAA COLOR-BLIND IDEOLOGYTHE STYLE OF COLOR-BLINDNESSTHE RACIAL STORIES OF COLOR-BLIND RACISMCOLOR-BLIND RACISM IN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY AMERICABIBLIOGRAPHY Source for information on Color-Blind Racism: Encyclopedia of Race and...
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