Despite popular notions that the U.S. is now \u201cpost-racial,\u201d numerous recent events (such as the Rachel Dolezal kerfuffle and the Emmanuel AME Church shooting) have clearly showcased how race and racism continue to play a central role in the functioning of contemporary American society. But why is it that public rhetoric is at such odds with social reality?<\/p>\n
A qualitative\u00a0study<\/a> by sociologists Natasha Warikoo and Janine de Novais provides insights. By conducting interviews with 47 white students at two elite universities, they\u00a0explore the \u201clenses through which individuals understand the role of race in society.\u201d Described as race frames<\/i>, Warikoo and de Novais articulate two ways in which their respondents rely on particular cultural frames in making sense of race and race relations.<\/p>\n Integral to Warikoo and de Novais\u2019 study is the finding that about half of their student respondents simultaneously<\/i> house both the color-blind and diversity frames. Of 24 students who held a color-blind frame, 23 also promoted a diversity frame. Warikoo and de Novais explain this discursive discordance as a product of the environments in which respondents reside: a pre-college environment where race is typically de-emphasized and a college environment that amplifies the importance of diversity and multiculturalism.<\/p>\n Importantly, Warikoo and de Novais argue that the salience of these two co-occurring race frames is significant not only because of their seeming contradictions, but because they share conceptions of race that largely ignore a structural frame<\/em>: the idea that social structures are an important source\u00a0of racism and racial inequality in the U.S. Ultimately, Warikoo and de Novais\u2019 findings illustrate the general ambivalence that their white respondents share about race and race-based issues \u2014 undoubtedly reflective of the discrepancies concerning race in broader society.<\/p>\n Cross-posted at Discoveries<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n