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‘Every Work of American Literature Is About Race’: Writers on How We Got Here

Amid the most profound social upheaval since the 1960s, these novelists, historians, poets, comedians and activists take a moment to look back to the literature.

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Compiled by Lauren Christensen

Almost 100 years ago, responding to the public outcry over the violent drowning of a Black boy by a white mob at a public beach on Lake Michigan, a citywide (multiracial but white-led) commission published “The Negro in Chicago: A Study of Race Relations and a Race Riot.”

“Centuries of the Negro slave trade and of slavery as an institution … placed a stamp upon the relations of the two races which it will require many years to erase,” the nearly 700-page 1922 report began. “The past is of value only as it aids in understanding the present; and an understanding of the facts of the problem … is the first step toward its solution.”

As protests spread across America once more, bringing to front pages and the forefronts of our minds ugly truths about our country that shouldn’t have been forgotten in the first place, we turn again to the written record, to the literature. In an effort to deepen our understanding of race and racism in America, we asked writers to share with us the texts that have done the most to deepen theirs. Together these histories, novels and verses have helped shape our collective consciousness of a subject that is irreducible, and universal.

Gabriel Bump, novelist

Appreciating social movements in hindsight is a complicated endeavor. Leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Harriet Tubman are often whitewashed to appease modern sensibilities. Some, like Bayard Rustin , are almost forgotten entirely.

I came across John D’Emilio’s LOST PROPHET (2003) by chance, in my local bookstore in college. I don’t often take notes while reading for pleasure, but this time I made a detailed index on the back flap, marking pages and lines I wanted to save for future reference.

For example, did you know Rustin introduced Gandhian tactics of nonviolent protest to Dr. King? Did you know he helped organize the first Freedom Rides, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a boycott of segregated New York City public schools?

As a young Black man with a temper, I credit Rustin with strengthening my faith in pacifism. He was a Black queer Quaker from Pennsylvania who went to jail for his sexuality and his refusal to fight in American wars. When I myself came face to face with armored cops a few weeks ago, I felt a powerful calm. I didn’t want to lash out. I wanted them to look me in the eye and see I wasn’t afraid; I wasn’t going to move. They could attack me, arrest me, shoot me with gas and rubber, and still, I wasn’t going to move.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, novelist and essayist

UNEXAMPLED COURAGE (2019), by Richard Gergel, is a remarkable book. In clear and elegant prose, Gergel — a United States district judge in South Carolina — strips legal cases of jargon and presents them as what they essentially are: human drama. The result is intellectually and emotionally satisfying. The author’s loving admiration of Judge J. Waties Waring — who descended from slave-owning Confederates, but turned his back on “the doctrine of white supremacy” in his courtroom — is obvious, but the evidence for it is rendered so dispassionately that it feels apt. As I finished it I felt deeply moved all around, but mostly by the incredible courage of the ordinary Black Americans in the 1951 Briggs v. Elliott case, over school segregation. Meticulously researched and full of heart, this book is important at this time when the United States is confronting its ever-present past.

Clint Smith, poet

Ira Katznelson’s WHEN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION WAS WHITE (2005) was one of the first books that helped me concretely understand how racism was embedded into federal policy. In my American history classes growing up, the New Deal had been celebrated as the great catalyst of intergenerational opportunity and wealth for millions across the country. And it was. What I had not been taught, however, was how New Deal legislation was intentionally crafted to prevent millions of Black Americans from having access to its benefits. As Katznelson outlines, in the 1930s, 75 percent of Black workers in the South were employed as either maids or farmworkers. People in those professions were excluded for decades from social programs that set the minimum wage, regulated work hours, created labor unions and Social Security — which is to say, the programs that were the economic bedrock for millions of White Americans.

Sandra Cisneros, novelist

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES (2014) helped me clarify my place in this country. It confirmed what had been told to me by my ancestors: that Indigenous peoples, from the North Pole to the South, have been here since before the world was known as round. As a conquering nation, the United States has rewritten history to make people of the U.S. forget our past as natives to this land. This is especially apparent in the Mexi-phobic, immigrant-phobic policies of our time.

If every politician were to read and understand this book — which should be required in every high school curriculum — we would have a reconsideration of our current border policies and our practice of detaining human beings in cages. Our present is made of a past of genocide and colonialism. This book is necessary reading if we are to move into a more humane future.

Reginald Dwayne Betts, poet

Right now I’m rereading Marlon James’s BLACK LEOPARD, RED WOLF (2019). Wild that fantasy is where I turn to think about race and these states. But the book’s first line, “The child is dead,” begins all our troubles these days. George Floyd, still his mother’s son, calling for her with his last breath. James’s book follows in the tradition of Octavia Butler and Toni Morrison: In his world, like our own, everyone is complicit. A few pages in, I remember that the one telling us what has happened is in a cell — death and prison, aren’t these the sources of this nation’s discontent? Name a story more American than that. And still, the story gives me hope. On the first page is tragedy; the next 600 explore, challenge and critique an encyclopedia of phobias and isms, in language so rich and a story so compelling that you aren’t even aware the reading is making you wiser until it already has.

Desus Nice & The Kid Mero, late night co-hosts and authors

Desus: As a child, I attended a program for extremely gifted children. We were so advanced we read Richard Wright’s BLACK BOY (1945) in third grade. I still have my copy and it’s in shambles, because that became my favorite book. The vivid description of Richard’s life in the South fascinated me — and, as a young boy in the Bronx, I could still relate. His depiction of racist situations, and being called the “N-word,” hit me; because at that age I too had already been called the “N-word.” That book showed me Black people have been going through the struggles I’d been going through forever.

Mero: I read TO BE A SLAVE (1968), by Julius Lester , illustrated by Tom Feelings, in around seventh grade. My teacher, shout-out to Mr. Adeghe, was from Ghana and very passionate. All the “American History” classes I took prior to that were all about Pilgrims and Native Americans shaking hands and eating turkey. This book was like a nuclear bomb of knowledge that made me connect even more with my Afro-Latino identity and roots.

Jill Leovy, journalist

For understanding the Jim Crow South, I always recommend AFTER FREEDOM (1939), based on the anthropologist Hortense Powdermaker ’s hard-won observations in Mississippi and the best of the great fieldwork studies from that era. Less often read, although it ought to be more, is Mark Schultz’s THE RURAL FACE OF WHITE SUPREMACY: Beyond Jim Crow (2005). Schultz spent years on this oral history project, capturing the fascinating personal stories of elderly black and white residents of a Georgia county who spoke candidly about race relations in the first half of the 20th century. For contemporary inner-city politics and violence issues, check out Cid Martinez’s THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAS ITS OWN RULES (2016), an astute analysis of activist politics in Los Angeles. Although it is not about America, INFORMAL JUSTICE IN DIVIDED SOCIETIES (2002), by Colin Knox and Rachel Monaghan, helped me place our domestic race issues in a global context. Americans tend to view this country’s racial situation as singular and distinct, but in the streets of Watts ring echoes of Belfast and Cape Town.

Darryl Pinckney, novelist and essayist

Among the books I have gone back to in this historic moment are: DARKWATER: Voices From Within the Veil (1920), by W.E.B. Du Bois, because of his thoughtful insights 100 years ago into the very matters that now call people into the streets at some risk; and DARKNESS OVER GERMANY: A Warning From History (1943), by E. Amy Buller, because of what she tells us about the mass psychology of fascism.

Tressie McMillan Cottom, sociologist and essayist

Race is a living, breathing thing that morphs across time and context and even our own understanding; so the most important books that have shaped my understanding of race are tied to who I was at the time that I read them. The list will change as I change, and that is as it should be.

I read Anne Moody’s COMING OF AGE IN MISSISSIPPI (1969) as a child, before I knew what memoir was. But still the book resonated with me, as I already understood what it meant to be a Black girl in a world where race and gender circumscribed who we could become. As a young adult, I read A FINE BALANCE (1996), by Rohinton Mistry, and for the first time understood that racism in the United States has genealogies other than the global slave trade. (I immediately signed up for courses on South Asian studies at my historically Black college.) As an adult, I think of Derrick Bell’s science-fiction story THE SPACE TRADERS (1992) at least once a week, mostly wishing everyone else had also read it so that we could stop reliving its message. Finally, there is no book more important to understanding the underpinnings of race, racism and uprisings right now than a new book by William A. Darity Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen, FROM HERE TO EQUALITY (2020). Part history and part social policy, it takes economic reparations for Black Americans seriously. I wish we could say the same for America.

Henry Louis Gates Jr., historian and literary critic

Few reading experiences on the history of race in America have been as profound for me as the works of Eric Foner. From RECONSTRUCTION (1988), his definitive study of the era, to last year’s tour de force on the trio of constitutional amendments that established THE SECOND FOUNDING after the Civil War, no one has done more since W.E.B. Du Bois’s BLACK RECONSTRUCTION IN AMERICA (1935) to refute the racist fabrications of previous generations of Lost Cause “scholars.” In rescuing the facts about the promise and violent overthrow of our country’s most thrilling experiment in interracial democracy, Foner has proved that no one set of historians has the final word. “The slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery,” Du Bois wrote — succinctly, poetically and so very sadly — of the period of Reconstruction’s nakedly racist rollback (perversely named “Redemption”) that ushered in nearly a century of Jim Crow.

I’m also inspired by a new generation of scholars — from Kimberlé Crenshaw’s CRITICAL RACE THEORY (1995) to Martha Jones’s VANGUARD (2020) — who are shining a light on this crucial chapter in our story, pointing out its harbingers in earlier efforts to circumvent the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments (especially voter suppression). As dark and unsettling forces attempt to roll back the gains of what historians sometimes call “The Second Reconstruction” of the 1960s, and as tyrannical impulses seek to curtail our most foundational and sacred constitutional rights, let us look to these examples of great scholarship, which preserve the noble tale of the triumphant determination of black people to rise undiminished out of the ashes of racial repression, violence and lynching.

Danzy Senna, novelist

Every work of American literature is about race, whether the writer knows it or not. That said, these are some nonfiction books that have given me necessary tools to think about our culture. In college I read both bell hooks ’s BLACK LOOKS (1992) and Donald Bogle’s TOMS, COONS, MULATTOES, MAMMIES & BUCKS (1973), and was never the same. Toni Morrison’s PLAYING IN THE DARK (1992) is utter genius, revealing through literary analysis how whiteness doesn’t exist without blackness. Nella Larsen ’s QUICKSAND (1928) and PASSING (1929), both published during the Harlem Renaissance, feel just as contemporary and lucid today in their portrayal of mixed-race women and the perils of white passing. More recently, I have been enamored by the brilliance of both Hilton Als’s WHITE GIRLS (2013) and Margo Jefferson’s NEGROLAND (2015) .

Mitchell Duneier, sociologist

Gunnar Myrdal’s massive sociological study AN AMERICAN DILEMMA (1944) saw “the Negro problem” as something that could never be understood through data about black living conditions alone, but as a phenomenon of the majority’s power. It was a moral situation in which conflicting values were held both within the white population and, importantly, within white individuals themselves.

If change did not come about, Myrdal predicted uprisings. “America can never more regard its Negroes as a patient, submissive minority,” he writes. “They will organize for defense and offense. … They have the advantage that they can fight wholeheartedly.”

Myrdal perceptively noted that the average white Northerner did not understand racism as something in which he or she was taking part every day. But he also argued that whites were deeply troubled by the contradiction between their egalitarian principles and their attitude toward black citizens. This was the “American dilemma.”

There is much value in this big book, but even more to be learned today from Myrdal’s naïveté. By the time of the civil rights movement, it had become clear to a new generation of critics that the whites Myrdal had interviewed — perhaps like many today who are rushing to issue public statements or participating in multiracial rallies — were still perfectly capable of compartmentalizing words and deeds, living with moral dissonance.

Valeria Luiselli, novelist and essayist

So-called third-world problems — hunger, poverty, violence — are often explained as a result of particular “political cultures” endemic to specific nations. But while partly true, that narrative is also reductionist. All countries interact with other countries, and most “developing” nations have to sustain unequal relations with larger powers that systematically abuse them through military interventions, economic sanctions or unequal treatises. The borderlands between Mexico and the United States are a clear and poignant example of this interrelatedness. In THE FEMICIDE MACHINE (2012), Sergio González Rodríguez focuses on Ciudad Juárez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, where the rate of femicides started escalating drastically in the early 1990s, after decades of mutually accorded industrialization programs that resulted in NAFTA. “The Femicide Machine” discusses the politics of killing women for being women not within the oversimplifying framework of Mexican culture alone, but as a result of the economic interactions between Mexico and the U.S., and the geopolitical conditions that fuel them.

Eddie S. Glaude Jr., professor

I find myself these days reaching for James Baldwin’s NO NAME IN THE STREET (1972), his first book after Dr. King’s assassination, which broke him. Shadowed by grief and trauma, this memoir is as fragmented as Baldwin’s memories. “Much, much, much has been blotted out,” he writes, “coming back only lately in bewildering and untrustworthy flashes.” The book is also Baldwin’s attempt to come to terms with America’s latest betrayal of Black people, and his effort to muster the energy and the faith to keep fighting — to give Black people the language to keep fighting. The prose is angry, because Baldwin is profoundly wounded. If “The Fire Next Time” (1963) was prophetic, “No Name in the Street” was the reckoning.

Albert Woodfox, activist

I read THE NATURE OF PREJUDICE (1954), by Gordon W. Allport, sometime in the ’70s, while I was in prison. This book had the greatest impact on my ability to understand the difference between prejudice and racism. Prejudice is a normal reaction to the unknown. Racism is a premeditated sickness.

Kerri Greenidge, historian

Harriet Jacobs’s INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL (1861), for its sophisticated critique of slavery, 19th-century feminism and the gendered nature of white supremacy. Paula Giddings’s WHEN AND WHERE I ENTER (1984), for the groundbreaking nature of her research, and because in the post-Kerner Commission era, when black women were blamed for “the state of the black family” and stereotyped as “welfare queens,” Giddings provided historical context for understanding the black women I knew as a child. Robin D.G. Kelley’s HAMMER AND HOE (1990) managed to contextualize black radical politics within a rural, Southern and Marxist framework, challenging the liberal argument that civil rights was concerned only with integrated lunch counters, not the dismantling of global racial capitalism.

Carol Anderson, historian

Jesmyn Ward’s SING, UNBURIED, SING (2017); Isabel Wilkerson’s THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS (2010); Kiese Laymon’s HEAVY (2018); David Oshinsky’s WORSE THAN SLAVERY (1996); Claudia Rankine’s CITIZEN (2014); J. Mills Thornton’s DIVIDING LINES (2002); John W. Dower’s WAR WITHOUT MERCY (1986); Patrick Phillips’s BLOOD AT THE ROOT (2016); Françoise Hamlin’s CROSSROADS AT CLARKSDALE (2012); Joshua Bloom and Waldo E. Martin Jr.’s BLACK AGAINST EMPIRE (2013).

Each speaks, in some way, to the power of racism, and sometimes just sheer, raw, unadulterated anti-blackness, in destroying millions upon millions of lives. Each also lays out the power of the refusal to accept subjugation. And that the subsequent and ongoing battles between anti-blackness and freedom are messy.

Morgan Jerkins, essayist and memoirist

TELL MY HORSE: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica (1938), by Zora Neale Hurston (1938): Determined to tell the stories of Black people outside of distant, scientific analysis, Hurston writes of her experiences of spiritual practices in these two Caribbean nations.

SING, UNBURIED, SING, by Jesmyn Ward: This is one of the best novels I’ve ever read. Set in Mississippi, it involves an odyssey to the notorious Parchman Farm penitentiary to pick up a lover; a ghost who haunts an elderly former inmate at said prison; and a young boy who observes it all.

MINOR FEELINGS (2020), by Cathy Park Hong: This wonderfully crafted essay collection is a necessary read for those who want to understand Asian-American experiences — as well as immigration and migration, intergenerational trauma and even anti-Blackness.

THICK (2019), by Tressie McMillan Cottom: In her second book, the sociologist, a savant and wordsmith, addresses the intersections of race, gender and class with enviable grace and confidence.

CANNIBAL (2016), by Safiya Sinclair: One of my favorite poetry collections. Sinclair covers so much ground: her Jamaican background, spirituality, womanhood, America, race relations. She laces words together in a beautiful tapestry, full of history, life, death and, most of all, renewal.

Natalie Diaz, poet

Reading is a way of practicing the imagination necessary to broaden our capacities to understand ourselves and others. These four books constellate conversations that have long been held separate from one another, lest their accumulation create an energy perilous to the colony: Simone Browne’s DARK MATTERS (2017), Dina Gilio-Whitaker’s AS LONG AS GRASS GROWS (2019), Dolores Dorantes’s STYLE (2016) and Mahmoud Darwish’s JOURNAL OF AN ORDINARY GRIEF (1973). Each book exists separately within its own conditions, while taking on exponential meaning in relation to one another.

David Treuer, novelist and historian

BELOVED (1987), by Toni Morrison: I read this when I was 19. No book, no matter the intelligence behind it, can put the reader into the position of unfreedom in which African-Americans lived as enslaved people. Morrison, I think, knew this. What “Beloved” taught me to see and to feel was what it might be like to have the things we think of as universally human — in this case, a mother’s love for her children — twisted and deformed by the institution and experience of slavery.

CUSTER DIED FOR YOUR SINS (1969): In this essay collection, the lawyer and activist Vine Deloria Jr. shouts, chides, teases and preaches about the pain and absurdity of being Native American in a modern world.

NOTES OF A NATIVE SON (1958), by James Baldwin: No other writer has written as lucidly, powerfully and productively about what it means to be black in America — and, as a result, what this country means.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE (1967), by Gabriel García Márquez: Billed as a Latin American fantasy, the Colombian-Mexican author’s magical-realist epic is as much an American fantasy, about the lives caught in the web of 19th- and 20th-century colonialism.

Thomas Chatterton Williams, memoirist and critic

There are several dozen books explicitly about race in America that have left lifelong marks on me, but only two have reversed the course of my own thought. The first is Albert Murray ’s THE OMNI-AMERICANS (1970). Murray’s argument is simple but profound: America is a mongrel nation, both culturally and in its DNA. Though we may come up with all kinds of methods to obscure this basic truth, “any fool can see,” he writes, “that the white people are not really white, and that black people are not black.”

The second is RACECRAFT (2012), by Barbara J. Fields and Karen Elise Fields. The Fields sisters prove with witty, withering brilliance that racism — and the ideology of white supremacy, rooted in economic exploitation — creates race, and not the other way around.

Finally, though it’s trans-Atlantic in scope, the British sociologist Paul Gilroy ’s monumental work AGAINST RACE (2000) argues that race is not something intrinsic and immutable but something fluid, illusory and imposed, “an afterimage — a lingering effect of looking too casually into the damaging glare emanating from colonial conflicts at home and abroad.”

All three books convinced me that we will never transcend racism so long as we continue to reify the illusory, inherently hierarchical color categories that it gives us.

Richard Rothstein, historian

Whites may find it challenging to confront stereotypes and comprehend the deeply embedded legacies of slavery and Jim Crow, but even harder is embracing remedies, because seemingly race-neutral policies perpetuate our racial caste system. With engaging profiles of housing advocates and the opposition they face, Conor Dougherty’s GOLDEN GATES (2020) focuses on California, but has lessons for all metropolitan areas. Smugly deeming itself racially progressive, the state allows high-wage employment (mostly for whites and educated immigrants) to grow faster than housing supply, ensuring that priced-out black and Hispanic families will suffer greater homelessness and displacement to job-starved distant suburbs. Segregation increases as voters enact local zoning codes to prevent new home-building, but those in desperate need of housing can’t register to vote in the no-growth towns that ban them. That’s structural racism.

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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Critical Race Theory

Critical Race Theory

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on August 20, 2018 • ( 5 )

The critical race theory (CRT) movement is a collection of activists and scholars engaged in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power. The movement considers many of the same issues that conventional civil rights and ethnic studies discourses take up but places them in a broader perspective that includes economics, history, setting, group and self-interest, and emotions and the unconscious. Unlike traditional civil rights discourse, which stresses incrementalism and step-by-step progress, critical race theory questions the very foundations of the liberal order, including equality theory, legal reasoning, Enlightenment rationalism, and neutral principles of constitutional law.

After the first decade, critical race theory began to splinter and now includes a welldeveloped Asian American jurisprudence, a forceful Latino-critical (LatCrit) contingent, a feisty LGBT interest group, and now a Muslim and Arab caucus. Although the groups continue to maintain good relations under the umbrella of critical race theory, each has developed its own body of literature and set of priorities. For example, Latino and Asian scholars study immigration policy, as well as language rights and discrimination based on accent or national origin. A small group of American Indian scholars addresses indigenous people’s rights, sovereignty, and land claims. They also study historical trauma and its legacy and health consequences, as well as Indian mascots and co-optation of Indian culture. Scholars of Middle Eastern and South Asian background address discrimination against their groups, especially in the aftermath of 9/11. (See, e.g., Khaled A. Beydoun, Between Indigence, Islamophobia and Erasure: Poor and Muslim in “War on Terror” America , 105 Calif. L. Rev. ___ [2016].

Early Origins

Critical race theory sprang up in the 1970s, as a number of lawyers, activists, and legal scholars across the country realized, more or less simultaneously, that the heady advances of the civil rights era of the 1960s had stalled and, in many respects, were being rolled back. Realizing that new theories and strategies were needed to combat the subtler forms of racism that were gaining ground, early writers, such as Derrick Bell , Alan Freeman , and Richard Delgado , put their minds to the task. They were soon joined by others, and the group held its first workshop at a convent outside Madison, Wisconsin, in the summer of 1989. Further conferences and meetings took place. Some were closed sessions at which the group threshed out internal problems and struggled to clarify central issues, while others were public, multiday affairs with panels, plenary sessions, keynote speakers, and a broad representation of scholars, students, and activists from a wide variety of disciplines.

Relationship to Previous Movements

Critical race theory builds on the insights of two previous movements, critical legal studies and radical feminism , to both of which it owes a large debt. It also draws from certain European philosophers and theorists, such as Antonio Gramsci , Michel Foucault , and Jacques Derrida , as well as from the American radical tradition exemplified by such figures as Sojourner Truth , Frederick Douglass , W. E. B. Du Bois , César Chávez, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Black Power and Chicano movements of the sixties and early seventies. From critical legal studies, the group borrowed the idea of legal indeterminacy—the idea that not every legal case has one correct outcome. Instead, one can decide most cases either way, by emphasizing one line of authority over another or interpreting one fact differently from the way one’s adversary does. The group also incorporated skepticism of triumphalist history and the insight that favorable precedent, like Brown v. Board of Education , tends to erode over time, cut back by narrow lower-court interpretation, administrative foot dragging, and delay. The group also built on feminism ’s insights into the relationship between power and the construction of social roles, as well as the unseen, largely invisible collection of patterns and habits that make up patriarchy and other types of domination. From conventional civil rights thought, the movement took a concern for redressing historical wrongs, as well as the insistence that legal and social theory lead to practical consequences. CRT also shared with it a sympathetic understanding of notions of community and group empowerment. From ethnic studies, it took notions such as cultural nationalism, group cohesion, and the need to develop ideas and texts centered around each group and its situation.

Derrick Bell

Principal Figures

The late Derrick Bell , formerly at Harvard Law School but serving as visiting professor of law at New York University when he died in 2011, became the movement’s intellectual father figure. Most famous for his interest-convergence thesis, Bell authored many of CRT’s foundational texts.

Alan Freeman , who taught at the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, wrote a number of leading articles, including one that documented how the U.S. Supreme Court’s race jurisprudence, even when seemingly liberal in thrust, nevertheless legitimized racism. Kimberlé Crenshaw , Angela Harris , Cheryl Harris , Charles Lawrence, Mari Matsuda , and Patricia Williams were major early figures, as well. Leading Asian scholars include Neil Gotanda, Mitu Gulati , Jerry Kang , and Eric Yamamoto . The top American Indian critical scholar is Robert A. Williams, Jr. ; prolific Latinos of a critical persuasion include Laura E. Gómez , Ian Haney-López , Kevin R. Johnson, Gerald López , Margaret E Montoya , Juan Perea , and Francisco Valdes . Influential black scholars include Paul Butler , Devon W. Carbado , Lani Guinier , and Angela Onwuachi-Willig .

The movement counts a number of fellow travelers and writers who are white, notably andré douglas pond cummings , Nancy Levit , Tom Ross , Jean Stefancic , and Stephanie Wildman .

Spin-Off Movements

Although CRT began as a movement in the law, it has rapidly spread beyond that discipline. Today, many scholars in the field of education consider themselves critical race theorists who use CRT’s ideas to understand issues of school discipline and hierarchy, tracking, affirmative action, high-stakes testing, controversies over curriculum and history, bilingual and multicultural education, and alternative and charter schools. (See, e.g., Foundations of Critical Race Theory in Education [Edward Taylor, David Gillborn & Gloria Ladson-Billings eds., 2d ed. 2015].) They discuss the rise of biological racism in educational theory and practice and urge attention to the resegregation of American schools. Some question the Anglocentric curriculum and charge that many educators apply a “deficit theory” approach to schooling for minority kids.

Political scientists ponder voting strategies coined by critical race theorists, while women’s studies professors teach about intersectionality—the predicament of women of color and others who sit at the intersection of two or more categories. Ethnic studies courses often include a unit on critical race theory, and American studies departments teach material on critical white studies developed by CRT writers. Sociologists, theologians, and health care specialists use critical theory and its ideas. Philosophers incorporate critical race ideas in analyzing issues such as viewpoint discrimination and whether Western philosophy is inherently white in its orientation, values, and method of reasoning.

Unlike some academic disciplines, critical race theory contains an activist dimension. It tries not only to understand our social situation but to change it, setting out not only to ascertain how society organizes itself along racial lines and hierarchies but to transform it for the better.

Basic Tenets of Critical Race Theory

What do critical race theorists believe? Many would agree on the following propositions. First, racism is ordinary, not aberrational—“normal science,” the usual way society does business, the common, everyday experience of most people of color in this country. Second, most would agree that our system of white-over-color ascendancy serves important purposes, both psychic and material, for the dominant group. The first feature, ordinariness, means that racism is difficult to address or cure because it is not acknowledged. Color-blind, or “formal,” conceptions of equality, expressed in rules that insist only on treatment that is the same across the board, can thus remedy only the most blatant forms of discrimination, such as mortgage redlining or an immigration dragnet in a food-processing plant that targets Latino workers or the refusal to hire a black Ph.D. rather than a white college dropout, which stand out and attract our attention.

The second feature, sometimes called “interest convergence” or material determinism, adds a further dimension. Because racism advances the interests of both white elites (materially) and working-class whites (psychically), large segments of society have little incentive to eradicate it. Consider, for example, Derrick Bell ’s shocking proposal that Brown v. Board of Education —considered a great triumph of civil rights litigation—may have resulted more from the self-interest of elite whites than from a desire to help blacks.

A third theme of critical race theory, the “social construction” thesis, holds that race and races are products of social thought and relations. Not objective, inherent, or fixed, they correspond to no biological or genetic reality; rather, races are categories that society invents, manipulates, or retires when convenient. People with common origins share certain physical traits, of course, such as skin color, physique, and hair texture. But these constitute only an extremely small portion of their genetic endowment, are dwarfed by what we have in common, and have little or nothing to do with distinctly human, higher-order traits, such as personality, intelligence, and moral behavior. That society frequently chooses to ignore these scientific truths, creates races, and endows them with pseudo-permanent characteristics is of great interest to critical race theory.

Another, somewhat more recent, development concerns differential racialization and its consequences. Critical writers in law, as well as in social science, have drawn attention to the ways the dominant society racializes different minority groups at different times, in response to shifting needs such as the labor market. At one period, for example, society may have had little use for blacks but much need for Mexican or Japanese agricultural workers. At another time, the Japanese, including citizens of long standing, may have been in intense disfavor and removed to war relocation camps, while society cultivated other groups of color for jobs in war industry or as cannon fodder on the front. In one era, Muslims are somewhat exotic neighbors who go to mosques and pray several times of day—harmless but odd. A few years later, they emerge as security threats.

Popular images and stereotypes of various minority groups shift over time, as well. In one era, a group of color may be depicted as happy-go-lucky, simpleminded, and content to serve white folks. A little later, when conditions change, that very same group may appear in cartoons, movies, and other cultural scripts as menacing, brutish, and out of control, requiring close supervision. In one age, Middle Eastern people are exotic, fetishized figures wearing veils, wielding curved swords, and summoning genies from lamps. Later, after circumstances change, they emerge as fanatical, religiously crazed terrorists bent on destroying America and killing innocent citizens.

Closely related to differential racialization—the idea that each race has its own origins and ever-evolving history—is the notion of intersectionality and antiessentialism. No person has a single, easily stated, unitary identity. A white feminist may also be Jewish or working class or a single mother. An African American activist may be male or female, gay or straight. A Latino may be a Democrat, a Republican, or even black—perhaps because that person’s family hails from the Caribbean. An Asian may be a recently arrived Hmong of rural background and unfamiliar with mercantile life or a fourth-generation Chinese with a father who is a university professor and a mother who operates a business. Everyone has potentially conflicting, overlapping identities, loyalties, and allegiances.

A final element concerns the notion of a unique voice of color. Coexisting in somewhat uneasy tension with antiessentialism, the voice-of-color thesis holds that because of their different histories and experiences with oppression, black, American Indian, Asian, and Latino writers and thinkers may be able to communicate to their white counterparts matters that the whites are unlikely to know. Minority status, in other words, brings with it a presumed competence to speak about race and racism. The “legal storytelling” movement urges black and brown writers to recount their experiences with racism and the legal system and to apply their own unique perspectives to assess law’s master narratives.

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Ayres, Ian, Pervasive Discrimination: Unconventional Evidence of Racial and Gender Discrimination (2003). Bell, Derrick A., Race, Racism, and American Law (6th ed. 2008). Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo, Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America (3d ed. 2009). Carbado, Devon W. & Mitu Gulati, Acting White: Rethinking Race in “Post-Racial” America (2013; repr., 2015). Cho, Sumi & Robert Westley, Critical Race Coalitions: Key Movements That Performed the Theory, 33 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 1377 (2000). Critical Race Studies in Education Association, http://www.crseassoc.org/ (official website). Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge (Richard Delgado & Jean Stefancic eds., 3d ed. 2013). Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed the Movement (Kimberlé Crenshaw, Neil Gotanda, Gary Peller & Kendall Thomas eds., 1995). Critical Race Theory in Education: All God’s Children Got a Song (Adrienne D. Dixson, Celia D. Rousseau & Jamel K. Donnor eds., 2d ed. 2016). Curry, Tommy, Will the Real CRT Please Stand Up? 2 The Crit: J. Crit. Legal Stud. 1 (2009). Delgado, Richard, Liberal McCarthyism and the Origins of Critical Race Theory, 94 Iowa L. Rev. 1505 (2009). Edelman, Benjamin G., Michael Luca & Daniel Svirsky, Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy (Harvard Business School Working Paper, Jan. 6, 2016). Gelber, Katharine & Luke McNamara, The Effects of Civil Hate Speech Laws: Lessons from Australia, 49 Law & Society Rev. 631 (2015). Haney López, Ian F., The Social Construction of Race: Some Observations on Illusion, Fabrication, and Choice, 29 Harv. C.R.-C.L. L. Rev. 1 (1994). Moschel, Mathias, Law, Lawyers and Race: Critical Race Theory from the United States to Europe (2014). Omi, Michael & Howard Winant, Racial Formation in the United States (3d ed. 2014). Perea, Juan F., Buscando América: Why Integration and Equal Protection Fail to Protect Latinos, 117 Harv. L. Rev. 1420 (2004). Race and Races: Cases and Resources for a Diverse America (Juan Perea, Richard Delgado, Angela Harris, Jean Stefancic & Stephanie Wildman eds., 3d ed. 2015). Race Is . . . Race Isn’t: Critical Race Theory and Qualitative Studies in Education (Laurence Park, Donna Deyhle & Sofia Villenas eds., 1999). Trubek, David, M., Foundational Events, Foundational Myths, and the Creation of Critical Race Theory, or How to Get Along with a Little Help from Your Friends, 43 Conn. L. Rev. 1503 (2011).

Racism in Literature

In my last post, I talked about the many things that I wanted to figure out while reading Percival Everett’s novel, I Am Not Sidney Poitier . As I read the feedback from Beth, she told me that some of what I was writing about “screamed” Everett’s “Signing to the Blind”. As soon as I read those words, I re-read the essay. The line that stuck out to me most was when Everett was talking about the purpose of some of the old television shows such as “All in the Family”, “The Jeffersons”, and “Maude” and he stated that the “objective was the exploitation of the division between liberal and conservative, black and white” (Everett 9).

This sentence got me to thinking about the treatment of the main protagonist, Not Sidney Poitier. Not Sidney is African-American and because he moved to the South, Atlanta specifically, the people around him sometimes treated him as if he was not as equal; just because of his skin color. As I continue to read through this novel there are different situations that stand out to me in which Not Sidney is exposed because of his skin. For example, when Not Sidney was meeting his girlfriend’s parents, he overheard them talking about him through a heating vent. The first thing he heard Maggie’s mom say was, “He’s just so dark, Ward” and after her husband asked how dark he was, she replied with “black” (Everett 131). My initial thought after reading those words was that it was racist. What makes it racist? For me, I believe what Maggie’s mom said was offensive to Not Sidney because she was acting like it was a problem that Not Sidney had dark skin.

In The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms, written by Ross Murfin and Supryia M. Ray, under the definition of “race”, they explain that “literature is among the most powerful forms of discourse in which race is constructed and racial or racist attitudes are expressed and perpetuated. Readers also bring their own racial and racist attitudes to any work…” (365). In I Am Not Sidney Poitier, Not Sidney is constantly being singled out because of his skin color. As I read this novel, I continue to think about how this happens in real life. “This” refers to the many circumstances in which Not Sidney is attacked because of his skin color. Not only do Maggie’s parents not approve of him, but in the beginning of the novel, Not Sidney was arrested just because of what he looked like. Because he is African-American.

After reading the definition of “race” in The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms , and Percival Everett’s, “Signing to the Blind”, the point that sticks out to me most is that in many different novels, including I am Not Sidney Poitier , race and racism will naturally always be a part of literature. Throughout the years, I have read many books and novels in which there was somehow a connection to race and/or racism. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, and A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines are two examples of books where the focus for the reader is racism. To sum these up, in both of these novels there was a murder in a Southern town and the blame was put on an African-American because of their skin color. As a reader, we make judgments when it comes to books like these. As I read I am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett, I have my own opinions about the words spoken in regards to Not Sidney’s race. Readers interpret everything they read differently, and racism is only part of it.

Coping With Racism: A Selective Review of the Literature and a Theoretical and Methodological Critique

Elizabeth brondolo.

St. John’s University

Nisha Brady

Melissa pencille, danielle beatty.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Richard J. Contrada

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Racism is a stressor that contributes to racial/ethnic disparities in mental and physical health and to variations in these outcomes within racial and ethnic minority groups. The aim of this paper is to identify and discuss key issues in the study of individual-level strategies for coping with interpersonal racism. We begin with a discussion of the ways in which racism acts as a stressor and requires the mobilization of coping resources. Next, we examine available models for describing and conceptualizing strategies for coping with racism. Third, we discuss three major forms of coping: racial identity development, social support seeking and anger suppression and expression. We examine empirical support for the role of these coping strategies in buffering the impact of racism on specific health-related outcomes, including mental health (i.e., specifically, self-reported psychological distress and depressive symptoms), self-reported physical health, resting blood pressure levels, and cardiovascular reactivity to stressors. Careful examination of the effectiveness of individual-level coping strategies can guide future interventions on both the individual and community levels.

Racism is a stressor that contributes to racial/ethnic disparities in mental and physical health and to variations in health outcomes within racial and ethnic minority groups ( Anderson 1989 ; Clark et al. 1999 ; Mays et al. 2007 ; Paradies 2006 ; Williams and Williams-Morris 2000 ). Racism, in particular, self-reported ethnic or racial discrimination is a highly prevalent phenomenon. Members of most ethnic or racial minority groups report exposure over the course of their lifetime, and recent research indicates that episodes of ethnicity-related maltreatment occur on a weekly basis for some groups (Brondolo et al. 2009). The evidence points consistently to a relationship between self-reported racism and mental health impairments, specifically negative mood and depressive symptoms ( Brondolo et al. 2008 ; Kessler Mickelson and Williams 1999 ; Paradies 2006 ). Some evidence has linked self-reported racism to hypertension and a more consistent body of evidence has linked racism to risk factors for hypertension and/or coronary heart disease ( Brondolo et al. 2003 , 2008 ; Harrell et al. 2003 ; Lewis et al. 2006 ; Peters 2004 ; Steffen and Bowden 2006 ). Racism has also been linked to several other health conditions ( Paradies 2006 ), and to perceived health, which is itself a predictor of all-cause mortality ( Borrell et al. 2007 ; Jackson et al. 1996 ; Schulz et al. 2006 ).

Since racism persists within the US, it is critical to identify the strategies individuals use to cope with this stressor and to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies. As noted by Fischer & Shaw (1999) , in 1996 the National Advisory Mental Health Council highlighted the importance of investigating individual-level factors that buffer the health effects of discrimination ( Fischer and Shaw 1999 ). Although the knowledge base has grown since 1996, there is an ongoing need for greater understanding of the ways in which individuals can mitigate the health risks associated with racial/ethnic discrimination.

The aim of this paper is to identify and discuss key issues in the study of individual-level strategies for coping with interpersonal racism. It is important to note that we do not intend this review to communicate the idea that the burden of coping with racism should be placed on the shoulders of targeted individuals alone. Eliminating racism and the effects of racism on health will require interventions at all levels: from the individual to the family, community, and nation. Nonetheless, careful examination of the effectiveness of individual-level coping strategies is needed to guide future interventions at both the individual and other levels.

We begin with a discussion of the ways in which racism acts as a stressor and requires the mobilization of coping resources. Next, we examine available models for describing and conceptualizing strategies for coping with racism. Third, we discuss three major approaches to coping: racial identity development, social support seeking, and anger suppression and expression. These coping approaches have received sufficient research attention to permit a systematic review of evidence regarding their effectiveness for both mental and physical health outcomes. In addition, these coping approaches are intuitively plausible as potential buffers of the effects of racism on health, and if shown to be effective, would lend themselves to skills and information-based intervention approaches. We examine empirical support for the role of these coping approaches in buffering the impact of racism on mental health-related outcomes (i.e., specifically, self-reported psychological distress and depressive symptoms), self-reported physical health, resting blood pressure levels, and cardiovascular reactivity to stressors. These outcomes were chosen because they have been among those most consistently identified as correlates of racism ( Paradies 2006 ). Finally, we discuss theoretical and methodological issues that are important to consider when conducting and evaluating research on strategies for coping with racism. Although much of the research on coping with racism has focused on African American samples, we have included the available data on other groups, including individuals of Asian and Latino(a) descent as well.

Definitions

Clark et al. (1999 , p. 805) define racism as “the beliefs, attitudes, institutional arrangements, and acts that tend to denigrate individuals or groups because of phenotypic characteristics or ethnic group affiliation”. Contrada and others (2000, 2001) use the more general term ethnic discrimination to refer to unfair treatment received because of one’s ethnicity, where “ethnicity” refers to various grouping of individuals based on race or culture of origin. We consider racism a special form of social ostracism in which phenotypic or cultural characteristics are used to assign individuals to an outcast status, rendering them targets of social exclusion, harassment, and unfair treatment.

Racism exists at multiple levels, including interpersonal, environmental, institutional, and cultural ( Harrell 2000 ; Jones 1997 , 2000 ; Krieger 1999 ). However, the bulk of empirical research on coping with racism focuses on strategies for coping with interpersonal racism. Interpersonal racism has been defined by Krieger as “directly perceived discriminatory interactions between individuals whether in their institutional roles or as public and private individuals” ( Krieger 1999 , p. 301). Racism may have deleterious effects even when the target does not consciously perceive the maltreatment or attribute it to racism. However, this review considers the effectiveness of individual-level coping strategies employed to address episodes of racism that are both directly experienced and perceived. This focus on an interpersonal approach to examining racism is consistent with much recent work by Smith and colleagues examining the health effects of other psychosocial stressors (e.g., poverty) within an interpersonal context (see, for example, Gallo et al. 2006 ; Ruiz et al. 2006 ; Smith et al. 2003 ).

Types of ethnicity-related maltreatment

Racism/ethnic discrimination can encompass a wide range of acts including social exclusion, workplace discrimination, stigmatization, and physical threat and harassment ( Brondolo et al. 2005a ; Contrada et al. 2001 ). Social exclusion includes a variety of different interactions in which individuals are excluded from social interactions, rejected, or ignored because of their ethnicity or race. Stigmatization can include both verbal and non-verbal behavior directed at the targeted individual that communicates a message that demeans the targeted person (e.g., communicates the idea that the targeted individual must be lazy or stupid because he or she belongs to a particular racial or ethnic group). Workplace discrimination includes acts directed at individuals of a particular race or ethnicity that range from the expression of lowered expectations to a refusal to promote or hire. Threat and harassment can include potential or actual damage to an individual or his or her family or property because of ethnicity or race. Any of these discriminatory acts can be overt, such that the racial bias is made explicit (e.g., when accompanied by racial slurs), or the acts can be covert such that racial bias may not be directly stated but is implicit in the communication ( Taylor and Grundy 1996 ).

Racism as a stressor

A number of conceptual models, including those which consider racism within stress and coping frameworks, have described the ways that racism may confer risk for health impairment ( Anderson et al. 1989 ; Clark et al. 1999 ; Harrell et al. 1998 ; Krieger 1999 ; Mays et al. 2007 ; Outlaw 1993 ; Williams et al. 2003 ). In general, each model emphasizes the need to consider the acute effects of individual incidents of ethnicity-related maltreatment, as well as factors that sustain the damaging effects of these events. They highlight the importance of considering racism as a unique stressor, and as a factor that may interact with other potential race and non-race-related stressors, including low socioeconomic status and neighborhood crime. Racism itself and the environmental conditions associated with racism (e.g., neighborhood segregation) limit access to coping resources. The cumulative effects of acute and sustained stress exposure, combined with limited coping resources are likely to cause perturbations in neuroendocrine and autonomic systems that respond to acute stressors and that maintain or re-establish physiological homeostasis ( Gallo and Matthews 2003 ; McEwen and Lasley 2003 , 2007 ).

From the perspective of the targeted individual, racism is a complex stressor, requiring a range of different coping resources to manage both practical and emotional aspect of the stressor. Features of the racist incident, as well as the corresponding coping demands, may vary depending upon the physical, social, and temporal context of exposure. Targets must cope with the substance of racism, such as interpersonal conflict, blocked opportunities, and social exclusion. They must also manage the emotional consequences, including painful feelings of anger, nervousness, sadness, and hopelessness, and their physiological correlates. Targets may also need to manage their concerns about short and long term effects of racism on other members of their group, including their friends and family members. Indirect effects of racism (e.g., poverty, environmental toxin exposure, changes in family structure) may require additional coping efforts ( Mays et al. 1996 ). A theme that may cut across and link many or even most of the coping tasks posed by racism is the management of damage to self-concept and social identity ( Mellor 2004 ).

Episodes of ethnicity or race-based maltreatment can occur in a number of different venues. The effectiveness of the coping response may vary depending on the context in which the maltreatment occurs. Factors that may influence the choice and effectiveness of a coping strategy include variations in the intensity and nature of the threat, the perceived degree of intentionality of the perpetrator, the potential consequences of the act and of the coping response, the availability of resources to assist the target, and perceptions of the need to repeatedly muster different coping resources and the appraisal of one’s ability to do so ( Richeson and Shelton 2007 ; Scott 2004 ; Scott and House 2005 ; Swim et al. 2003 ).

Different types of coping may be needed at different points in time: in anticipation of potential exposure to ethnicity-related maltreatment, at the time of exposure, following the episode, and when considering longer term implications of persistent or recurring exposure. The strategies that are effective for quickly terminating a specific episode of maltreatment are not necessarily the same as those needed to manage the possibility of longer term exposure. A variety of coping strategies may be needed at each point.

Consequently, one of the most serious challenges facing minority group members is the need to develop a broad range of racism-related coping responses to permit them to respond to different types of situations and to adjust the response depending on factors that might influence the effectiveness of any particular coping strategy. Targets must also develop the cognitive flexibility to implement an appropriate and effective strategy in each of the wide range of situations in which they may be exposed to discrimination, judge the relative costs and benefits of these strategies, and deploy them as needed over prolonged periods of time. This level of coping flexibility is beneficial, but difficult to achieve ( Cheng 2003 ). The perception that one’s coping capacity is not adequate to meet the demands increases the likelihood that ethnicity-related maltreatment will be experienced as a chronic stressor.

Coping with racism: models and measures

There are a number of early models ( Allport 1954 ; Harrell 1979 ) of the different strategies individuals used to respond to racism that have been reviewed in Mellor (2004) . Some of the difficulties with these models are a function of more general problems with models of coping that have been well reviewed elsewhere ( Skinner et al. 2003 ). Other concerns are more specific to the difficulties of developing models for coping with racism.

Most models fail to explicitly incorporate strategies designed to manage the interpersonal conflict associated with ethnicity-related maltreatment as well as with its emotional sequelae. They do not always include strategies both for coping with an acute event (i.e., responding to the perpetrator during episodes of ethnicity-related maltreatment) and for coping with the awareness that race-related maltreatment is likely to be an ongoing stressor. Additionally, it can also be difficult to determine if the coping strategies included in the models are intended to address racism specifically or the various consequences of discrimination, such as unemployment, denial of a job promotion, or poverty.

More recent work has utilized dimensions of coping that are more explicitly tied to theories of stress and coping, including problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, approach versus avoidance coping, and social support ( Danoff-Burg et al. 2004 ; Scott 2004 ; Scott and House 2005 ; Thompson Sanders 2006 ). However, as Mellor (2004) points out, many of the strategies included in models of coping responses can only be loosely organized according to available rubrics for categorizing coping strategies. For example, it is unclear how to classify spirituality and Africultural coping, which appear to represent multifaceted strategies with some aspects involving problem-focused coping and others involving emotion-focused coping ( Constantine et al. 2002 ; Lewis-Coles and Constantine 2006 ; Utsey et al. 2000a ). There have been inconsistencies even within specific coping domains. For example, seeking social support when confronted by racism has been considered an approach coping strategy ( Scott 2004 ; Scott and House 2005 ; Thompson Sanders 2006 ), a problem-focused coping strategy ( Noh and Kaspar 2003 ; Plummer and Slane 1996 ), an emotion-focused strategy (such as when seeking emotional social support) ( Tull et al. 2005 ), an avoidance strategy (if it involves venting, but no direct confrontation), and a strategy in an entirely separate category ( Danoff-Burg et al. 2004 ; Swim et al. 2003 ; Utsey et al. 2000b ).

Mellor (2004) suggests an alternate framework for organizing racism-related coping that focuses on the function of the coping strategies versus the content of their focus. His model highlights the importance of distinguishing between tasks that serve to prevent personal injury (e.g., denial, acceptance) from those that are intended to remediate, prevent, or punish racism (e.g., assertiveness, aggressive retaliation). This functional approach may be an important step toward developing more effective models of coping with racism, particularly if the purpose is closely linked to the various specific challenges that face targets of discrimination.

Measurement issues

The development of more comprehensive models is further limited by the small number of instruments available to assess racism-related coping. The Perceived Racism Scale ( McNeilly et al. 1996 ) is one of the only instruments available to assess strategies for coping with racism. It is intended for use with African Americans and measures both exposure to experiences of ethnicity-related maltreatment and coping responses to the exposure. For each venue or domain in which racist events might occur (i.e., job-seeking, educational settings, the health-care system), participants are asked to indicate the cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses used to cope with each experience. Other researchers have used generic coping scales (e.g., the Ways of Coping or the Spielberger Anger Expression Inventory) and modified the presentation to inquire about coping in response to race-related maltreatment (e.g., Brondolo et al. 2005b ).

Each of these measures is subject to the limitations of traditional self-reported trait coping indices ( Lazarus 2000 ). It is difficult to evaluate the timing or circumstances in which the coping response is used. For example, when the Self-Report Coping Scale ( Causey and Dubow 1992 ) is applied to the study of racism-coping (e.g., Scott and House 2005 ), participants indicate the degree to which they use strategies such as externalizing (i.e., getting mad or throwing things) as a response to race-related stress. It is unclear if the item refers to expressing anger at the perpetrator of the racist acts (possibly a problem-focused or approach coping strategy) or discharging anger later when thinking about specific incidents (possibly an emotion-focused coping strategy).

Careful delineation of the timing and function of the coping strategy is valuable, because there may be some strategies that are effective in the short run, but counterproductive if used persistently over time. For example, “keeping it to myself” may be a safe strategy to use as an immediate course of action in a situation in which the target may face immediate retaliation, but may be deleterious once the acute maltreatment has ended. Similarly, there may be strategies that are effective and acceptable in some settings, but not others. Measures which include items assessing both immediate and longer term responses and inquire about the circumstances of exposure to maltreatment are needed.

How do people cope with racism?

There are no population-based epidemiological data on the strategies most commonly used to cope with episodes of ethnicity-related maltreatment at the time of the event. There are very limited population-based data on the strategies used to manage discrimination in general. In a population-based sample of over 4,000 Black and White men and women, participants were asked about the ways they handled episodes of racial discrimination ( Krieger and Sidney 1996 ). Most (69–78% depending on race and gender group) indicated they would “try to do something and talk to others.” Only 17–19% indicated that they would “accept it as a fact of life and talk to others.” Most individuals (86–97%) indicated that they would talk to others whether they took action in response to racism or accepted the racist behavior ( Krieger and Sidney 1996 ). In contrast to the tendency of Black and White Americans to indicate that they would try to do something about racism, other research suggests that Asian immigrants in Canada would prefer to “regard it as a fact of life, avoid it or ignore it” ( Noh et al. 1999 ). The ethnic and national differences in response suggest that the moderating effects of culture and immigration status on racism and coping must be further evaluated in larger ethnically diverse population-based studies.

Evaluating different coping approaches

In the next three sections, we review in detail the data on the effectiveness of three coping approaches that have been considered as responses to racism: racial identity development, social support seeking, and confrontation/anger coping. We restrict the reviews to published, peer-reviewed papers. For each topic area, studies for consideration were identified by accessing all major databases including PsychInfo, ERIC, MEDLINE, and Sociology Abstracts, using both ProQuest and EBSCO search engines. We included thesaurus terms racism, ethnic discrimination, racial discrimination, race discrimination, race-related stress . For a general review, we included the terms: coping, active coping, approach coping, stress-management . For the specific review on racial and ethnic identity, we included the terms: racial identity, ethnic identity, and racial socialization. For the section on social support, we included terms: support, social support, support coping, active coping, approach coping . For the section on anger, we included the terms: confrontation, anger, anger expression, anger suppression, anger management, anger-in, anger-out . We further searched the reference sections of each paper to identify additional studies. We also examined all published work of each author of each paper to determine if additional studies could be identified. Examining the empirical data on these three coping approaches highlights in specific detail some of the methodological issues involved in research investigating effective strategies for coping with racism.

Our evaluation of coping effectiveness focuses on stress-buffering effects. A coping response may be said to buffer stress when, among individuals exposed to the stressor, those who engage in that response (or who engage in it to a greater degree) are less likely to experience a negative outcome than those who do not (or who engage in it to a lesser degree). The relative benefit associated with performing the coping response should be smaller or not at all in evidence among those who are not exposed to the stressor. It should be noted that stress-buffering is not the only manner in which a coping response might confer an advantage. Other models are plausible, including mediational models that describe a causal chain in which exposure to stress promotes performance of the coping response which, in turn, promotes more positive outcomes. However, a focus on stress-buffering is warranted since the aim of the paper is to identify those strategies which might be effective in ameliorating the health effects of exposure to racism, and could form the basis of coping-based interventions. Figure 1 provides a graphical illustration of these different possible pathways.

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Different pathways through which coping approaches may offset the effects of racism on mental and physical health.

Racial/ethnic identity as a buffer of the effects of racism on distress

Based on Phinney (1990 , 1996) , Cokley (2007 , p. 225) defines ethnic identity as “the subjective sense of ethnic group membership that involves self-labeling, sense of belonging, preference for the group, positive evaluation of the ethnic group, ethnic knowledge, and involvement in ethnic group activities.” Similarly, racial identity has been defined as “a sense of group or collective identity based on one’s perception that he or she shares a common racial heritage with a particular racial group” ( Helms 1990 , p. 3). There are differences of opinion about the degree to which ethnic and racial identity represent distinct constructs ( Cross and Strauss 1998 ; Helms 1990 ; Phinney and Ong 2007 ). Definitions of both constructs include a focus on shared history, values, and a common heritage. However, those who advocate the study of racial identity as a separate construct suggest that it entails a complex developmental process, reflecting the individual’s attempts to resolve the problems associated with racism directed both at the individual and at the group as a whole.

How could racial or ethnic identity serve as a coping strategy?

Racial and ethnic identity are generally considered individual difference variables, (i.e., an underlying set of schemas that help individuals make sense of and respond to their experiences as a member of their ethnic or racial group) ( Cross and Strauss 1998 ; Helms 1990 ; Phinney and Ong 2007 ). However, researchers explicitly link the process of developing an ethnic identity to other acts that can have stress-buffering effects ( Phinney et al. 2001 ). Some research explicitly frames ethnic identity as a variable possessing characteristics similar to other potential coping responses, capable of buffering the effects of stress exposure (see for example, Lee 2003 ). Despite the ambiguity about the degree to which racial identity can be considered within the domain of coping resources, research on racial identity has a potential impact on public health. If racial identity is mutable, and aspects of racial identity are effective in modifying psychological or psychophysiological responses to racism, those aspects of identity could be incorporated into health communications and could guide racial socialization practices.

Racial/ethnic identity may serve as a coping mechanism in several different ways. Specifically, some aspects of racism may influence the salience of race-related maltreatment and affect the subsequent appraisals of and coping responses to these events ( Oyserman et al. 2003 , Quintana 2007 ). A well-developed racial identity may be associated with historical and experiential knowledge about one’s own group and its social position. In turn this knowledge may help a targeted individual distinguish between actions directed at the person as an individual versus those directed at the person as a member of a particular group ( Cross 2005 ). This can protect targeted individuals from injuries to self-esteem or distress when they are exposed to negative events that may be a function of ethnic discrimination rather than individual characteristics of behavior ( Branscombe et al. 1999 ; Mossakowski 2003 ; Sellers and Shelton 2003 ). Racial socialization could provide an individual with an opportunity to consider possible approaches to this maltreatment and could serve to expedite the implementation of coping responses ( Hughes et al. 2006 ). Ethnic connection and belonging could ameliorate some of the pain of ostracism from other groups.

Appreciating the potential benefits of a well-developed sense of ethnic or racial identity, investigators have generated a large body of research that has examined the nature of racial and ethnic identity, and a smaller body of research that has tested the hypothesis that a strong positive racial or ethnic identity might buffer the effects of racism on mental health/psychological distress. However, the findings to date have been conflicted and present a number of methodological problems that need resolution.

Our review identified 12 published peer-reviewed papers that explicitly tested the hypothesis that ethnic or racial identity buffers the effects of exposure to racism on psychological distress or depression ( Banks and KohnWood 2007 ; Bynum et al. 2007 ; Fischer and Shaw 1999 ; Greene et al. 2006 ; Lee 2003 , 2005 ; Mossakowski 2003 ; Noh et al. 1999 ; Sellers et al. 2003 , 2006 ; Sellers and Shelton 2003 ; Wong et al. 2003 ). Details of the studies, including the samples, measures, and results, are presented in Table 1 . The effects of ethnic identity as a buffer of the relationship of racism to depressive symptoms or psychological distress were tested in samples of African Americans, Filipinos, Koreans, South Asian Indians, and Latino(a)s, with most, but not all, studies employing samples of convenience.

Studies of the buffering effects of racial identity on the relationship of racism to mental physical health indices

Note. AA = African American; MH = mental health; sx = symptoms; discrim. = discrimination; EI = ethnic identity. MIBI = Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity ( Sellers, Smith, Shelton, Rowley, & Chavous, 1998 ). RaLES Daily Exper. = Daily Life Experiences subscale from the Racism and Life Experience Scales ( Harrell, 1997 ). CES-D = Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale ( Radloff, 1977 ). TERS = Teenager Experience with Racial Socialization Scale ( Stevenson et al., 2002 ). BSI = Brief Symptom Inventory ( Deragotis & Melisarotis, 1983 ). PSS = Perceived Stress Scale ( Cohen & Williamson, 1988 ). RaLES-R - Brief Racism Scale = Brief Racism Scale from the Racism and Life Experiences Scales-Revised ( Harrell, 1997a , 1997b ). SORS-A = Scale of Racial Socialization for Adolescents ( Stevenson, 1994 ). SRE = Schedule of Racist Events ( Landrine & Klonoff, 1996 ). MHI = Mental Health Inventory ( Veit & Ware, 1983 ). MEIM = Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure ( Phinney, 1992 ); EI = ethnic identity. PDS = Perceived Personal Ethnic Discrimination ( Finch et al., 2000 ). SCL-90 = Symptom Checklist – 90 – Revised ( Deragotis, 1994 ). DLE = Daily Life Experience subscale of the Racism and Life Experience scales ( Harrell, 1994 ). STAI = State–Trait Anxiety Inventory ( Spielberger, 1983 ).

These studies assessed different aspects of ethnic or racial identity and used several different strategies for measuring these dimensions. Some investigators used measures of pride or belonging, including the Multi-Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; Phinney 1992 ) or the private regard subscale of the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI; Sellers et al. 1997 ). Other investigations included measures of racial centrality, a construct involving the degree to which one’s race or ethnicity forms an important part of self-concept ( Sellers et al. 1997 ). Still other studies included aspects of racial identity that refer to the development of preparation for discrimination, including measures of racial socialization. Three studies ( Greene et al. 2006 ; Sellers et al. 2003 ; Wong et al. 2003 ) used longitudinal designs to examine the degree to which racial identity buffers racism-related changes in depression. The remainder used cross sectional, correlational designs. In all the studies, participants completed measures of racial identity, perceived racism and a measure of depression or psychological distress. To test the buffering effects of racial identity, all researchers directly examined the statistical interactions of racial identity and racism on measures of distress, with the exception of those who used path analytic models ( Sellers et al. 2003 ).

These studies provide only very limited evidence for the hypothesis that racial or ethnic identity buffers the effects of racism on psychological distress. Of the 12 studies specifically examining effects of racism on distress or depression, only two found evidence of a buffering effect of racial identity on at least one measure of distress ( Fischer and Shaw 1999 ; Mossakowski 2003 ). One study was a population-based study investigating these issues in Filipino-American adults ( Mossakowski 2003 ). In this study, ethnic identity acted as a buffer only for the predictive effects of a single item measure of discrimination on depressive symptoms. Ethnic identity did not appear to buffer the effects of everyday maltreatment on depressive symptoms. The other study reporting buffering effects on depressive symptoms was a study of African American young adults ( Fischer and Shaw 1999 ). Six studies ( Bynum et al. 2007 ; Fischer and Shaw 1999 ; Lee 2003 , 2005 ; Sellers et al. 2003 ; Wong et al. 2003 ) reported no buffering effects for either distress or depression. Four studies found some evidence that an aspect of ethnic identity (i.e., pride; Lee 2005 ); public regard ( Sellers et al. 2006 ); commitment/centrality ( Noh et al. 1999 ) or positive attitudes towards other cultures ( Banks and Kohn-Wood 2007 ) may intensify the relationship of racism to distress. 1

In contrast, positive main effects of racial identity on distress were obtained in several studies examining dimensions related to ethnic pride or attachment (e.g., positive attachment to one’s ethnic group (i.e., including the MEIM; Phinney 1992 ), the private regard component of the MIBI or the cultural pride dimension of racial socialization or connection to ethnic group) ( Bynum et al. 2007 ; Lee 2005 ; Mossakowski 2003 ; Sellers et al. 2006 ; Wong et al. 2003 ). However, some studies obtained null ( Fischer and Shaw 1999 ; Lee 2003 ; Noh et al. 1999 ; Wong et al. 2003 ) or reverse effects ( Bynum et al. 2007 ). The effects for dimensions such as centrality were more mixed, with some studies reporting that greater racial centrality was associated with less negative mood ( Sellers et al. 2003 ), whereas another study failed to find the same connection ( Sellers et al. 2006 ). In one study a measure that more explicitly assess those aspects of identity that address preparedness for discrimination was associated with increased distress ( Bynum et al. 2007 ).

These main effects analyses suggest that the pride and belonging dimensions of racial identity may produce a more general feeling of well-being. Aspects of racial identity may buffer the effects of other stressors common to the research participants that were not assessed in the study. However, the effects of these positive racial identity dimensions were not sufficient to offset the impact of perceived racism, and in particular everyday maltreatment, on distress and depressive symptoms.

Findings from Lee (2005) suggest a complex relationship of centrality and pride to depression. In this study of Asian young adults, there was a significant main effect of Ethnic Identity (EI)-Pride, such that those with relatively high scores on the ethnic pride dimension of the MEIM (derived from a factor analysis conducted in the same sample) had fewer depressive symptoms than those with low scores. However, among those with high EI-Pride scores, the effects of racism on depressive symptoms were stronger than for those who did not feel a great deal of pride in their ethnic group. This suggests that enhancing pride may reduce depression overall, but may be related to greater symptom reports when individuals are exposed to racism. Racial identity as a buffer of cardiovascular reactivity to race-related stress

There are also two studies that examined racial identity as a moderator or buffer of the relationship of race-related stress to an index of cardiovascular response. These measures of cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) appear to be markers for processes involved in the development of hypertension and coronary heart disease. However, it is difficult to evaluate the meaning of reactivity data in some of these studies, since there are some limitations to the presentations of the existing studies. Clark and Gochett (2006) reported finding an inverse relationship between private regard and cardiac output and stroke volume (measures of sympathetic nervous system influences on the heart) before, during, and after racial and non-racial stressors. The authors interpreted the inverse relationship to suggest higher levels of arousal for those high in private regard; however, analyses directly examining the relationship of identity to the change from baseline are not reported. Similarly, Torres and Bowens (2000) reported positive correlations of the Black Racial Identity Attitude Scale (RIAS-B) internalization attitudes (indicating more acceptance of both Black and Caucasian groups) with systolic blood pressure (SBP) reactivity to both race and non-race related stressors. These findings may indicate that individuals with Black oriented identities (i.e., those who are low on internalization) are better prepared to confront episodes of racism as they expect this maltreatment. However, the data are difficult to interpret, as greater increases in SBP may also indicate greater task engagement and no measures were made of level of effort or involvement. Without data on subjective response to the task, it is difficult to interpret these findings.

In contrast, in a study of the main effect of racial identity on both resting and ambulatory blood pressure (BP), Thompson et al. (2002) found that a transitional racial identity, marked by an intense involvement in in-group activities and an “idealization of African American and African American culture and a devaluation of White culture,” was associated with higher levels of resting and ambulatory BP. The authors suggest that a transitional identity may intensify the perception of racial bias and make race-related conflict more salient, increasing the frequency with which individuals experience interpersonal stress. However, no data were available on the race-related social interactions experienced by the participants.

What accounts for the mixed findings on the effects of racial identity?

The effects of racial identity on mental and physical health are complex, and the data do not support a uniformly positive effect of each aspect of racial or ethnic identity on mental health. The bulk of the evidence suggests that ethnic pride may be associated with fewer depressive symptoms overall, but the results indicate that pride and other aspects of ethnic/racial identity are not sufficient to buffer the effects of racism on depressive symptoms for most (but not all) samples. It is important to note that some aspects of racial identity appear to intensify the relationship of racism to depression.

Ethnic pride may not buffer the pain of race-based ostracism, since social rejection is painful, even when other sources of social connection are available ( Baumeister et al. 2005 ; MacDonald and Leary 2005 ). Further, race-based social rejection or exclusion may heighten the awareness of race-related stereotypes and elicit concerns about stereotype threat. In turn these concerns may evoke feelings of anxiety and shame ( Cohen and Garcia 2005 ; Steele 1997 ). Messages of cultural pride may not be adequate to counteract the emotional consequences of demeaning treatment.

There is also some evidence that ostracism is associated with a decrease in self-awareness and self-regulation ( Baumeister et al. 2005 ; MacDonald and Leary 2005 ). This blunting of self-awareness may help the individual block some of the injury to self-esteem associated with social rejection. However, reductions in self-awareness in response to personal threat may also limit the individual’s ability to access self-related schemas (e.g., racial identity or ethnic pride) that might facilitate coping. Laboratory studies are needed to assess the effects of priming racial salience on responses to acute race-related stressors and to evaluate the effects of increasing versus decreasing self-awareness during these manipulations ( Baumeister et al. 2005 ).

The effects of racial centrality appear to be more variable than the effects of racial/ethnic pride and belonging. There may be circumstances in which drawing attention to race and heightening awareness of potential exposure to racism protect individuals from its harmful effects ( Fischer and Shaw 1999 ), but there is also evidence that racial centrality can intensify distress ( Sellers et al. 2006 ). The awareness that one may be targeted for racism may help individuals gather the strength they need to avoid being denied rights or misjudging their own competence, but this awareness can also be exhausting, elicit distress and anger, and erode some relationships. This is consistent with data on the use of avoidance coping in African Americans reported by Thompson Sanders (2006) . Further work is needed to identify the types and timing of the complex of racial socialization messages that increase awareness without destroying hope or inflicting a costly emotional burden. The nature of these messages may vary by socioeconomic status and parental involvement, and some personality dimensions ( Scott 2003 , 2004 ), and the role of these potential moderators has also not been adequately explored.

There is some evidence that racial identity buffers the effects of racism on self-esteem and some measures of academic performance (e.g., Oyserman et al. 2001 ; Wong et al. 2003 ). Failure to find substantial buffering effects for depression and distress may be a function of the need to match the type of coping strategy with the expected outcome. Racial identity is related to self-concept and pride, and as a consequence may have effects primarily on aspects of functioning that are tied to self-concept versus more global affective states.

The data on the effectiveness of racial identity as a buffer of the relationship of racism to BP or BP reactivity is too limited to support firm conclusions. The findings suggest, however, that measures of racial identity may tap psychological dimensions that influence coping with stressors on a day-to-day basis. These schemas may influence the degree to which individuals are able to engage in challenge or feel they must defend themselves from threat. Both engagement and defensiveness influence cardiovascular dynamics. Continued research on the ways in which racial identity affects appraisals of laboratory tasks and everyday events, and in turn influence cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses, would be very useful.

Social support as a buffer of the effects of racism on mental and physical health

Social support has been defined as the presence or availability of network members who express concern, love, and care for an individual and provide coping assistance ( Sarason et al. 1983 ). Seeking social support involves communication with others (e.g., family, friends, and community members) about events or experiences. Within the Black community, seeking social support has sometimes been more specifically labeled as “leaning on shoulders” ( Shorter-Gooden 2004 ). This term refers to seeking out and talking to others as a means of coping with racial discrimination.

How might social support buffer the effects of racism on distress?

It is widely accepted that social support is beneficial for physical and psychological health ( Allgower et al. 2001 ; Barnett and Gotlib 1988 ; Symister and Friend 2003 ). A supportive social network promotes a sense of security and connectedness, helping the individual to understand that discrimination is a shared experience. Group members can serve as models, guiding the individual in effective methods for responding to and coping with discrimination. Placing the event in a collective context can also help the individual to feel more connected to his or her ethnic/racial group and can activate racial identity ( Harrell 2000 ; Mellor 2004 ). Greater participation in social activities may help to distract individuals and provide them with positive experiences that may buffer the negative impact of a range of stressors including racism ( Finch and Vega 2003 ).

Seeking social support is commonly used as a coping strategy following a racist incident ( Krieger 1990 ; Krieger and Sidney 1996 ; Lalonde et al. 1995 ; Mellor 2004 ; Shorter-Gooden 2004 ; Swim et al. 2003 ; Thompson Sanders 2006 ; Utsey et al. 2000b ). In Black college students, Swim et al. (2003) found that 68% of the sample discussed a racist incident with their family, friends, or others. In two separate studies, Krieger found that the vast majority of Black individuals sampled reported “talking to others” in response to racial discrimination ( Krieger 1990 ; Krieger and Sidney 1996 ). Furthermore, a majority of Black Canadians reported “seeking advice” and “telling others about the discrimination” in response to a hypothetical situation involving housing rejection based on ethnic discrimination ( Lalonde et al. 1995 ). Although social support is hypothesized to serve as an effective strategy for coping with racism, there has been surprisingly limited empirical research testing this hypothesis.

We are aware of only three empirical tests of the hypothesis that social support buffers the effects of racism on distress ( Fischer and Shaw 1999 ; Noh and Kaspar 2003 ; Thompson Sanders 2006 ), and four studies examining the hypothesis that social support buffers the effects of racism on physical health-related measures (i.e., self-reported health or cardiovascular reactivity to stress) ( Clark 2003 ; Clark and Gochett 2006 ; Finch and Vega 2003 ; McNeilly et al. 1995 ). Diverse ethnic groups were included in the studies. Some studies assessed the tendency to seek social support or guidance in response to racist events ( Noh and Kaspar 2003 ; Thompson Sanders 2006 ), whereas others examined the availability of support (i.e., size of network) or quality of general social support ( Clark 2003 ; Finch and Vega 2003 ; Fischer and Shaw 1999 ; McNeilly et al. 1995 ). Further details of the studies are presented in Table 2 .

Studies of the buffering effects of social support on the relationship of racism to mental or physical health indices

Note. sx = symptoms; discrim. = discrimination. SBP = systolic blood pressure; DBP = diastolic blood pressure. BP = blood pressure. SRE = Schedule of Racist Events ( Landrine & Klonoff, 1996 ). MHI = Mental Health Inventory ( Veit & Ware, 1983 ). CES-D-K = Korean version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale ( Noh et al., 1998 ; Radloff, 1977 ). CRI = Coping Responses Inventory–Adult Form ( Moos, 1993 ).

The three studies examining the buffering effects of seeking social support on the relationship of racism to distress failed to find positive effects ( Fischer and Shaw 1999 ; Noh and Kaspar 2003 ; Thompson Sanders 2006 ). However, two of these three studies found main effects of social support on depressive symptoms.

The effects are more mixed among the four studies examining the buffering effects of support on a health-related outcome. Finch and Vega (2003) found robust effects of instrumental support on perceived health in a population-based sample of Mexican Americans. Discrimination was not related to health among those with high levels of support, but was associated with poorer health for those with low levels of support. Two studies found buffering effects of support seeking, but only for those who were exposed to low levels of racism ( Clark 2003 ; Clark and Gochett 2006 ). Specifically, Clark (2003) reported that self-reported quantity and quality of social support were associated with reduced DBP reactivity to a non-racial stressor (i.e., mental arithmetic), but only for those who had experienced relatively low levels of racism over the course of their lives. Similarly, in a school-based study, Clark and Gochett (2006) found that youth who indicated that they would “talk to others” had a lower incidence of elevated BP (above 90th percentile) than those who did not endorse this item, but these effects were seen only among those who experienced low levels of racism. In contrast, among those exposed to high levels of racism, “talking to others” was associated with a higher prevalence of elevated BP. Finally, in a laboratory study, McNeilly et al. (1995) reported that providing support (in the form of a supportive confederate) did not reduce cardiovascular reactivity in response to racist provocation (i.e., debating about race-related topics), but did reduce self-reported anger. There are two additional studies that examined the relationship of support to race-related stress in African Americans, but they did not directly test the hypothesis that social support buffers the effects of racism on psychological distress ( Scott and House 2005 ; Utsey et al. 2000a, b ).

Despite the generally null findings of the quantitative studies, two qualitative reports about seeking social support in response to ethnic or racial discrimination suggest beneficial effects. In a diary study of perceived discrimination, participants reported that it was helpful to discuss racist incidents with another person ( Swim et al. 2003 ). Similarly, African American men participating in an African-centered support group for confronting racism reported decreases in levels of anger and frustration. They also reported engaging in fewer interpersonal conflicts with significant others after attending the support group ( Elligan and Utsey 1999 ).

What accounts for the mixed findings on social support?

Overall, the quantitative literature provides minimal support for the hypothesis that social support (either seeking social support or having a supportive network) buffers the impact of racism on psychological health. It also provides very mixed support for the notion that social support buffers racism effects on indices of physical health. There is some suggestion that social support may be helpful at low levels of stress exposure, but exacerbates difficulties at high levels of exposure. Yet, these results are contrary to anecdotal reports or findings from qualitative studies, and largely contrast with the findings from other literatures on the buffering effects of support in the face of other stressors (mostly medical illnesses). What accounts for these variations?

Measures and research design

General difficulties with the social support research have been outlined by Uchino (2006) . Variations in the conceptualization and measurement of social support make the results of studies examining the effects of support as a buffer of the effects of racism on distress or health difficult to interpret. In the studies reviewed, four separate support-related constructs have been studied: seeking support to obtain guidance for ways to manage racism; general support network size, general support network quality, and the proportion of relationships with people of the same ethnicity. The quality of the measurement instruments also varies, with some studies assessing social support seeking using two questions in a self-report survey or diary ( Noh and Kaspar 2003 ; Swim et al. 2003 ).

The research designs of some studies also have some limitations, as cross sectional correlational designs fail to reveal the direction of the effects. In the Clark and Gochett (2006) study, there are some correlations between exposure to higher levels of racism and seeking support, suggesting that the level of support seeking is in fact a function of the degree of stress exposure. Prospective cohort and laboratory studies may be necessary to more clearly distinguish the direction of the relationship between support and distress. Different types of support may be necessary at different points in time, and no studies have examined perceived needs for support at different stages in the experience of ethnicity-related maltreatment. For example, concrete advice and emotional support may be needed at the time of the incident, whereas support focused on meaning and hope may be needed as individuals confront the possibility of more sustained exposure.

Social constraint and facilitation

Some of the failure to find positive effects associated with social support may be a function of issues related to both social constraint and social facilitation. Lepore and Revenson (2007) propose that social constraints limit the effectiveness of certain social support interventions. Seeking support for race-related maltreatment may entail discussions that are anxiety provoking for both the seekers and givers of support. For members of stigmatized groups, discussions of racism may evoke recollections that feel uncontrollable and are stressful. For members of a majority out-group, stereotype threat may be evoked if individuals become concerned about appearing cruel, uncaring, or insensitive when discussing race-related conflict ( Richeson and Shelton 2007 ). Anxiety on the part of both the in-group and out-group members may inhibit effective communication about race-related incidents. When individuals receive messages that tend to minimize or deny aspects of their experience, support seeking may be ineffective and associated with increased versus decreased distress ( Badr and Taylor 2006 ). Research on the dynamics of interracial communication may provide guidance for further research on the types of communication that can minimize social constraints and facilitate inter-racial communication ( Czopp et al. 2006 ; Richeson and Shelton 2005 ).

As Utsey et al. (2002) points out, social facilitation may increase distress when individuals discuss discrimination with other members of their group. The experience of sharing episodes of ethnicity-related maltreatment may arouse greater anger as individuals exchange accounts of their experiences. If the situations appear hopeless or if individuals in the discussion have had negative experiences managing race-related interactions themselves, other negative emotions, including fear, frustration, grief, shame and loss, may also be evoked. Further research is needed to determine how variations in the circumstances in which support is sought and in the content of support message confer different costs and benefits to the target of discrimination. It will be important to understand how best to acknowledge the difficulties and pain associated with exposure to discrimination without eliminating hope or generating additional stress.

Confrontation and anger expression

Race-related maltreatment evokes anger ( Brondolo et al. 2008 ; Broudy et al. 2007 ; Landrine and Klonoff 1996 ). Consequently, many models of coping with racism recognize the need to address the anger evoked by ethnicity-related maltreatment ( Mellor 2004 ), and some of the seminal studies of the effects of racial stress examined anger coping ( Harburg et al. 1979 , 1991 ). Anger coping strategies used in response to ethnicity-related maltreatment may address two goals. The first involves using anger coping strategies, including confrontation, to influence the outcome of the race-related conflict. For example, the expression of anger can be used to motivate the perpetrator to change his or her behavior or to motivate others to take action ( Swim et al. 2003 ). The second goal of anger coping strategies is to manage the emotional burden created by the anger.

Researchers have used several different approaches to assess constructs related to anger expression and confrontation. In some cases, anger coping that involves directly protesting maltreatment has been subsumed under the term confrontation coping ( Noh et al. 1999 ). In other cases, researchers have directly examined the effects of different strategies for anger expression, including outward anger expression (Anger-Out) or anger suppression (Anger-In) (e.g., Dorr et al. 2007 ).

Despite the obvious importance of studying the effects of anger coping, there have been relatively few studies directly addressing these issues. Specifically, there have been two survey studies that examine the effects of confrontation coping as a buffer of the relationship of racism to distress ( Noh et al. 1999 ; Noh and Kaspar 2003 ). There have been five studies examining the effects of anger coping or confrontation as a means of managing racist interactions on BP ( Armstead and Clark 2002 ; Dorr et al. 2007 ; Krieger 1990 ; Krieger and Sidney 1996 ; Steffen et al. 2003 ). Details of these studies are presented in Table 3 .

Studies of the buffering effects of anger expression on the relationship of racism to mental and physical health indices

Note. HTN = Hypertension. ABP = ambulatory blood pressure. BP = blood pressure. SBP = systolic blood pressure. DBP = diastolic blood pressure. MAS = Multidimensional Anger Scale ( Siegel, 1986 ). PRS = Perceived Racism Scale ( McNeilly et al., 1996 ).

In two population-based samples of Asian immigrants, Noh and colleagues examined confrontation coping using measures which include an item assessing direct protests to the perpetrator. In the South Asian sample (i.e., composed largely of Chinese and Vietnamese), Noh and Kaspar (2003) reported no effects of confrontation on the relationship of perceived discrimination to depression. In contrast, in a study of Korean immigrants, the authors reported that personal confrontation coping (i.e., directly protesting or talking to the perpetrator) moderated the effects of discrimination on depression, such that those who were more likely to confront reported less depression in the face of discrimination than those who indicate they are less likely to confront ( Noh et al. 1999 ).

A recent diary study by Hyers (2007) examined costs and benefits associated with confrontation coping, although no measure was made of depression or health. She considered outcomes including rumination-related behaviors (i.e., feelings of emotional upset, regret, wishing to respond differently in the future) and experiences of self-efficacy (i.e., “the perpetrator was educated”) as well as interpersonal conflict. These intermediate outcomes may be predictors of depression over the long run, and potentially serve to maintain the stress associated with the episodes of racism. Hyers reported that when women responded to incidents of racism or sexism with confrontation coping, they were less likely to ruminate and more likely to feel they had been efficacious. Those who did not confront were more likely to report a benefit of avoiding interpersonal conflict; however, it is not clear if the women who did confront actually experienced more conflict.

In five studies using different methodologies, the effects of anger coping on BP levels or reactivity and recovery were examined ( Armstead et al. 1989 ; Dorr et al. 2007 ; Krieger 1990 ; Krieger and Sidney 1996 ; Steffen et al. 2003 ). The results were fairly consistent and are detailed in Table 3 . The main effects analyses indicate that suppressing anger in the face of discrimination is associated with higher levels of BP or poorer cardiovascular recovery from race-related stress exposure. However, there is also some evidence that, for African Americans, expressing anger may be associated with poorer cardiovascular recovery as well.

In two population-based samples, Krieger and colleagues examined the effects of exposure to discrimination and responses to discrimination, contrasting the effects of “doing something about it” with “accepting it as a fact of life”. Among a small sample of Black women, those who reported “doing something about it (discrimination)” were less likely to have a hypertension diagnosis than those who “accepted and kept quiet about it” ( Krieger 1990 ). In Krieger and Sidney (1996) , a large scale population-based study of Black and White individuals, the blood pressure levels of those who reported “doing something about it” were lower than those of individuals who reported “accepting it.” Statistical tests of moderation were not performed, making it difficult to determine if buffering effects were present.

Steffen et al. (2003) reported that trait anger suppression was independently associated with ambulatory DBP in a convenience sample of African Americans. However, neither anger suppression nor expression moderated the effects of racism on ambulatory BP. Armstead et al. (1989) and Dorr et al. (2007) conducted laboratory studies examining the relationship of anger coping to BP response to a racist stressor. Armstead et al. (1989) reported that for Blacks anger suppression was marginally associated with greater SBP at baseline. A style of anger coping in which anger is outwardly expressed was marginally associated with baseline levels of mean arterial pressure and reduced SBP and DBP reactivity to the racist stressor.

In the Dorr et al. study (2007) , African American and European American participants engaged in race and nonrace-related debates facing a European American confederate. Following the tasks participants were given opportunities to express versus inhibit anger. The authors reported that for both African Americans and European Americans, anger inhibition was associated with slower recovery of indices of total peripheral resistance, a measure of vascular response. For African Americans, BP and HR recovery was slower when they were allowed to express their anger than when they were asked to inhibit it, and recovery was also slower than the recovery of EA who were able to express their anger. These effects suggest that anger suppression exacerbates vascular recovery to stress for both groups; whereas outward anger expression exacerbates cardiac and other CV indices of recovery to stress for Blacks.

The authors suggest that one possible explanation for these findings is that anger suppression can lead to rumination if issues are not resolved satisfactorily. However, anger expression may lead to anxiety about retaliation or abandonment if social relations are threatened by direct expression of anger. Both rumination and persistent anxiety may be associated with sustained physiological activation following stress exposure ( Brosschot et al. 2006 ).

What accounts for the variations in the effects of confrontation as a buffer of the effects of racism on depression?

The specific effects of confrontation coping are difficult to interpret, since confrontation coping is subsumed under the general heading of approach coping or problem solving coping and includes items measuring social support seeking as well as “going to the authorities”. Second, the type of confrontation (i.e., hot and angry versus cold and unemotional) is generally not specifically examined, yet laboratory research suggests that the effects of the confrontation depend in part on the emotional quality of the confrontation ( Czopp et al. 2006 ).

Although the limited literature suggests that most Black and White individuals report trying to “do something” about racism ( Krieger and Sidney 1996 ; Plummer and Slane 1996 ; Thompson Sanders 2006 ), diary studies suggest that individuals report thinking about confrontation or indirectly or non-verbally expressing their anger more often than they actually engage in direct anger expression ( Hyers 2007 ). Measures are needed that separate intent from action or more explicitly identify the specific actions taken.

It is also necessary to consider the context in which the conflict occurs when evaluating the effects of anger coping or confrontation. Individuals will hesitate to express anger directly if they believe there will be retaliatory consequences for this anger expression. In any given interaction, individuals with relatively lower levels of power or status are more likely to suppress anger than high power individuals ( Gentry et al. 1973 ). The location of the conflict (i.e., work or social arena) may also influence the choice of coping strategies ( Brondolo et al. 2005b ). Cultural variations in the importance of maintaining relationships may also affect the outcomes associated with confrontation ( Noh et al. 1999 ; Suchday and Larkin 2004 ). Research is needed to clearly differentiate among different types of confrontation strategies and to identify situational and cultural variations in the types of strategies used and their effectiveness.

Some of the health effects of different individual-level coping strategies are likely to be a function of the efficacy of the coping strategies themselves. If the strategies for confrontation and anger coping are effective on some dimensions (e.g., reducing overt expressions of prejudice), but costly on others (e.g., social relations), individuals may not perceive themselves as having appropriate coping resources, making it more likely that they will perceive interracial or race-based maltreatment as stressful. Evaluating a broad range of outcome measures from the target’s perspective (e.g., mental and physical health, rumination, satisfaction with outcome, perceived benefits) is critical. Investigating the perceptions of these different coping strategies from the perspective of others is also important. The growing literature on other’s perceptions of confrontation and other coping strategies ( Czopp et al. 2006 ; Kawakami et al. 2007 ) can provide guidance for future studies on anger coping. More knowledge regarding the perceptions of different coping strategies by individuals of other ethnicities/races can help guide individuals as they weigh the costs and benefits of various responses.

Summary and future directions

The strongest and clearest conclusion that can be drawn from this review is that there is a significant need for further research on strategies for coping with racism. No coping strategy has emerged as a clearly successful strategy for offsetting the mental or physical health impacts of racism. Instead, each approach has some demonstrated strengths, but also considerable side effects or limitations.

Ethnic and racial identity develop to meet multiple needs, including enhancing one’s pride and commitment to one’s cultural group as well as helping individuals develop meaningful strategies for managing discrimination based on racial or ethnic bias. Studies suggest that racial identity, particularly racial or ethnic pride and belonging may have beneficial effects in some circumstances. But these components of identity are not sufficient to ameliorate the effects of racism on the development of depressive symptoms and may increase the detection of threat and the perception of harm.

Involvement with only one type of identity may restrict the individuals’ ability to consider multiple perspectives and learn a range of coping options. Instead, in an increasingly multicultural society, it will be important to understand the best ways to help individuals master the complex psychological tasks involved in maintaining individual, group and national identities, particularly when the values at one level contrast with the values at another. Oyserman has specifically suggested that a “possible selves” approach, encouraging individuals to incorporate aspects of different types of group identities, may be of benefit ( Oyserman et al. 2007 ).

It may be that the strength of this approach is not only in gaining the benefits of having multiple roles, but in the process of mastering the underlying cognitive-affective processes that subserve these identities. Learning to think about oneself as a member of many different groups requires considering multiple perspectives and developing the ability to shift the focus of one’s attention even when experiencing strong emotion. Additionally, individuals must learn to integrate specific individualized information (e.g., about stressors and resources specific to the individual) with larger category-based information (e.g., about stressors and resources conferred because of group membership). In the process of developing an awareness of many possible identities, individuals may also strengthen their own capacity for effective coping in a range of circumstances and increase their ability to draw support from a number of different groups. Similarly, social support appears to be beneficial in a variety of circumstances, but the available data do not support a direct role for non-specific social support as a buffer of the effects of racism on distress. A greater understanding of the types of support beneficial for different phases and dimensions of the experience of racism will be needed to facilitate the development of support-based interventions including, for example, group based stress-management programs.

The clinical literature ( Elligan and Utsey 1999 ; Utsey et al. 2002 ) may provide some guidance for the specific types of support that may be valuable at different points in time. It may be necessary to include communication that is aimed at validating the individual’s experience (i.e., the perception that race-based maltreatment may have occurred), while also offering opportunities to review the circumstances and identify factors that elicited perceptions of threat. This type of support is needed to decrease defensiveness and increase the capacity to clearly articulate specific concerns and develop appropriate strategies to manage the specific threat. But acute problem-focused support may not be sufficient. Support may also be needed to address and ameliorate the painful nature of racism, providing an opportunity to address not only the feelings of anger, but of shame and anxiety as well. Finally, still other forms of support may be needed to provide hope and the motivation and direction to reduce racism and its effects over the long term.

The psychobiological effects of anger suppression among African Americans are among the most consistent findings in the literature on coping with racism. These data suggest that suppressing anger in the face of discrimination is associated with elevated BP or greater BP responses, but the studies have included only African Americans or European Americans. Other data suggest that there may be cultural moderators of these effects, since the association between anger suppression and distress varies depending on the individual’s ethnicity or race.

Yet, it is unclear what the effective alternatives to anger suppression and aggressive confrontation might be. We need better and more detailed answers to the questions: What is the most effective method to protest ethnicity-related maltreatment? How can anger be used to effectively communicate the seriousness of injustice without exhausting the targets of injustice? If individuals suppress anger at the time of the maltreatment, how can they reintroduce the discussion and communicate their concerns and remedy the injustice later? Understanding the predictors of anger suppression and confrontation both at the time of the incident and over the long run is likely to yield insight into the costs and benefits of these different approaches and to suggest more effective strategies.

Since racism and strategies for coping with racism occur within an interpersonal context, it is important to understand how different behaviors are perceived by others. Czopp et al. (2006) indicates that confrontation coping can be very effective in changing a perpetrator’s beliefs and behavior. The different features of the confrontation (e.g., the ethnicity of the confronter, the emotional tone of the message) are associated with variations in the effectiveness of the confrontation in changing behavior and eliciting negative reactions. The literature on coping with racism must be closely integrated with the empirical literature on the perceptions of targeted individuals by members of other racial or ethnic groups ( Kawakami et al. 2007 ). With this knowledge, individuals can make better predictions about the likely outcomes of their efforts to combat racism and to become increasingly effective in their communication.

Cultural norms have changed regarding the acceptability of overtly discriminatory behavior. Social modeling via the media and other methods has been used to communicate more egalitarian values and to deride racist behavior. It may be useful to use similar methods to generate and model strategies for communicating concern and anger about more subtle discriminatory or stigmatizing actions.

There are conceptual and methodological problems with the existing literature that are common to a new research area confronting a complex and disturbing problem. Some difficulties are related to problems in conceptualizing racism-related coping, and developing models that incorporate the different types of strategies needed to accommodate variations in demand across time and across contexts. To date, very few studies have examined the degree to which the effects of racism-related coping strategies vary by context or timing, and very few have examined the degree to which individual difference variables, including the presence of other background stressors or personality dimensions, shape the type of coping choice ( Brondolo et al. 2008 ; Scott 2004 ) or moderate its effectiveness ( Danoff-Burg et al. 2004 ; Scott 2004 ).

Surprisingly, almost no studies have examined variations in the effectiveness of the strategies by the stage of the incident (i.e., in preparation for future difficulties, at the time of the incident or following the termination of the conflict). Additionally, investigations have not adequately separated out the types of strategies most effective for managing the practical consequences of exposure versus the emotional consequences of confronting unjust social exclusion. The development of new measures of racism-related coping that incorporate issues of timing, context, and intent are needed.

Research is also needed to investigate the differential effects of any particular strategy on functioning, affect and health. Some coping strategies, for example, may be effective in limiting exposure to racism, but may have detrimental effects on mental and physical health. Outcomes must also include assessments of the target’s perceptions of effectiveness as well.

Because coping strategies may have side effects, there is a need for more research involving multiple outcome measures. Confrontational coping may have the side effect of creating or exacerbating interpersonal conflict. Anger suppression may have the side effect of increasing rumination. Social support seeking can be distracting or confusing. The results of studies reporting effects that are limited to one or two outcome domains may be misleading regarding the overall effectiveness of the coping responses examined.

In this review, we have chosen to consider a coping strategy as effective if it ameliorates some of the deleterious health effects of racism, specifically effects on depression symptoms or risk factors for hypertension. However, there may be other dimensions of effectiveness worth considering: Does the strategy for coping with racism reduce the incidence of racism over the long run? Does it achieve the personal goals of the target (i.e., to get a job, to avoid exclusion) even it if incurs some consequences as well? Does it decrease fear?

A fuller understanding of the potential benefits of strategies for coping with racism will be facilitated by intervention research. Ultimately, these will have the broadest impact if delivered and evaluated on a community, institutional, or national scale. Public education messages and school-based health promotion activities have the potential of reaching a large and diverse audience. But they will only be as effective as the coping responses that they attempt to promote.

We focused on stress-buffering, which is only one model of the manner in which coping responses may ameliorate the effects of exposure to racism. As shown in Fig. 1 , other plausible models include mediational models that posit simultaneous causal effects of stress on coping and of coping on outcomes. Some of the strategies that we have examined, such as anger expression or racial identity development, may be better considered as responses that emerge as a function of discrimination rather than as coping responses that develop independently of exposure. Developing different strategies may require a substantial effort on the part of the target. Both buffering and mediational models are best examined in large-scale, longitudinal studies, which are in short supply in the published literature.

Early models of coping may have reflected the more general societal view that racial and ethnic discrimination were an immutable feature of life. As legal, economic, and social conditions change, the possibilities for coping with ethnic and racial discrimination will change as well. As new solutions and opportunities develop, the models of these coping strategies will also evolve.

Research on strategies for coping with racism is necessary to empower targeted individuals to develop and choose methods that are effective at reducing discrimination, increasing hope, and buffering the impact of racism on health. As we come to understand a fuller range of consequences of each strategy, we can provide better guidance to help individuals make more informed choices about the ways they wish to cope with racism and protect their health. We hope that this knowledge and the detailed description of the ways in which racism is experienced by the targets will contribute to the elimination of discriminatory behavior.

1 Two additional studies report buffering effects on perceived stress, but not depressive symptoms ( Sellers et al., 2003 ; Sellers et al., 2006 ). Four studies reported buffering effects of racial/ethnicity identity on self-esteem or academic orientation, achievement or efficacy, even when the authors reported that they did not find buffering effects on measures of distress or depression ( Sellers et al., 2003 ; Wong et al., 2003 ) or did not examine effects on depression ( Oyserman & Fryberg, 2006 ; Romero & Roberts, 2003 ). There are also laboratory studies examining the effects of identity on emotional responses to racism-type manipulations ( Ellemers, 1997 ). These provide important insights into the nature of group and individual processes on identity development, but it is not clear that the measures used in these studies are of relevance to the hypothesis that racial/ethnic identity buffers the effects of exposure to racism on clinically significant distress.

Contributor Information

Elizabeth Brondolo, St. John’s University.

Nisha Brady, St. John’s University.

Melissa Pencille, St. John’s University.

Danielle Beatty, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Richard J. Contrada, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Racial Discrimination — The Impact of Racism on the Society

Racism in Society, Its Effects and Ways to Overcome

Categories: Racial Discrimination

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Words: 2796 |

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Published: Jun 10, 2020

Words: 2796 | Pages: 6 | 14 min read

Executive summary, the effects of racism in today’s world (essay), works cited.

The current platform of social media has given many of the minorities their voice; they can make sure that the world can hear them and their opinions are made clear. This phenomenon is only going to rise with the rise of social media in the coming years.
The diversity of race, culture and ethnicity that has been seen as a cause of rift and disrupt in the society in the past, will act as a catalyst for social development sooner rather than later, with the decrease in racism.
Racist view of an individual are not inherited, they are learned. With that in mind, it is fair to assume that the coming generations will not be as critical of an individual’s race as the older generations have been.
If people dismiss the concept of racial/ethnical evaluations and instead, evaluate an individual on one’s abilities and capabilities, the economic development will definitely have a rise.
A lot of intra-society grievances and mishaps that are caused due to misconceptions of an ethnic group can be reduced as social interaction increases.
As people from different ethnic backgrounds, coming from humble beginnings, discriminated throughout their careers, manage to emerge successful to the public platform, the racist train of thought is being exposed and will continue to do so. This will inspire people from any and every background, race, language, ethnicity to step forward and compete on the large scale.
Racism and prejudice are at the root of racial profiling and that racial bias has been interweaved into the culture of most societies. However, these chains have grown much weaker as time has passed, to the point that they are in a fragile state.
Another ray of hope that can be witnessed nowadays that people are no longer ashamed of their cultural identity. People now believe that their cultural background is in no way or form inferior to another and thus, worth defending. This will turn out to be a major factor in minimizing racism in the future.
Because of the strong activism against racism, a new phenomenon has emerged that is color blindness, which is the complete disregard of racial characteristics in any kind of social situation.
The world is definitely going in the right direction concerning the curse that is Racism; however, it is far too early to claim that humankind will completely rid itself of this vile malignance. PrescriptionsRacism is a curse that has plagued humanity since long. It has been responsible for multitudes of nefarious acts in the past and is causing a lot of harm even now, therefore care must be taken that this problem is brought under control as soon as possible so as not to hinder the growth of human societies. The following are some of the precautions, so to say, that will help tremendously in tackling this problem.
The first and foremost step is to take this problem seriously both on an individual and on community level. Racism is something that can not be termed as a minor issue and dismissed. History books dictate that racism is responsible for countless deaths and will continue to claim the lives of more innocents unless it is brought under control with a firm hand. The first step to controlling it is to accept racism as a serious problem.
Another problem is that many misconceptions or rumors that are dismissed by most people as a trivial detail are sometimes a big deal for other people, which might push them over the edge to commit a crime or some other injustice. So whenever there is an anomaly, a misconception or a misrepresentation of an individual’s, a group’s or a society’s ideas or beliefs, try to be the voice of reason rather than staying quiet about it. Decades of staying silent over crucial issues has caused us much harm and brought us to this point, staying silent now can only lead us to annihilation.
One of most radical and effective solution to racial diversity is to turn it from something negative to something positive. Where previously, one does not talk to someone because of his or her cultural differences, now talk to them exactly because of that. If different cultures and races start taking steps, baby steps even, towards the goal of acquiring mutual respect and trust, racism can be held in check.
On the national level, contingencies can be introduced and laws can be made that support cultural diversity and preach against anything that puts it in harm’s way. Taking such measures will make every single member of the society well aware of the scale of this problem and people will take it more seriously rather than ridiculing it.
Finally, just as being racist was a part of the culture in the older generations, we need to make being anti-racist a part of our cultures. If our children, our youth grew up watching their elders and their role models dissing and undermining racism at every point of life, they will definitely adopt a lifestyle that will allow no racial discriminations in their life.

Methodology

Findings and results.

Is racism justifiable?
Is the current trend of racism increasing in your country?
Do you have any acquaintances or friends that belong to a different ethnical background?
Would you ever use someone’s race against them to win an argument?
Would you agree to work in a diverse racial environment?
Will humankind ever rid itself of racism?
Have you ever taken any measures to abate racism?
Racism has changed the relationship between people?
Racial discriminations are apparent in our everyday life.
One racial/ethnic group can be superior to another
Racial/ethnic factors can change your perception of a person.
Racial diversity can cause problems in one’s society.
Racial or Ethnical conflict should be in cooperated into the laws of one’s society.
Are you satisfied with the way different ethnic groups are treated in your society?
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Hughey, M. W. (2021). White supremacy. The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Sociology.
Jones, M. T., & Janson, C. (2020). Racism and health: Evidence and needed research. Annual Review of Public Health, 41, 1-16.
Krieger, N. (2019). Discrimination and racial inequities in health : A commentary and a research agenda. American Journal of Public Health, 109(S1), S82-S85.
Kteily, N., Bruneau, E., Waytz, A., & Cotterill, S. (2021). The psychology of racism: A review of theory and research. Annual Review of Psychology, 72, 479-514.
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