New Racism1
In this lecture we will first examine racial and ethnic inequality, prejudice and
discrimination in the United States. We will see that there is significant racial and ethnic
inequality, and that there is significant prejudice and discrimination, though many whites
tend not to see it. We will then examine Lawrence Bobo and colleagues’ theoretical
analysis of the new racism.
Describing Racial and Ethnic Inequality, Prejudice, and Discrimination
I want to begin by noting that there is still significant inequality by race and
Hispanic origin in the United States. Compared to blacks and Hispanics, non-Hispanic
whites do better on almost every measure. For example, only 52 percent of African
American students graduate on time (compared to 76 percent for white students). See
table below.
The table below shows that whites and Asian/Pacific Islanders are more likely to
graduate from high school and college.2
Lecture notes are written as lecture notes and therefore are not cited as would be required for
publication. Please do not reference these notes outside of this class.
1
2
http://soc6.blogspot.com/2010/09/educational-attainment-in-united-states.html
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Whites also do better than blacks of Hispanics with respect to family income. The
table below shows income distributions for white, black, Asian, and Hispanic families.
The distribution for blacks and Hispanics do not compare favorably with the distribution
for whites and Asians.3
3
http://soc6.blogspot.com/2010/09/family-income-by-race-and-ethnicity.html
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We will discuss other aspects of inequality throughout this lecture. Interestingly,
there is a tendency for whites to underestimate this inequality.4 The table below comes
from research on perceived racial differences. In a telephone survey of whites in
Michigan, respondents were provided statistics about the economic conditions and
undesirable behaviors of white Americans. Respondents were then asked to estimate the
corresponding statistics for blacks. For every statistic, whites underestimated the
disadvantage for blacks. For example, whites were given the statistic for percent of white
births outside of marriage (22 percent). The mean estimate for blacks was 38.1 percent.
That means that the mean perceived racial difference was 16.1 percent. However, the
actual racial difference was 46.1 percent. Whites also underestimated the disadvantage
4
http://www.jstor.org/pss/20141756
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for percent on welfare, percent in poverty, family income, and income of male college
grads.
Not only is there still inequality, but there is still discrimination and prejudice.
However, because we now live in a time when overt discrimination and prejudice is
socially unacceptable, it becomes very difficult to measure discrimination and prejudice.
Almost never is someone not get hired and told that it was because he was black. Almost
never does someone not get an apartment and told that it was because she is Hispanic.
However, we know that blacks are regularly not hired because they are black, and blacks,
Hispanics and Asians are denied housing opportunities because they are minorities. How
do we know this? The best evidence for this is matched-pair studies. Matched-pair studies
send equally qualified applicants to apply for a job, rent an apartment, etc.; the only
difference being the person’s race or ethnicity. In one study, equally qualified white,
black, and Hispanic job seekers were sent to apply for low-skill jobs in New York City.5
The results are below. Notice that white applicants received positive responses 31 percent
5
http://soc6.blogspot.com/2010/09/discrimination-in-low-wage-labor-market.html
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of the time, Latino applicants received positive responses 25.1 percent of the time, and
black applications received positive responses 15.2 percent of the time.
In a second study, they revised the white person’s application to indicate that that
person had a criminal record. Even when the white person had a criminal record, they
received more positive responses than blacks or Latinos. See table below.
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When we look as housing discrimination, we see that whites generally are treated
more favorably than blacks, Hispanics or Asians and Pacific Islanders when seeking to
rent or buy a residence.6 For example, with respect home inspection, in studies conducted
in 2000 and 2001 in eleven metropolitan areas, researchers found that Asian and Pacific
Islanders were less likely to inspect the advertised unit, less likely to inspect similar units,
and were shown fewer units than their white partners. See table below. Note that the net
6
http://soc6.blogspot.com/2010/09/discrimination-in-metropolitan-housing.html
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measure is calculated by subtracting the percent of time the Asian/Pacific Islander was
favored from the percent of time the white tester was favored.
Again, though there is discrimination almost everywhere we look for it, whites
tend not to believe that it exists. For example, one poll found that 60 percent of blacks
believe race was a factor in the federal government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina,
but only 12 percent of whites thought that race was a factor.7 More generally, white are
less likely to believe that discrimination still exists than blacks. In a 2009 nationwide poll
(see below), most blacks (54 percent) did not think that blacks have just as good a chance
as a white person of getting a job, this is compared to only 24 percent of whites that did
not think blacks have just a good a chance.8
7
8
http://soc6.blogspot.com/2010/02/katrina-and-race.html
http://www.pollingreport.com/race.htm
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Or for example, in a national survey conducted in June 2007 it was found that 80 percent
of whites believed that black and white children have an equal chance of success (this is
compared to half of black participants).
We have so far shown that inequality and discrimination still exists, but whites
have a tendency not think that it is not significant. Other types of studies suggest that
most whites may still hold prejudices against blacks, though it is not explicitly stated and
it is not felt as strongly.
If you were to ask whites questions concerning their adherence to stereotypes that
exists of blacks, the majority of whites still seem to believe stereotypes about blacks,
though the character or extremity of stereotyping has changed. A major national survey
carried out in 1990 used a set of questions intended to measure social stereotypes.
Members of each of several social groups were rated as to whether they tended to be rich
or poor, hard working or lazy, intelligent or unintelligent, and so on. Respondents used
bipolar scales to rate traits. For example, respondents might have been asked, “on a scale
of 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely unintelligent and 7 is extremely intelligent, where would
you rate blacks? White Americans rated blacks, Hispanics, and Asians as less intelligent,
more violence prone, lazier, less patriotic, and more likely to prefer living off welfare
than whites.
Some 56 percent of whites rated blacks as less intelligent than whites. About 59
percent of whites rated blacks as more violence prone. About 62 percent of whites rated
blacks as lazier. Fully 78 percent rated blacks as more likely to prefer to live off welfare
than whites. See figure below.
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What these data suggest is that though stereotypes about blacks may have
changed in degree or tendency, most white still seem to hold them. Other research also
suggests that whites may hold implicit prejudices against blacks. If you had a chance to
do the extra credit activity, you know how implicit bias might be measured. What they
are basically measuring is how associated in the brain racial categories are with pleasant
or unpleasant words. Researchers have found that most whites have a preference for
whites. The table below shows results for all those that have taken the implicit
association test on their website, not just whites.
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Now that we have described racial and ethnic inequality, discrimination, and
prejudice, in the next section, I want to spend some time theorizing about thinking about
the discrimination and racism that exists today.
Laissez Faire Racism
Lawrence Bobo and his colleagues theorize about a new kind of racism they call
laissez faire racism. Bobo et al. claim that a new kind of racism begins to emerge after
World War II. Though they see racism as diminishing, they also argue that it has taken on
a new shape. Just as the old Jim Crow racism was the socially acceptable racism of that
era, laissez faire racism is now the socially acceptable racism of the post-Civil Rights era.
Hopefully you have had a chance to read the article.9
Let’s discuss this article by doing a comparison of Jim Crow racism with laissez
faire racism. First let’s describe Jim Crow racism. This is the kind of racism that emerged
9
http://soc6.blogspot.com/2010/09/laissez-faire-racism-crystallization-of_26.html
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in the South after Reconstruction ending with the Civil Rights Movement. As most of
you know from your history classes, Jim Crow refers to the policy of racial segregation
that existed during that time—segregated schools, restaurants, busses, and so on. There
are several other features of the Jim Crow South that Bobo et al. discuss. First, the state
not only mandated segregation, they played an important role in sustaining discrimination
by not seriously enforcing the existing anti-discrimination laws. The state was firmly on
the side of whites and provided little real protection for blacks from discrimination.
Second, prejudice and discrimination was overt. There was little attempt to hide
one’s racial prejudices. The expression of racist beliefs and acting in racist ways was
socially acceptable. Third, the socio-economic disadvantage experienced by blacks was
thought to be due to their biological inferiority. Blacks were seen as biologically less
intelligent. The differential treatment of blacks by whites was seen as justified because of
the biological inferiority of blacks. Fourth, Bobo et al. argue that Jim Crow racism was
the kind of racism that met the needs of a segment of the economic elite—the planter
elite. They claim that the type of racism that existed during the era of Jim Crow reflected
the economic conditions of that time. The planter elite, those that profited from cotton
farming, needed a super-exploited group of people. Jim Crow racism—segregation, overt
discrimination, the belief in biological inferiority—helped to support this system of
super-exploitation.10
Now let’s compare Jim Crow racism to laissez faire racism. According to Bobo et
al., laissez faire racism is the new kind of racism that has replaced Jim Crow racism.
10
As a footnote, the government’s present policy concerning undocumented Hispanic workers might
similarly reflect the needs of a particular group of economic stakeholders—those that profit from the
exploitation of undocumented workers. Given their undocumented status, they are more easily
discriminated against and exploited.
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Racism has not disappeared—it has transformed. Just as Jim Crow racism was socially
acceptable during that time, laissez faire racism is the socially acceptable kind today.
Let’s discuss some of the features of laissez faire racism.
First, segregation is no longer legal and charges of discrimination are taken
seriously by the state. The state is now firmly on the side of blacks. This is a very
significant transformation. Because the state is now on the side of blacks, many whites
are opposed to government intrusion. This strong protection of the rights of minorities
has led to charges of reverse discrimination by some whites, and sometimes, whites are
successful, as in the case of the New Haven firefighters.11
Second, partly due to this change in the state, racist attitudes are no longer
expressed in public. In fact, society no longer tolerates expressions of racial bigotry.12
This is not to say that stereotypes no longer exist and that whites no longer hold
stereotypes about blacks (as we just discussed, whites still do), but that they are much
milder and it is no longer socially acceptable to such express racist beliefs.
Third, Bobo et al. argue that although overt discrimination has virtually
disappeared, covert discrimination continues to exist (as we discussed above). Since
discrimination is now covert, it is nearly impossible to attack. Somewhat ironically, as
societal norms changed to push prejudice underground, that it is now covert makes it
more difficult to combat. Covert discrimination, then, works to sustain the racial
inequality that exists as it makes it more difficult to identify and attack.
11
http://soc6.blogspot.com/2010/03/us-supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-new.html
What happened to Don Imus is a good example of the lack of tolerance for racial bigotry. If you don’t
recall, he got fired from his talk show for using a racial slur.
12
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Fourth, blacks are no longer considered biologically inferior, but now are
considered culturally inferior.13 Blacks, because of their deficient values and attitudes, are
blamed for their disadvantage. They are thought to have created their own disadvantage
by not adopting middle-class values and attitudes. As we discussed, blacks are seen by
whites as lazier, more likely to prefer to live off welfare, more violent, and less intelligent
than whites.
Fifth, there is has been a very significant transformation in attitudes about
segregation, discrimination and equality, at least in principle. Whites’ attitudes toward
blacks have changed considerably in the last sixty years with respect to blacks deserving
the same rights as whites. According to Bobo and Smith,14 if you were to ask whites
questions concerning their support for the principles of racial integration and equality,
you would find that the vast majority of white Americans now believe that blacks deserve
the same rights and opportunities as whites. For example, in 1942, 68 percent of white
Americans favored segregated schools, but only 7 percent took such a position in 1985.
Or for example, in 1944, 55 percent of whites surveyed thought whites should receive
preference over blacks in access to jobs, compared to only 3 percent who offered such an
opinion as long ago as 1972. On both these issues then, majority endorsement of the
principles of segregation and discrimination have given way to overwhelming majority
support for integration and equal treatment.15 So, do whites no longer consider blacks to
13
“In 1942, 53 percent of white Americans nationwide expressed the opinion that blacks were less
intelligent than whites. By 1946, this percentage had declined to 43 percent – a 10 percent drop in only four
years. By 1956, fully 80 percent of whites nationwide rejected the idea that blacks were less intelligent.”
14
http://soc6.blogspot.com/2010/09/laissez-faire-racism-crystallization-of.html
15
“This pattern of movement away from support for Jim Crow toward apparent support for racial
egalitarianism holds with equal force for those questions dealing with issues of residential integration,
access to public transportation and public accommodations, choice among qualified candidates for political
office, and even interracial marriage.”
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be inferior? By looking at the questions that measure support for the principles of racial
integration and equality, it appears that few whites no longer do.
However, Bobo et al. caution us not to confuse support of integration and equality
as actually desiring integration and equality. When whites are asked questions related to
policies that would create more integration and equality, the results told a significantly
different story. When whites were asked about policies that would produce racial
integration and equality, there is much less support. In 1986, for example, only 26 percent
of whites endorsed government efforts to integrate schools. The recent Supreme Court
ruling disallowing some types of race consideration in school districts that attempt to
racially integrate schools suggests that this attitude is becoming more prevalent on the
nation’s highest court. Or for example, in 1972, support for federal efforts to prevent job
discrimination reached only 39 percent.16 On the question of forbidding racial
discrimination in the sale or rental of housing, in 1988, barely 50 percent of the white
Americans endorsed such a law. Though the vast majority of whites endorse integration
and equality in theory, however, most whites seem opposed to policies that would create
a racially integrated and equal society. According to Bobo et al., whites, rather than
desiring equality, simply no longer desire forced group inequality, rather than desiring
integration, simply no longer desire forced segregation.
Sixth, whites tend to perceive American society as fair, as we saw above. Because
whites tend to perceive American society as fair, they tend to oppose policies such as
affirmative action that would help blacks. Bobo et al. argue that whites may feel like they
16
“Likewise in 1976, 88 percent supported the principle that blacks have the right to live wherever they
can afford, yet only 35 percent said the would vote in favor of a law requiring homeowners to sell without
regard to race.”
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will lose something by enactment of affirmative action policies. For example, Proposition
209, which eliminated affirmative action to public colleges, was supported by over 60
percent of Californians. It was opposed by the vast majority of blacks and Hispanics. See
figure below.
Seventh, there is a tendency among whites to deny responsibility for the present
racial inequality and the privileges that are accrued simply by being white. Certainly no
one is personally responsible for the injustices of Jim Crow if they did not live during that
time; however, I think we can talk about a collective responsibility for righting the
wrongs of the past and the present. Also, it may be difficult to understand the privileges
of being white since these privileges are not noticeable until taken away. On the
discussion board, think about the privileges that you have simply by being white.
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Eighth, as the term implies, laissez faire racism relies on the free-market to
sustain the inequality created by hundreds of years of discrimination. Even without
actively discriminating, the free market will operate to sustain the advantages that the
already advantaged have and sustain the disadvantages that the already disadvantaged
have. Most of you have heard of the baseball analogy—though the rules of baseball are
fair, it is unfair to ask someone on first base to score when the other person starts on third
base. As you read about in the Wilson article on the disappearance of work in the inner
city, racist practices of the past that kept blacks trapped in the inner city still have
consequences today. Though racist housing policies are no longer practiced, when the
playing field is made fair, the game is still unfair.
Ninth, according to Bobo et al., whites, given these various characteristics—the
state actively fighting against discrimination, the belief in the decline of racism, the belief
in a free and fair opportunity structure, the belief in the cultural inferiority of blacks, the
denial of responsibility for racial inequality, and the invisibility of privilege, become
comfortable with and accept the present level of racial segregation and inequality.17
Tenth, the decline of cotton production made the Jim Crow system less necessary.
Jim Crow racism was economically necessary for the old planter elite—it facilitated the
exploitation of black agricultural labor. But, as cotton farming became a less important
part of the economy, the structural need for the Jim Crow system lessened. Segregation
and labor market discrimination was less necessary to maintain a super-exploited black
labor pool to work in the cotton fields. As immigration from Europe virtually ended after
World War I, creating a need for factory workers in the North, and with the decline in
cotton production, blacks from the South immigrated to the North in large numbers. This
17
http://www2.edtrust.org/edtrust/summaries2006/USA.pdf
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immigration to the North to work in factories had important consequences. The power
and resources available to black communities was dramatically increased, leading to
tremendous economic and political opportunity for blacks. According to Bobo et al.’s
analysis, the success of the Civil Rights Movement was made possible by the decline of
the cotton economy which made Jim Crow less necessary and which led to the mass
migration and subsequent sudden increase in the political power of blacks.
Laissez faire racism also reflects the economic (structural) conditions of this time.
Overt discrimination reduces the labor pool. To keep blacks out of factory jobs, for the
owners of the factories, means the inability to hire workers for less money, which affects
their bottom line. Equal access, then, for the manufacturing elite and others, serves their
interests better.18 For Bobo et al., racist and antiracist policies can be understood from the
Marxist perspective—both are strategies used by the capitalist elite.
To summarize, Bobo et al., argue that we still live in a racist society, it’s just that
many of us don’t acknowledge it. We know that most whites that lived in the 1950s were
racists, but it is hard for many of us to see our own racism, just as it was hard for whites
in the 1950s to see their racism. To be a good, moral white person was to give preference
to whites and to refuse integration. These days, those ideas are clearly seen as racist.
What ideas do you think, 50 years from now, that we think is acceptable, will be seen as
racist? Also, Bobo et al., argue that we still live in a racist society. Do you agree or
disagree with their assessment? Let’s talk about this question on the discussion board.
18
Some of you may have read in the newspaper a while ago about how immigrant workers were imported
to help rebuild in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Those affected were mostly black construction workers
who demanded a higher wage.
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