Eduardo Bonilla-Silva and Color-Blind Racism

_{Eduardo Bonilla-Silva works as a sociology professor at Duke University and has become very well known in this field for many well-researched, yet controversial, views on the prevalence of racism in our society. His works challenge the color-blind thinking which many Americans demonstrate. The basic idea of color-blindness is that race and racial characteristics should be disregarded when it comes to selecting which people receive certain treatment and rights. Bonilla-Silva, in his book, Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States, contests the theory that we live in a color-blind, non-racist society. He states that a new form of racism has taken hold, that color-blind racism emerged as a racial ideology in the late 1960s. This color-blind racism is institutionalized and structured in today’s society. And while most Americans would never admit to having discriminatory ideas against an entire race of human beings, they endorse a system which accepts this color-blind racism. They participate in this structured system, and unless we, as a society, work to end this mentality, racism will remain a staple in our country. Using examples and much data, Bonilla-Silva, for the most part, crafts a logical argument. And while he oversimplifies and generalizes some aspects of that argument, his words are definitely worth consideration and respect. As an author, Bonilla-Silva does not hide or mask his thoughts and is very open with his theoretical assumptions. He holds these notions to be fact and is willing to defend them. This was a thoroughly enjoyable and eye-opening book which espouses many interesting ideas and concepts.}

_{The simplified concept which Bonilla-Silva believes is that racism is a structural problem, rather than a problem of internalized belief. Generally, whites have always viewed racism as solely prejudice while people of color also see it as part of the system. This is an extremely important divide in race relations in the United States. Bonilla-Silva subscribes to the same belief that most sociologists hold: that the idea of race is a socially constructed category. However, he goes on to say that while race is a constructed category, the separation of people into these different groups has real-world effects on these created groups as a byproduct. The racial structure of our country, as in many countries, is one which leads to there being a dominant race. In the United States, that race is white. The reason for this is that this nation was founded by states of Europe, where the structure of white, European dominance had existed for some time. White America has segregated, separated, and isolated Americans by race, and the disproportionate effects of this unequal distribution of wealth, access, and resources has shaped the dynamics of poverty and inequal opportunity to this day. It stands to reason that humans should have evolved to think beyond the category of race, as it is a divide which makes no logical sense, but unfortunately we have not. Bonilla-Silva maintains that the reason the concept of race still exists and that the reason inequality still exists is because they serve to benefit the dominant race. And in order to preserve this system, whites have come up with explanations for current inequality. This allows them to justify why the structure is as it is, and rids them of responsibility for the inequality. A method by which they do this is by using four core frames of color-blind racism by which they are able to form arguments to explain racial issues and controversies.}

 

_{The four central frames of color-blind racism used by whites are abstract liberalism, naturalization, cultural racism, and minimization of racism. These frames create a solid, yet flexible, wall that permits the current racial reality to go uncontested. They create the situation where the current inequality is almost a taboo subject, but can be easily justified if challenged. The frames are used in combinations and are more subtle than what most would consider racism.}

 

_{The first frame which shall be discussed is that of abstract liberalism. The frame of abstract liberalism involves using ideas associated with political liberalism and economic liberalism in an abstract manner to explain racial matters.” (Bonilla-Silva, 28) The basic foundation with this frame is that we live in a society of equal-opportunity and that each person has the right and responsibility to make their own choices. This allows whites to justify opposition to any policy which might provide, what they consider, preferential treatment of certain groups. In many cases, the system ignores the fact that blacks and other minorities represent a dramatic under-representation in good jobs, schools, communities, and universities. This society seems to operate under the delusion that everybody is born and raised on an equal-footing. But this is an utter fallacy. Logically, it makes sense that the events of the past few centuries are in many ways responsible for the situation many colored-people find themselves in currently. The disadvantages that existed a hundred years ago for non-whites still remain, albeit to a lesser extent. A cycle has formed which creates the situation where each generation passes many of its same disadvantages on to the next generation. A kid who grows up in a poor community and goes to a poor school cannot be expected to gain the same education as their more well-off counterpart. Less education for people leads to less job opportunities which leads to tremendous financial burden. Then their children face the exact same situation that they did. It’s a perpetual phenomena that represents a heartbreaking travesty. A simple example can be given which illustrates why the idea of equal-opportunity does not exist. It’s like if two people were racing and one of the racers was given a mile head-start. Should the other racer seriously be expected to catch up? No, because it’s not an equal race. And when he cannot catch up, people pretend like no head-start was given, and then some are even so bold as to blame him for not putting enough effort into the race. While this might be an oversimplification of a complex issue, the metaphor does paint a picture of what the situation is in this current system. And this belief of everybody having equal-opportunity has led to stagnancy with racial progress. It has become a political issue and is responsible for a lack of any action taking place.}

 

_{The second frame which will be discussed is that of naturalization. “Naturalization is a frame that allows whites to explain away racial phenomena by suggesting they are natural occurrences.” (Bonilla-Silva, 28) This is why many whites believe that segregation in and between communities and school is not a problem. They believe that it’s a natural event because people just like to be with people who are like them. By this philosophy, people can justify segregation, as well as justify using race as a determining factor with relationships. But social scientists have documented that racial considerations affect these issues greatly. Segregation and racial preferences are both produced through social processes. They are created by society. And this system of justifying racial stratification as a natural occurrence only works to keep the status quo with whites as the dominant race, remaining above and separated from their fellow man.}

 

_{The third frame to be discussed is that of cultural racism. Cultural racism is a frame that relies on culturally based arguments such as ‘Mexicans do not put much emphasis on education’ or ‘blacks have too many babies’ to explain the standing of minorities in society.” (Bonilla-Silva, 28) At the core of cultural racism is the belief that cultural differences rather than biological markers are determinants of racial superiority or inferiority. But this belief represents many sweeping generalizations as well as a lack of effort to understand the true causes of many of these issues. Bonilla-Silva argues that this is a classic example of blaming the victim. Cultural racism allows whites to argue that colored-people have only themselves to blame for their standing in society. The institutional effects of discrimination in the labor, housing, and educational markets are completely ignored. This failure to recognize the disadvantage that many non-whites face is actually representative of most whites. This is where so many stereotypes come from. These negative stereotypes of colored-people being lazy or stupid are based off an understanding by many whites that these people are culturally deficient. And they generalize sociological problems of poverty or crime as being part of a culture, rather than products of inequality. Possibly the worst part of this is that this system has become almost a self-fulfilling prophecy, with many colored-people adapting the identity that they have been given by the dominant race.}

 

_{The last frame to be discussed is that of minimization of racism. “Minimization of racism is a frame that suggests discrimination is no longer a central factor affecting minorities’ life chances.” (Bonilla-Silva, 29) This idea does not suggest that discrimination no longer exists, but that it no longer plays any hindering role for non-whites and that it just “isn’t a big deal.” Most whites do not look at discrimination as a main factor in the collective standing of the subordinate races. But a disparity exists with this. When blacks were asked, 60.5 percent said that present day discrimination is the reason blacks are in the position they are in, while only 32.9 percent of whites took that stance. This is because whites can choose to ignore discrimination when it does exist, often by referring to it as an isolated incident that is not indicative of a white consensus. But as a race which has never faced this kind of discrimination, are whites really in any position to accuse blacks of being hypersensitive? There is a lack of understanding among the white community about contemporary discrimination and so little effort is being made in this community to gain that understanding.}

 

_{As the racial structure has changed, so has the style by which we approach and discuss the topic. There now exists a style of color-blind racism. “The style of an ideology refers to its peculiar linguistic manners and rhetorical strategies.” (Bonilla-Silva, 53) A certain language has been created in our “color-blind society”, a language which serves to mask true beliefs and thoughts. It allows whites to protect themselves from being judged as racists. They use these tools in an attempt to mend racial tensions and maintain a color-blind image. However, Bonilla-Silva argues that the language that has come around is one for public, while much of the old race-language is still used in private. Being designated as a racist is a great fear among most whites, so an open-minded public image is essential. So they uses different phrases and words by which they can cushion something race-related they are about to say or to work as a buffer to keep focus off of themselves. One method by which this is done is when whites use diminutives in order to sugar-coat what they are actually saying. So while the language has become milder, the meaning behind what is said really has not changed that much.}

_{An important part of race-relations is that of people telling stories on racial matters in contemporary America. The way these stories are told, their content, and the ideological function of the story are all important factors. The media serves to reinforce the stories that are told, while ignoring other viewpoints. These stories can be broken into story lines, and testimonies.}

 

_{Story lines are tales that lack much narrative content and are impersonal. Usually the speaker and listener share a common viewpoint which makes these stories seem factual which leads to a strengthening of their beliefs. Common story telling includes the “I didn’t own any slaves” story line and “The past is the past” story line. These both serve to separate people from the discrimination of the past. They argue that what happened, happened. By placing it in the past, whites can justify not working to aid non-whites. They argue that it is something that it’s something that does not matter anymore because current blacks were not affected by a lot of it, and most current whites were not responsible for it. But this is simply a way of pretending that it did not happen, and inequality will remain as long we think of discrimination as something that doesn’t pertain to us. Another story line which is often used is that of people arguing that blacks have no excuse for social and economic inequality because other ethnic groups throughout American history have made it successfully to equality. This argument ignores the fact that blacks were at a greater disadvantage because they were involuntarily forced to come to this continent and work for nothing. The situations of different ethnic minorities cannot be compared because each ethnicity had to work from its own position, which varied. One last story line that is used is blaming reverse-discrimination for not getting some reward. Whites will use it for an excuse as to why they did not get a job or admitted to a university. While these claims are often constructs of the person’s mind and have no basis in fact, they allow white people to blame somebody else for their own shortcomings. It creates a scapegoat.}

 

_{Testimonies are an important form of story-telling. Testimonies are actual accounts in which the narrator is directly involved in the story or extremely close to it. Since they are more personal, they garner more sympathy and can be used as a great justification for a specific belief. Testimonies could be broken up into categories: positive interactions with blacks, negative interactions with blacks, stories of disclosure of someone close who is racist, and other stories. Disclosing the racism of someone close is a way for whites to present themselves in a better light. The stories of positive interactions with blacks are in many cases another way for whites to makes themselves look better. These positive stories serve to paint the image of the person as one who is open-minded and has blacks in their life. The stories of bad experiences are simply used as added evidence for why a person feels the way they do about the other race. These testimonies are often just recollections which are used to validate a claim to color-blindness.}

 

_{Bonilla-Silva addresses the issues of the consequences of this new racism, as well as working to overcome color-blind racism. As it has been stated, the current state of racial stratification in this country is largely cyclical. If the conditions and general beliefs of people don’t change, then no positive change will occur. This is further complicated by the growing diversity within America. Bonilla-Silva predicts that this will lead to a triracial order in the United States. This order will be made of of “whites”, “honorary whites”, and “collective black.” He argues that this system will lead to a stronger white supremacy. In a color-blind society, the issues of race are never settled and racial equality will never exist. If this continues, his belief is that America will come to a point where race is not talked about altogether, and fight against racial inequality will weaken. The “honorary whites” will serve as a buffer in order to prevent racial conflict. This is the future that Bonilla-Silva envisions should the ideology of color-blindness not change. His argument is that equal-opportunity between races is something that cannot exist until we give up our color-blind society. This cannot continue to be a taboo subject. The way that people think must change. The system has to change. Whites need to realize that institutionalized racism exists and it works to provide preferential treatment for their dominant race.}