What positions of whites are holding people of color back from progression?

“I mean, if

you’re qualified, they’ll hire you and if you’re not qualified, then you don’t get the job.”

(Bonilla-Silva, 2010, p. 72). “I think it’s due to lack of education” (Bonilla-Silva, 2010, p. 69).

“You know, people group together for lots of different reasons. . . Just as elephants in the wild,

you know. Elephants groups together, cheetahs group together” (Bonilla-Silva, 2010, p. 66). “If

you did have two people with the same qualifications, one’s minority and one’s not, you know.

I’d want to interview them and just maybe a personality stands out that works with the job, I

don’t know. Just find something else other than race to base it on, you know?” (Bonilla-Silva,

2010, p. 60). While racists of the past were more overt with their use of biased words and

thoughts about those of other races, today racism has evolved into a more covert and politically

correct form coined as color-blind racism. Different techniques are wrapped up in each of these

quotes by white interviewees trying to justify their positions on race-based issues. Eduardo

Bonilla-Silva calls color-blind racism “The New Racism” (Bonilla-Silva, 2010) in his book

Racism Without Racists and unwraps the specific ways whites perpetuate racist ideals.

The first theory unpacked is called abstract liberalism. Abstract liberalism allows whites

to appear logical and moral while sharing covert racist views. The interviewee wanting to

eliminate race from the hiring process displays this frame of mind. It values equal opportunity

and does not take into account the systems of racism that have hindered equality’s birth from

solely equal opportunity (Bonilla-Silva, 2010). Abstract liberalism helps explain those who

support equal opportunity while opposing affirmative action in the same breath. They do not

understand that equity is not the same as equality.

The second theory that allows whites to perpetuate racism is called naturalization. The

interviewee who equated those of different races grouping together to animals in the wild
represented this frame. It is a natural phenomenon to prefer likeness and it is acceptable to allow

because people of all races do it (Bonilla-Silva, 2010). This theory encompasses opinions such as

being less attracted to individuals of other races and letting things be that happen naturally.

Racism is supported by this frame because it purposely keeps social distance wide claiming its

“natural”.

The third theory is called cultural racism and it allows whites to get in the way of the

advancement of people of color by using culturally based arguments (Bonilla-Silva, 2010). The

interviewee using this frame expressed an opinion about education being the hindrance to

progress for racial minorities. Racist thoughts and expressions using cultural racism would

include statements about the number of children certain races have, their presence in the welfare

system, lack of good education, or poverty that has been brought about by generations of these

issues. People adopting this frame believe the lack of success and progress racial minorities

experience happens because of cultural practices that keep groups from getting ahead.

The fourth theory Bonilla-Silva unpacks is called minimization. The guise of

minimization would like people to believe that race is no longer an issue (Bonilla-Silva, 2010).

Progress has been made and there are plenty of opportunities for minorities to get ahead. If they

want to, they can, and their race is no longer holding them back. This frame is reflected by the

interviewee who says qualification is what will get you a job and nothing else matters. If the

effects and practices of color-blind racism are swept away as if they no longer exist,

advancement for people of color will not come.

Eduardo Bonilla-Silva uses the majority of his book, Racism Without Racists, to validate

these theories and how they’re used. After using extensive interviews and theory to prove the

existence of “The New Racism”, he speaks directly to white readers encouraging them to take
antiracist action by the techniques he describes in becoming an ally. According to a conference

paper from the University of Pittsburgh’s Kathleen Bulger, antiracists use tactics of “personal

transformation and group interaction” (Bulger, 2006). Bonilla-Silva agrees with this first step of

personal transformation when he says that change begins when individuals experience “cognitive

and emotional liberation” from racialization (Bonilla-Silva, 2010, p. 242). Whites must go

through reconstruction of their personal biases, social networks, emotions, and preconceived

notions to recognize their whiteness and remove themselves from it. Bonilla-Silva argues that

most whites who would say they’re not racist are actually just “tolerant” and “liberal” people

who take a passive stand on racist issues (Bonilla-Silva, 2010). Being antiracist involves a direct

commitment to humble oneself, acknowledge and fight against the whiteness one has been

socialized into, and take action personally and organizationally.

Systemic racism, whether overt or covert, perpetuates segregation and inequality on a

wide scale. Data from many sources can show the effects of this like a page from the Bureau of

Labor Statistics that shows almost twice as many whites are in positions of management

compared to blacks and almost twice as many blacks are in service occupations when compared

to whites (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). Because of housing disparities, cost of living,

and overt racist ideologies, communities and school are segregated based on race. Poorer urban

areas tend to have a higher percentage of ethnic minorities living there than whites. The Racial

Dot Map from UVA’s Cooper Center shows that entire neighborhoods are even separated by

race in places that appear to be well integrated (Cable, 2013). Because of extensive data and

theories like social distance, it can be assumed that whiteness is deeply socialized into the

identities of white people because of the dominant culture they’ve created.

 That said, an important piece of personal transformation to antiracism is “dewhitening

your networks, orientations, and even emotions” (Bonilla-Silva, 2010, p. 243). Build

relationships with people who are not white. Recognize your subjective thoughts and emotions

toward people of color and policies like Affirmative Action. As Bulger put it, look for

“internalizations of white culture”: “the tendency to ignore race/racism; to avoid uncomfortable

conversations and situations; to take every leadership position and lead in a hierarchical

inflexible way; and to insist on individualism” (Bulger, 2006, p. 8). Be willing to give up power.

Be willing to admit you were wrong. Don’t assume that equal opportunity is the same as

equality. Dive into uncomfortable and potentially painful conversations, not only with people of

different races, but of the same.

In order to participate in conversations that generate change, one must be willing to

endure pain (Bonilla-Silva, 2010). Conversations about race relations and inequality typically

involve some level of pain and suffering. In order to develop empathy and destroy bias, whites

need to be willing to enter into this pain and take some of it upon themselves. For example,

hearing from a friend that your actions or words include color-blind racist techniques requires

humility to accept the wrong you’ve done and change it going forward. Furthermore, asking for

those conversations to happen means that an individual must be willing to seek out discomfort

and sink into it. Bulger says that antiracist whites are actually more comfortable doing this with

multiracial groups, but insecure when having conversations of this sort or working with other

whites (Bulger, 2006). Being an ally does not mean immersing oneself in the culture of the

oppressed and leaving whiteness behind. Like Du Bois’ idea of the talented tenth, whites can be

allies by becoming antiracist and using their position to reach others (who could be white).
 Bulger reported that all antiracists agreed that antiracism must first include personal

transformation and relationship building as discussed previously. Activism and group action can

only follow when individuals have undergone personal transformation that solidifies their

convictions (Bulger, 2006). Bonilla-Silva provides recommendations for allies to get involved in

politics and social movements. His most important piece of advice for readers who are on board:

Don’t do nothing. Social movements are the main pathway for change so be part of one (Bonilla-

Silva, 2010). The Black Lives Matter movement is a rapidly growing and powerful one that is

easy to get behind. As college students, joining student organizations opposing racism and

participating in campus protests are action-oriented steps to becoming an effective ally. Get

involved in politics. Pick a fight and get behind it. Talk to family members and friends about

antiracism. Just don’t do nothing. (Bonilla-Silva, 2010).

Works Cited

Bonilla-Silva, E. (2010). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of

racial inequality in the United States. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

Bulger, K. (2006). We’re All the Man Sometimes: How Whites and People of Color Negotiate

Race within Antiracist Activism. Conference Papers -- American Sociological

Association, 1. Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=

26643963&site=ehost-live

Cable, D. (2013, July). The Racial Dot Map. Retrieved from

https://demographics.coopercenter.org/racial-dot-map

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2012, October 26). Occupational employment by race and

ethnicity, 2011. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2012/ted_20121026.htm