For HW: Please see this post about Jonathon Metzel's Dying of Whiteness and then choose to either:
a) read the introduction to the book
b) listen to the interview of Dr. Metzel with Mr Hayes
c) read the transcript of the interview
d) (or you can do both b and c)
Implicit racism
Prejudices and stereotypes exist in our subconscious. These hidden biases are called implicit bias. Although implicit bias can be about myriad topics (gender, occupation, age), it can also promote racism. Here is an explanation from Teaching Tolerance:
While the brain isn’t wired to be racist, it uses biases as unconscious defensive shortcuts. As human beings, we are not naturally racist. But because of the way our brains are wired, we are naturally "groupist." The brain has a strong need for relatedness. This wiring for “groupism” usually leads the dominant culture (the in-group) in a race-based society to create “out-groups” based on race, gender, language and sexual orientation. A system of inequity is maintained by negative social messages that dehumanize people of color, women and LGBT people as “the other.” For folks in the in-group, the brain takes in these messages and downloads them like software into the brain’s fear system. This leads to implicit bias: the unconscious attitudes and beliefs that shape our behavior toward someone perceived as inferior or as a threatening outsider.The passage above is connecting race to ingroups and outgroups that we learned about in unit 2. If the ingroup has power, then this can result in viewing groups without power with mistrust, fear, and stereotypes. When that ingroup perceives itself as a "race" (such as "white") then it becomes implicit racism.
W.E.B. Du Bois's Wages of Whiteness and Implicit Racism
From the NAACP history website, William Edgar Burghardt Du Bois became the first African American to receive a doctorate from Harvard University (1895). Du Bois became an assistant instructor in sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. There he conducted the pioneering sociological study of an urban community, published as The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study (1899). These first two works assured Du Bois’s place among America’s leading scholars.
From 1934 to 1944 Du Bois was chairman of the department of sociology at Atlanta University. Du Bois published numerous works of academic research on African Americans. His body of work was considered the greatest study of African Americans at that time and it still remains respected.
From the Social Science Research Council (SSRC),
Du Bois famously argues that whiteness serves as a “public and psychological wage,” delivering to poor whites in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries a valuable social status derived from their classification as “not-black.” The claims embedded in this thesis—that whiteness provides meaningful “compensation” (Du Bois’s term) for citizens otherwise exploited by the organization of capitalism; that the value of whiteness depends on the devaluation of black existence; and that the benefits enjoyed by whites are not strictly monetary—shaped subsequent efforts to theorize white identity and to grasp the (non)formation of political coalitions in the United States.
An excerpt from DuBois is here:
Most persons do not realize how far [the view that common oppression would create interracial solidarity] failed to work in the South, and it failed to work because the theory of race was supplemented by a carefully planned and slowly evolved method, which drove such a wedge between the white and black workers that there probably are not today in the world two groups of workers with practically identical interests who hate and fear each other so deeply and persistently and who are kept so far apart that neither sees anything of common interest.
It must be remembered that the white group of laborers, while they received a low wage, were compensated in part by a sort of public and psychological wage. They were given public deference and titles of courtesy because they were white. They were admitted freely with all classes of white people to public functions, public parks, and the best schools. The police were drawn from their ranks, and the courts, dependent on their votes, treated them with such leniency as to encourage lawlessness. Their vote selected public officials, and while this had small effect upon the economic situation, it had great effect upon their personal treatment and the deference shown them. White schoolhouses were the best in the community, and conspicuously placed, and they cost anywhere from twice to ten times as much per capita as the colored schools. The newspapers specialized on news that flattered the poor whites and almost utterly ignored the Negro except in crime and ridicule. (Black Reconstruction [1935], 700-701)Dubois wrote this in 1935, but I still think it applies today. For example, when reading about the racist tweets towards Nina Davuluri, it sends the message that she might be pretty and successful and born in the United States, but she is not and will never be a real American. For the millions of poor Whites who feel powerless, that small act of racism might make them feel good about being White, being a "true American." This is another reason why all of the immigrant groups have tried to become White over the years. It was not just for explicit benefits, it was also for these implicit benefits, or psychological wages of whiteness. It constructs a reality where whites feel and experience life differently because they are White. White is the majority group in the United States so it comes with a feeling of power and belonging. This is true even for Whites who might not have a lot of real power in society - low-income Whites with less education. So, for them, even though they are at the lowest end of the social class ladder, at least they are White. And, many sociologists hypothesize that this benefits the ruling class of power elites because it keeps the middle/working classes from being a united front that could band together to demand more political control, more power, and better wages. As we saw in our social class unit, if this was a purpose, it certainly has worked.
Much more recently, Henry Louis Gates Jr, a professor of African American Studies at Harvard wrote about Dubois' idea of double consciousness and the implications for how Americans who are black forge an identity in his book, The Black Box; Writing the Race. Gates writes about this difficulty You can see Gates discuss this in his interview with Stephen Colbert on the Late Show.
5. Explain what implicit racism is and how this relates to Dubois' ideas.
Peggy McIntosh's Interpretation of Implicit Racism
About 50 years after Dubois, Peggy McIntosh wrote about Dubois's psychological wages which she called the Invisible Knapsack that explained these "hidden wages" show up in a number of different ways in everyday life. McIntosh called these "privileges". This is how the term "white privilege" came about as part of our public discourse. The essence of McIntosh's claim is that whites can live their daily life in the United States without having being judged for their race. This includes meeting new neighbors, shopping, getting a promotion, etc... All of these are more likely to be viewed with individualism for whites and race-related for everyone else. Essentially, it is saying that minority race becomes a master status for everyone who is not white.
McIntosh is not saying that whites have been handed everything on a silver spoon or that they have not worked hard for what they have. She is simply saying that race is not a factor that white people have to overcome to be successful. Many policies, institutions and individuals have used both explicit and implicit racism to get and maintain power. Whites were privileged to be on the benefitting end of that power whether psychologically or materially. However, many whites emigrated to the U.S. and worked hard to get by and make a better life for their future generations. My grandpa was one of them. He came from Italy in 1916 when he was just 15 years old. He had no money and no immediate family in the U.S. He worked whatever job he could find and eventually enlisted in the US Army. He struggled, but eventually was able to buy a small house and retire. He was just fortunate to not have to overcome racism as part of his uphill struggle. He had white privilege. As do I. And as do many of my students. This does not mean that whites are supposed to feel guilty about this privilege. They are not supposed to apologize for it. This is a lesson that simply acknowledges that it exists. Remember, sociology is about how individuals are shaped by their society and their social position in it. Being a certain race shapes how society treats you – what advantages or disadvantages you have.
6. What does McIntosh mean by "white privilege"?
Tangible Privilege
Michael Harriot who has an MBA degree in international business from Auburn thinks that not only is privilege psychological, but it is also measurable. The institutional advantages that we learned about yesterday lasted for hundreds of years. This meant that generations of whites could pass on down their wealth and benefits to future generations. Over time, this allowed an accumulation of wealth and privilege that continues to this day.
Read the essay Yes, You Can Measure White Privilege below by Harriot and answer the questions embedded within the reading.
About 50 years after Dubois, Peggy McIntosh wrote about Dubois's psychological wages which she called the Invisible Knapsack that explained these "hidden wages" show up in a number of different ways in everyday life. McIntosh called these "privileges". This is how the term "white privilege" came about as part of our public discourse. The essence of McIntosh's claim is that whites can live their daily life in the United States without having being judged for their race. This includes meeting new neighbors, shopping, getting a promotion, etc... All of these are more likely to be viewed with individualism for whites and race-related for everyone else. Essentially, it is saying that minority race becomes a master status for everyone who is not white.
McIntosh is not saying that whites have been handed everything on a silver spoon or that they have not worked hard for what they have. She is simply saying that race is not a factor that white people have to overcome to be successful. Many policies, institutions and individuals have used both explicit and implicit racism to get and maintain power. Whites were privileged to be on the benefitting end of that power whether psychologically or materially. However, many whites emigrated to the U.S. and worked hard to get by and make a better life for their future generations. My grandpa was one of them. He came from Italy in 1916 when he was just 15 years old. He had no money and no immediate family in the U.S. He worked whatever job he could find and eventually enlisted in the US Army. He struggled, but eventually was able to buy a small house and retire. He was just fortunate to not have to overcome racism as part of his uphill struggle. He had white privilege. As do I. And as do many of my students. This does not mean that whites are supposed to feel guilty about this privilege. They are not supposed to apologize for it. This is a lesson that simply acknowledges that it exists. Remember, sociology is about how individuals are shaped by their society and their social position in it. Being a certain race shapes how society treats you – what advantages or disadvantages you have.
6. What does McIntosh mean by "white privilege"?
Tangible Privilege
Michael Harriot who has an MBA degree in international business from Auburn thinks that not only is privilege psychological, but it is also measurable. The institutional advantages that we learned about yesterday lasted for hundreds of years. This meant that generations of whites could pass on down their wealth and benefits to future generations. Over time, this allowed an accumulation of wealth and privilege that continues to this day.
Read the essay Yes, You Can Measure White Privilege below by Harriot and answer the questions embedded within the reading.
Yes, You Can Measure White Privilege by Michael HarriotWhenever anyone slips the words “white privilege” into a conversation, it immediately builds an impenetrable wall. For some white people, the words elicit an uneasy feeling because, for them, the term is accusatory without being specific. It is a nebulous concept that seemingly reduces the complex mishmash of history, racism and social phenomena to a nonspecific groupthink phrase.But white privilege is real.Instead of using it as a touchy-feely phrase that gives white people the heebie-jeebies because it conjures up images of Caucasians sitting on plantation porches drinking mint juleps while they watch the Negroes toil in the Southern sun, we should use it as a proper noun, with a clear definition. White privilege does not mean that any white person who achieved anything didn’t work hard for it. It is an irrefutable, concrete phenomenon that manifests itself in real, measurable values, and we should use it as such.Imagine the entire history of the United States as a 500-year-old relay race, where whites began running as soon as the gun sounded, but blacks had to stay in the starting blocks until they were allowed to run. If the finish line is the same for everyone, then the time and distance advantage between the two runners is white privilege. Not only can we see it, but we can actually measure it. If we begin viewing it as an economic term—the same way we use “trickle-down economics”—then it might be debatable, but it becomes a real, definable thing that we can acknowledge, explain and work toward eliminating. Race might be a social construct, but white privilege is an economic theory that we should define as such:White privilege: n. The quantitative advantage of whitenessHere are four examples that explain white privilege in economic terms.EducationIf education is the key to success, then there is no debate that whites have the advantage in America. In 2012, the U. S. Department of Education reported that about 33 percent of all white students attend a low-poverty school, while only 6 percent attend high-poverty schools. In comparison, only 10 percent of black students attend a low-poverty school, while more than 40 percent of black students attend high-poverty schools.This means that black students are more than six times more likely than white students to attend a high-poverty school, while white students are more than three times more likely than black students to attend a low-poverty school.National Equality AtlasThe logical response to this is for whites to explain the disparity away with statistics of black unemployment and the minority wage gap, but that might not be true. In 2015, a research scientist named David Mosenkis examined 500 school districts in Pennsylvania and found that—regardless of the level of income—the more black students, the less money a school received. While this may not be true for every single school, people who study education funding say that they can predict a school’s level of funding by the percentage of minority students it has. Even though this is a complex issue that reveals how redlining and segregation decreased the property tax base in areas where blacks live—therefore decreasing funding—it underscores a simple fact: White children get better educations, and that is a calculable advantage.EmploymentEven when black students manage to overcome the hurdles of unequal education, they still don’t get equal treatment when it comes to jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of Friday, April 7, the unemployment rate for African Americans was nearly double that of whites (8.1 percent for blacks, 4.3 percent for whites).There are some who will say blacks should study harder, but this phenomenon can’t be explained by simple educational disparities. A 2015 study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research shows that whites with the exact same résumés as their black counterparts are hired at double the rate. In fact, a white man with a criminal history is more likely to be hired than an African American with no criminal past.EPI.org (Economic Policy Institute)A similarly named, but different, organization—the Economic Policy Institute—examined 2015 data and discovered that at every level of education, whites were twice as likely to have jobs as blacks.If it is statistically easier for whites to get a better education, and better jobs, then being born white must be an advantage in and of itself.IncomeBut let’s say a black man somehow gets a great education and finds a job; surely that means the playing field is level, right?Not so fast.Pew Research/PewResearch.orgResearchers at EPI found that black men with 11-20 years of work experience earned 23.5 percent less than their white counterparts, and black women with 11-20 years of experience were paid 12.6 percent less than white women with the same experience. This disparity is not getting smaller. The wage gap between black and white workers was 18.1 percent in 1979, and steadily increased to 26.7 percent in 2015. When Pew Research controlled for education and just looked at income data, white men still surpassed every other group. These income inequalities persist to create the disparities in wealth between races, manifesting in generational disadvantages. A black person with the same education and experience as a similar Caucasian, over the span of their lives, will earn significantly less.SpendingIt is a little-known fact that the average black person pays more for almost every item he or she purchases. While there is no discount Groupon that comes with white skin, there might as well be. A John Hopkins study (pdf) showed that supermarkets were less prevalent in poor black neighborhoods than in white neighborhoods with the same average income, leading to increased food costs. News organization ProPublica recently found that car-insurance companies charge people who live in black neighborhoods higher rates than people in predominantly white areas with the same risk.When it comes to credit, it is even worse. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, The Atlantic reports, “even after controlling for general risk considerations, such as credit score, loan-to-value ratio, subordinate liens, and debt-to-income ratios, Hispanic Americans are 78 percent more likely to be given a high-cost mortgage, and black Americans are 105 percent more likely.” Even banks as large as Wells Fargo have lost cases for up-charging minorities.According to the Wall Street Journal, large auto lenders have paid more than $200 million since 2013 to settle lawsuits for charging minorities higher rates, but in November, both Democrats and Republicans voted to reduce regulations on the financial institutions that offer auto loans. The National Consumer Law Center filed a 2007 lawsuit that exposed how “finance companies and banks put in place policies that allowed car dealers to mark up the interest rates on auto loans to minorities based on subjective criteria unrelated to their credit risk.”Instead of hurling the term “white privilege” around as an imprecise catch-all to describe everything from police brutality to Pepsi commercials, perhaps its use as a definable phrase will make people less resistant. Maybe if they saw the numbers, they could acknowledge its existence. It is neither an insult nor an accusation; it is simply a measurable gap with real-world implications. It is the fiscal and economic disparity of black vs. white.In America’s four-and-a-half-centuries-old relay race, the phrase “white privilege” does not mean that Caucasians can’t run fast; it is just a matter-of-fact acknowledgment that they got a head start.
7. Which evidence from the essay did you find most compelling that there is a privilege that whites do not have to think about?
In our last lesson, we learned about how racism indirectly affects people through institutions by allowing dynamics like accumulating wealth and segregating housing and schools. But implicit racism can also show up in more mundane ways. Dubois' wages of whiteness and McIntosh's privilege show up indirectly in everyday interaction. As Americans became aware of the damaging effects of racism, many Americans sought to become "colorblind" in terms of race. The idea was that not seeing race would get rid of the race-based institutional policies that shaped racism in the US from 1619-1970. Additionally, because racism was so stigmatized, many Americans were afraid to talk about race at all. Many people felt that by not seeing race, they would treat everyone equally. Consciously trying to ignore race became an intentional goal of American culture.
From Color-blind to Race-Conscious
However, the sudden taboo of race in American culture did not change the racist effects of the previous 350 years. Sociologists responded to this new trend by noting the ways that race continues to shape our everyday interactions in subconscious, implicit ways.
Duke University Professor Eduardo Bonilla-Silva spoke about "color blindness" in his 2001 speech to Texas A&M here. And he wrote about the effects of implicit racism in his 2003 book, Racism Without Racists. Bonilla-Silva noted that turning a blind eye toward race actually exasperated racial inequalities because now society could appear well-meaning while ignoring and even increasing inequalities. Bonilla-Silva argued that instead of being "color-blind" we should seek to be race-conscious.
8. What is Bonilla-Silva's important contribution to race theory?
As you complete this lesson, think about the examples below and how they might allow inequality to exist if we ignore race.
The same year that Bonilla-Silva published his seminal work on race (2003), The Ohio State University opened the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity to study implicit bias.
The institute publishes a yearly review of the state of implicit bias research. You can find that here.
Besides the scholarly examples of implicit bias published by the Kirwan Institute, implicit bias that ignores race shows up in more everyday examples as well.
What color dress is Mrs. Obama wearing in this picture?
This picture featuring Michelle Obama was published with a caption saying that she wore a "flesh-colored" dress. Are they implying that Michelle's skin is not flesh? I don't think so, but this is an example of the privilege of being white; white skin is considered normal/flesh-colored. This is just one of many privileges of being white in a culture that sees white as normal, desirable or better than other "colors". If we see society through a color-blind lens, then we implicitly accept that white skin is normal skin in the U.S.
Here is another example from Johnson and Johnson. Note that the bottle says, "Normal to Darker skin," implying that there is normal skin and then there is darker skin which is implicitly abnormal.
How are the two examples above examples of implicit racism?
Police Surveillance and Implicit Bias from the Sociologist Toolbox
Part of the privilege of being white and implicit bias of not being perceived as white is the idea of belonging. Similar to Nina Davuluri who was perceived as not American, here are a number of examples (A NY Police Lt., Harvard U. President, State Senator Obama) of Americans who are perceived as black being treated as they don't belong. Sometimes, they are seen as not belonging in the U.S. or not being American, but in other instances, it is that they do not belong within a more micro-sociological context such as living in a certain house or neighborhood. Below are examples of this from 2018.
Have you ever had the cops called on you for doing something that was just your normal life (and not illegal)? If so, what was it? If not, are these examples surprising?
Part of the privilege of being white and implicit bias of not being perceived as white is the idea of belonging. Similar to Nina Davuluri who was perceived as not American, here are a number of examples (A NY Police Lt., Harvard U. President, State Senator Obama) of Americans who are perceived as black being treated as they don't belong. Sometimes, they are seen as not belonging in the U.S. or not being American, but in other instances, it is that they do not belong within a more micro-sociological context such as living in a certain house or neighborhood. Below are examples of this from 2018.
In 2018, police across the United States have been urged to investigate black people for doing all kinds of daily, mundane, noncriminal activities. This year alone, CNN has reported on police being called on African-Americans for:
And these are just the incidents that CNN has reported! There are no doubt many others. A review of news headlines this year shows that police were also called on other people of color. But it seemed to happen most often to black people: black people just going about their business.
Have you ever had the cops called on you for doing something that was just your normal life (and not illegal)? If so, what was it? If not, are these examples surprising?
Implicit Racism in Chicago Media
A 2020 study by White, Stuart and Morrissey, published in The Sociology of Race and Ethnicity shows that,
Building on and advancing theories of “color-blind racism,” the authors examine the process by which the news media uphold and reify the devaluation of Black and Hispanic lives through ostensibly race-neutral language, story lines, and cultural narratives. Drawing on an original data set containing all news articles (n = 2,245) written about every homicide victim (n = 762) in Chicago, Illinois, during 2016, the authors use multilevel models to assess the extent to which victims’ race and neighborhood racial composition are associated with the level of attention, or “newsworthiness,” devoted to their deaths. Using two measures of newsworthiness—the amount of coverage and recognition of “complex personhood”—the authors find that victims killed in predominantly Black neighborhoods receive less news coverage than those killed in non-Hispanic White neighborhoods. Those killed in predominantly Black or Hispanic neighborhoods are also less likely to be discussed as multifaceted, complex people. Our analyses underscore the importance of place, especially the racialization of place, in determining which victims are treated as newsworthy.
Here is another example of disparate news coverage:
Here is a story from public radio about a study of basketball announcers:
The story above features the work of sociologist Rashawn Ray:
two sociologists recently published a study that looked at a decade's worth of March Madness broadcasts, and they found that sometimes racial bias sounds like this:
"That’s a tough matchup for JJ Redick on the glass. Redick not known as a rebounder. Tasmin Mitchell much stronger, bigger and more athletic."
"I mean, of course, we can highlight some of these bigger comments that most people would consider to be racist," says Dr. Rashawn Ray, who teaches sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park. "But instead, what we were highlighting, in many ways, is implicit bias and the subtle ways that race actually operates, when it comes to talking about some of these historical stereotypes, about what it means to be Black and physically superior and, at the same time, intellectually inferior, and, on the other hand, what it means to be lighter-skinned or white."
Same Action, Different Description
Dr. Ray and his co-author Dr. Steven Foy, of the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley, transcribed 52 men’s college basketball broadcasts, including 11 championship games. They were looking at the ways broadcasters talk about players of different skin tones, and whether racial bias was at play.
An amazing example of implicit racism (and white privilege) was highlighted on the TV show What Would You Do? You will be astonished at the difference in how the two men are treated. Watch this video (embedded below).
Sociology of Education and School Discipline
Edward Morris and Brea Perry's research found that discipline in school for subjective offenses might be shaped by implicit bias. Read the abstract and try to answer the question below. Please don't guess. Either read it and actually try or skip the question. See their research published in the ASA's journal here or here.
A Girl Like Me
The implicit bias throughout American society affects all Americans living here including the minorities who are most negatively affected by the bias. Watch the following video and look for the ways that kids are affected by subconscious bias. https://youtu.be/YWyI77Yh1Gg
The Police Officer's Dilemma from the University of Colorado at Boulder
If minorities themselves can be socialized to see their own race as something less desirable then obviously it can apply to everyone in the U.S. That means teachers, doctors and yes, police officers too. But because police officers are authorized to use deadly force, the impact of implicit bias has much more serious consequences when it come to policing. The University of Chicago's Joshua Corell has research showing that unconscious bias results in split-second differences in all people (not just police) who are confronted by either a white person or a black person. Soc Images explains it here. You can try the study by clicking here for a link to the game and conclusions or try clicking here for the simulation.
In short, the findings are that we live in a society that teaches us all to have implicit bias. This includes police and even includes other minorities.
For more on policing and bias, see:
Whose Lives Matter? (A History of Black Lives Matter Movement)A Knee into the Gut of America (Colin Kaepernick)
University of Chicago School of Economics and Labor Market
Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan published a study of implicit bias and the labor market in The American Economic Review called Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination?
Labor Market and Felonies
From the NY Times, When a Dissertation Makes a Difference shows not only how unconscious bias can play a role in hiring in a most inequitable way, but also how sociology can make a difference that influences policy.
Finally, this video called Slip of the Tongue uses slam poetry to explore how one girl stands strong to embrace her identity without giving in to popular pressure to change who she is.
And, here are some privileges related to Christmas.
Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan published a study of implicit bias and the labor market in The American Economic Review called Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination?
Labor Market and Felonies
From the NY Times, When a Dissertation Makes a Difference shows not only how unconscious bias can play a role in hiring in a most inequitable way, but also how sociology can make a difference that influences policy.
As a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Devah Pager studied the difficulties of former prisoners trying to find work and, in the process, came up with a disturbing finding: it is easier for a white person with a felony conviction to get a job than for a black person whose record is clean.
Finally, this video called Slip of the Tongue uses slam poetry to explore how one girl stands strong to embrace her identity without giving in to popular pressure to change who she is.
FOR MORE ON IMPLICIT BIAS:
Implicit bias as "microaggression"
Using the link above, what microaggression stood out as particularly racist? Can you see how that small microaggression might make someone feel like they don't belong or shouldn't have power?
Sometimes these subtle instances of racism are called "microaggressions".
Using the link above, what microaggression stood out as particularly racist? Can you see how that small microaggression might make someone feel like they don't belong or shouldn't have power?
This article from American Psychologist explains microaggressions and the implications of them for clinical therapists. See the table below for an explanation of different microaggressions.
Look at the chart above and find a microaggression (from the middle column) that you have either said or that you have had said to you. What theme does it fall into? What is the message that it sends?
And, here are some privileges related to Christmas.
For HW: Please see this post about Jonathon Metzel's Dying of Whiteness and then choose to either:
a) read the introduction to the book
b) listen to the interview of Dr. Metzel with Mr Hayes
c) read the transcript of the interview
d) (or you can do both b and c)
No comments:
Post a Comment