Exam 4: Contemporary Racial Framing: White Americans

Symbolic racism refers to whites combining the notion of declining overt racism with the idea that blacks are now making illegitimate demands for societal changes.

How does symbolic racism play down the continuing reality of more overt and blatant racist framing?

Discuss Lincoln Quillian's suggestion that most contemporary whites, like earlier whites, reconcile the continuing reality of great racial inequality with beliefs about little discrimination by blaming people of color for lack of effort.

You and your classmates are discussing racial prejudice. One of them argues that racial prejudice is a "type of psychological abnormality." Others agree and suggest that from a psychological viewpoint, those who are racially prejudiced are seriously "sick" individuals. Drawing on the section of Chapter 4 titled, "Fostering and Learning Racist Attitudes," explain to them the errors in their thinking. Tell your classmates about social conformity and optimistic robots.

In their research sociologists ________________ and ________________ have developed the concept of gendered racism to accent the intersectional reality.

Racist attitudes and images are constantly available to virtually all whites, including the very young, by means of:

What is affirmative action, really?

In a 1990s study, James Rada examined televised pro-football games on major networks and found all the following EXCEPT:

Explain the white-racist stereotype and imagery of the "dangerous" black man in terms of the following elements of the white racial frame: i. beliefs aspect (racial stereotypes and ideologies) ii. integrating cognitive elements (racial interpretations and narratives) iii. visual and auditory elements (racialized images and language accents) iv. "feelings" aspect (racialized emotions) v. inclination to action (to discriminate) vi. strong positive orientation to whites and whiteness (the pro-white subframe) vii. the strong negative orientation to racial "others" who are exploited and oppressed (anti-others subframes)

In the 1960s, a majority of white respondents polled said they were not committed to substantial federal interventions to implement voting rights law or fair employment practices law.

In contrast to the negative framing of black women by whites is the reality of black women's creativity and, as __________ put it, their subtle resistance and "coping mechanisms that act as protective barriers" against life's stresses.

One-quarter or less of white Americans agree that black Americans today face significant racial discrimination in the institutional areas where black Americans report such discrimination.

Significant research shows that most children are colorblind.

Describe Joe Feagin's and Leslie Picca's findings regarding whites-only backstage settings.

Describe how sports studies have highlighted the varied, often negative stereotypes of black men, but typically have revealed very positive stereotypes of white male virtue and superiority.

Imagine if similar antiracist strategies, like the "Indigenization strategy" described in the preceding question, were fully adopted at historically white U.S. colleges and universities. Imagine, for example, a statement such as the following from a university's faculty Senate. How might such educational strategies challenge social alexithymia? Our institution was funded by profits from the enslavement of African and African descended people and related industries. Their suffering has long benefitted all who study, teach, and research here. Black people played a pivotal role in bringing our institution into existence. We believe that as a post-secondary institution, therefore, we must provide an excellent academic experience which is also grounded in the history in which it is located. This means providing our students with an understanding of that history and its links to contemporary systemic racism. This knowledge will help our students to understand the contributions Black people have made to our campus, to our country, and indeed to our world, and prepare them to engage in a society where reconciliation with African Americans is an important reality. The University Senate has recommended that African American content be taught in required courses for all our students-America's future educators, lawyers, business and political leaders, scientists, health care professionals, social workers, public and private sector employees, among others. In short, in order for white reconciliation with African Americans to be begin, everyone in the U.S.-especially white Americans-and including every student at our institution, should be helped to learn a baseline of knowledge about African American history and to discuss critically centuries of white racialized power and privilege.

All the following statements are true regarding whites compared to blacks, EXCEPT:

In recent decades, opinion surveys of whites indicate that the majority do not believe there is widespread racial discrimination, and thus do not believe that governments should actively intervene to secure further racial equality.

Commonly, a majority of whites have estimated that black Americans make up at least 30 percent of the U.S. population, nearly two-and-a-half times their actual percentage. Explain the significance of white survey respondents' substantial overestimation of the size and proportion of the black population.

A 1930s Roper poll reported that one in ten respondents thought blacks should be kept out of white residential areas.