A Review of White-Centering Practices in Multiracial Research in Social Psychology

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Garay ◽  
Jessica D. Remedios

Multiracial people—those whose racial ancestry is comprised of two or more races—have always had a presence in the United States. However, since the recent U.S. Census shift to allow people to identify with multiple racial groups, social psychologists have shown increased interest in multiracial identity. However, we argue multiracial research tends to emphasize the perceptions, thoughts, and interests of White people through White-centering research practices, which reproduces racial inequality. To understand how multiracial research within social psychology has been shaped by White-centering research practices, we reviewed literature in social psychology examining multiraciality. We show that White-centering practices exist within this literature and explore how White-centering research practices lead to misrepresentations of the conclusions that may be drawn from multiracial research, underscoring how these conclusions affirm racial power, or Whiteness. We suggest Critical Race Psychology as a possible framework to help dismantle the affirmation of Whiteness in multiracial research.

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Reece

Critical race theory teaches that racism and racial inequality are constants in American society that stand outside of the prejudices of individuals. It argues that structures and institutions are primarily responsible for the maintenance of racial inequality. However, critical race theorists have neglected to formally examine and theorize colorism, a primary offshoot of racial domination. Although studies of colorism have become increasingly common, they lack a unifying theoretical framework, opting to lean on ideas about prejudice and preference to explain the advantages lighter skinned, Black Americans are afforded relative to darker skinned Black Americans. In this study, I deploy a critical race framework to push back against preference as the only, or primary, mechanism facilitating skin tone stratification. Instead, I use historical Census data and regression analysis to explore the historical role of color-based marriage selection on concentrating economic advantage among lighter skinned Black Americans. I then discuss the policy and legal implications of developing a structural view of colorism and skin tone stratification in the United States and the broader implications for how we conceptualize race in this country.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Rizzo ◽  
Tobias Britton ◽  
Marjorie Rhodes

Anti-Black racism remains a pervasive crisis in the United States today. Racist social systems are rooted in prejudicial beliefs that reinforce and perpetuate racial inequalities. These beliefs have their developmental origins in early childhood and are difficult to change once entrenched in adolescence and adulthood. What causes children to form prejudicial beliefs and racial biases—and what steps can be taken to preempt them from forming—remain open questions. Here we show that children’s exposure to and beliefs about racial inequalities predict the formation of anti-Black biases in a sample of 712 White children (4-8 years) living across the United States. Drawing from constructivist theories in developmental science, we outline a novel account of the emergence of racial bias in early childhood: As children observe racial inequalities in the world around them, they develop beliefs about the causal factors underlying those inequalities. Children who believe that inequalities reflect the inherent superiority/inferiority of racial groups develop biases that perpetuate this worldview, whereas those who recognize the extrinsic causes of racial inequalities develop attitudes geared towards rectification. Our results demonstrate the importance of early intervention to disrupt problematic beliefs before they emerge and highlight children’s awareness of structural racism as an important target for anti-racist intervention.


2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 833-865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian An ◽  
Morris Levy ◽  
Rodney Hero

Recent research shows that inequality between racial groups is a critical determinant of redistributive policy in the United States. Using various measures of local and state spending and examining multiple levels of geographical and political jurisdictions, we extend this research to government spending on local public goods. Specifically, we examine (1) whether the extent to which income inequality falls along racial lines dampens local and state government spending on public goods, (2) which types of public goods are most affected by the racial structure of inequality, and (3) whether political variables such as local leaders’ racial identities and party affiliation mediate the relationship between racial inequality and spending on public goods. The findings reaffirm the need to consider racial diversity and inequality jointly as influences on policy.


Author(s):  
Andrew Valls

The persistence of racial inequality in the United States raises deep and complex questions of racial justice. Some observers argue that public policy must be “color-blind,” while others argue that policies that take race into account should be defended on grounds of diversity or integration. This chapter begins to sketch an alternative to both of these, one that supports strong efforts to address racial inequality but that focuses on the conditions necessary for the liberty and equality of all. It argues that while race is a social construction, it remains deeply embedded in American society. A conception of racial justice is needed, one that is grounded on the premises provided by liberal political theory.


Author(s):  
Whitney Hua ◽  
Jane Junn

Abstract As racial tensions flare amidst a global pandemic and national social justice upheaval, the centrality of structural racism has renewed old questions and raised new ones about where Asian Americans fit in U.S. politics. This paper provides an overview of the unique racial history of Asians in the United States and analyzes the implications of dynamic racialization and status for Asian Americans. In particular, we examine the dynamism of Asian Americans' racial positionality relative to historical shifts in economic-based conceptions of their desirability as workers in American capitalism. Taking history, power, and institutions of white supremacy into account, we analyze where Asian Americans fit in contemporary U.S. politics, presenting a better understanding of the persistent structures underlying racial inequality and developing a foundation from which Asian Americans can work to enhance equality.


2021 ◽  
pp. 003464462199600
Author(s):  
Diego Ayala-McCormick

It has become common to compare racial inequality in the United States with a “Latin American” pattern of racial inequality in which egalitarian racial ideologies mask stark socioeconomic inequalities along racial lines. However, relatively few comparative studies exist attempting to analyze variations in degrees of racial inequality in the Americas. To stimulate further research in this area, the following study analyzes census data on racial inequality in unemployment rates, educational attainment, homeownership rates, and income in Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the United States. The results suggest that while Brazil is similar to the United States in displaying large levels of racial inequality in the areas measured, Cuba and Puerto Rico display significantly lower levels of racial inequality and Colombia falls in between, undermining conceptions of a monolithic Latin American racial system.


2020 ◽  
pp. 216747952095077
Author(s):  
Evan L. Frederick ◽  
Ann Pegoraro ◽  
Samuel Schmidt

When asked if she would go to the White House if invited, Megan Rapinoe stated, “I’m not going to the fucking White House.” The next morning, President Donald Trump posted a series of tweets in which he criticized Rapinoe’s statements. In his tweets, Trump introduced issues around race in the United States and brought forth his own notion of nationalism. The purpose of this study was to conduct an analysis of users’ tweets to determine how individuals employed Twitter to craft a narrative and discuss the ongoing Rapinoe and Trump feud within and outside the bounds of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and nationalism. An inductive analysis of 16,137 users’ tweets revealed three primary themes: a) Refuse, Refute, & Redirect Racist Rhetoric b) Stand Up vs. Know your Rights, and c) #ShutUpAndBeALeader. Based on the findings of this study, it appears that the dialogue regarding racism in the United States is quickly evolving. Instead of reciting the same refrain (i.e., racism no longer exists and systematic racism is constructed by Black people) seen in previous works, individuals in the current dataset refuted those talking points and clearly labeled the President as a racist. Additionally, though discussions of nationalism were evident in this dataset, the Stand Up vs. Know Your Rights theme was on the periphery in comparison to discussions of race. Perhaps, this indicates that some have grown tired of Trump utilizing nationalism as a means to stoke racism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e13531-e13531
Author(s):  
John Chan ◽  
Michelle Ann P. Caesar ◽  
Chloe Chan ◽  
Michael Richardson ◽  
Daniel Stuart Kapp ◽  
...  

e13531 Background: To examine trends in modifiable behaviorally related cancers among racial groups in the United States. Methods: Data were obtained from the United States Cancer Statistics (USCS) database for all cancers diagnosed between 2001 and 2017. Alcohol-associated cancers, HPV-associated, obesity-associated, physical inactivity-associated, and tobacco-associated were defined using ICD-O-3 site codes. SEER*Stat 8.3.8 and Joinpoint regression program 4.8.0.1 were used to calculate the trends of associated cancers expressed per 100,000. Results: In women, the incidence of all cancers has decreased significantly or remain unchanged for all racial groups in 2017, with the exception of an increase of HPV related cancers in white women (APC = 0.77%, p < 0.001), obesity related cancers in Hispanic women (APC = 0.46%, p < 0.001), and postmenopausal breast cancer in Black and Asian women (APC 0.78%, 1.06%, p < 0.001). The incidence of alcohol, tobacco, obesity, and physical inactivity associated cancer decreased significantly in men for all racial groups in 2017. HPV related cancers increased annually by 3.13% (p < 0.001) in White men and 0.90% in Asian men (p = 0.022). The highest decrease in modifiable factors associated with cancers was in physical inactivity related cancers in black men from the west (APC = -3.79, p < 0.001). The intersection of black race and U.S. region had the highest decreases in all cancers except obesity-related cancers where the intersection of Asian race and Midwest region had the highest decrease. Conclusions: In women, most modifiable factors associated with cancer are decreasing except in obesity related cancers and physical inactivity/obesity related postmenopausal breast cancer. In men, these rates of cancer are decreasing for all racial groups except HPV related cancers in White and Asian men.


Every region and people has peculiar economic characteristics and these features largely have roots in that region‟s social structure, social psychology and its dynamics. The capitalist economy of the United States has roots in individualismand Protestant Work Ethic, influenced both by Protestant religion and the social character of the Americans; the Client Economy of Saudi Arabia has deep linkages to its tribal social structure and the so-called Bazaar Economy of Afghanistan is profoundly embedded in the Pakhtun social structure of the country. The Pakhtuns of Pakistan have a peculiar social structure and social psychology thereof having profound and extensive influence on the region‟s economy particularly its largely underdevelopedcondition. The paper explores the characteristics of Pakhtun social structure and the interactive linkages between the social edifice and economic development or lack of it.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document