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Using a mixed methods approach, this paper examines perceptions about race and racial diversity among undergraduate students at a predominantly white university in the South. Quantitative results indicate that race, experiences with racial harassment, and racial equality perceptions predict likelihood of whether students think about race (racial invisibility proxy). Moreover, race, curriculum coverage, and racial equality perceptions are predictors of opposition to university efforts to increase student racial diversity (racial consciousness proxy). Drawing from the literature on colorblind racism and our qualitative findings, we explain these patterns by highlighting what we call "the paradox of colorblindness." This work extends existing scholarship by identifying the processes that foster colorblindness and contribute to selective color consciousness among university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research on U.S. immigration and race shows that some non-white immigrants may deploy a 'colour-blind ideology' as a strategy to assimilate. Doing so secures status and creates distance from African Americans. We build upon this literature using in-depth interviews with first-generation middle class Dominican immigrants in Atlanta to investigate whether and how colour-blind ideologies are invoked. In addition to finding the four colour-blind frames identified by Bonilla-Silva, we uncover a fifth colour-blind frame--frustration with the U.S. racial system - that has not been discussed in the literature. Many respondents adopted a colour-blind approach, yet framed this perspective as a form of resistance to American racial ideology rather than an endorsement of it. These findings call attention to how culture shock and frustration, rather than motivation to assimilate, can spur colour-blind discourses. Our research illustrates how first-generation immigrants can simultaneously embrace and reject U.S. ideologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to examine the association between color-blind ideology, political affiliation and race, this exploratory study analyzes data collected from the 2014 General Social Survey (GSS). The study employs a series of multinomial logistic regressions and predicted probabilities to examine the association between party affiliation, race and color-blind racism ideology. This study finds that white Republicans and Democrats are predicted to have similar beliefs that entail support for colorblind ideologies. Therefore, the distinction that appears to separate Democrats and Republican voters, i.e. advocating racialized ideologies, is perhaps not so distinct. While this study unveils results that corroborate previous studies, future research is needed to assess how white people specifically understand color-blind racism and their attachments to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Black and Latino access to higher education has increased, graduation rates continue to lag significantly behind those of Whites. Campus climate has been identified as one of the factors that affect the graduation rates of Black and Latino students; it is important because it is one of the few factors that universities can actually change. This study used the Racial Microaggressions Scale (RMAS) to measure students' experience of racial/ethnic microaggressions. An online survey was administered during the spring 2015 semester to Black and Latino students; the response rate was about 25%. A small group of White/non-Hispanic students also completed the study. There was a statistically significant difference (p<.000) between Black, Latino and White/non-Hispanic groups as determined by one-way ANOVA on all six subscales of the RMAS. Tukey HSD post-hoc tests showed statistically significant between-group differences. There was a clear and consistent pattern in the means on the subscales. On the Criminality, Sexualization, Undesirable, and Invisibility subscales, means were highest for Black respondents, next highest for Latino respondents, and lowest for White/non-Hispanic respondents. On the Foreigner subscale, the mean scale score for Latino respondents was the highest, while the means for Black and White/non-Hispanic respondents were lower and about the same. Qualitative responses illustrated quantitative findings. We suggest high-quality, mandatory training on implicit bias, white privilege and color-blind attitudes for faculty and staff at Predominantly White Institutions. We are revising our core undergraduate curricula to meet our university's goal of preparing students to function in a diverse and globalized world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ideology of whiteness has received little attention in mathematics education. In this paper, we develop a framework for documenting how whiteness shapes mathematics education as a racialized space. Drawing on the sociological concept of "white institutional space" (Feagin, Vera, & Imani, 1996; Moore, 2008), the framework examines mathematics education across institutional, interpersonal, and individual levels of analysis. The authors argue that this framework captures how ideological discourses of whiteness and colorblindness (Lewis, 2004) and racialized hierarchies of mathematics ability (Martin, 2009) are perpetuated through institutional structures and interpersonal relations in mathematics education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-9-11 consciousness of fear, terrorism and war pervading U.S. culture is perhaps most explicitly expressed through the media. Television can often be viewed as a mechanism for both reflecting and constructing racial/ethnic stereotypes. ABC's Lost and NBC's Heroes seem to do exactly that. Both shows, with their large diverse casts are set in the backdrop of post-911 xenophobia. This paper seeks to critically examine their racial makeup, the prevalence of racial/ethnic stereotypes and determine what both shows are attempting to say about social cohesion. Ultimately Lost and Heroes fall short of creating egalitarian post-racial utopias. White males dominate the quality and quantity of central characters, leaving minor characters of color to serve as tokens of their specific nationality/ethnicity. Women are also less developed compared to the men, serving as targets of interest, rather than strong characters of their own accord. Overall, the writers prove to devote more attention to the central white males at the cost of under-developing women and people of color.However, science fiction television is one of the few genres that, more often than not, dare to imagine a multicultural landscape. Lost and Heroes entice us with their large diverse casts, by making some humble attempts at developing women and characters of color to greater depth. But, in the midst of an uncertain future for U.S. economic, military, and political power in the global arena, both shows serve to perpetuate the myth that white Americans remain in control of the world's destiny. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Senator Barack Obama's historic run for the White House has produced questions and speculation about whether Senator Obama's candidacy means that a new form of black politics, one that is not grounded in a civil rights history, has supplanted the traditional model. In addition there has also been speculation, among some African American conservatives, in particular, that an Obama presidency will signify an end to the impasse around the black-white racial dichotomy. In this paper I argue the following: Senator Obama's candidacy poses a dilemma for some African American conservatives pertaining to their racial beliefs. Through an examination of black conservative discourse about Senator Obama I show that their discussion of the racial significance of an Obama victory conflicts with their belief in the need for an adoption of "colorblindness." Secondly, I illustrate how senator Obama's popularity with African Americans highlights some of the limitations of black conservatism, particularly as a viable political option for African Americans. I argue that even though there are similarities between Obama and black conservatives, if Obama were a Republican, his support from African Americans would be significantly smaller due to the combination of various factors. For instance, the overwhelming perception among African Americans that the Republican party is a racist party and black conservatives inability to change the GOP's image due to their marginality within the party. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the idea that a "postracial" identity is the new route to success for African Americans has become en vogue. Our paper challenges that argument using both qualitative and quantitative data from Black students at selective colleges and universities and considers a more nuanced and multidimensional understanding of Black racial identity, including the impact of ethnic background and nativity status on racial identification. While the students are strongly assimilationist, race is also a strong component of their self-identity. Further, "postracial" identification was associated with lower grades and not associated with any change in student satisfaction with their college experience. The paper considers how a more multidimensional and flexible understanding of racial identity and politics would improve our sociological understanding of how one's identity affects one's daily life. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent work in comparative historical and cultural sociology has envisioned national identity as a contested collective identity. While this scholarship acknowledges the processual and dynamic nature of national identity, there is little empirical work on how these dynamics actually play out. This paper aims to address this lacuna by outlining how the dominant national self-understanding is challenged and rearticulated in the case of France, where patterns of post-colonial migration have led to increasing problems with racial discrimination and a corresponding uncertainty about the continued viability of a colorblind French republic. In order to access the content and processes behind national identity in this moment of possible change, this paper uses content analysis of French newspaper articles concerning the debate over the use of racial and ethnic statistics. The frames identified within this debate reveal the ways in which the French national discursive field is structured by institutions, historical narratives and founding ideals, and international references, and how challenges by peripheral identities and an epistemological community are forwarded and addressed within this field. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

France, a traditionally colorblind nation, is facing an emerging racial question. To address issues related to racism and discriminations, empirical work is needed not only about minorities, but also whites. Overt racism is fading among whites and anti-racist norms are prevailing in the public space. In this context, the paper aims at elucidating the discomfort that whites feel when they may be accused of racism. Anti-racist norms are especially challenged in the crime control environment, where there relationships between law enforcement and minorities are conflict-ridden. To highlight the magnitude of this white guilt in France, I compare the French case with the Italian case, where immigration is more recent and colonial history less prevalent. The paper suggests that contrary to conventional wisdom, colorblind France and differentialist United States share white guilt as a common feature of their management of race relations - as opposed to non-colonial Italy, whose law enforcement personnel is unequivocally and unapologetically racist. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a cultural narrative colorblindness is now presented as a post-race, common sense approach to race relations at a time when every quality of life indicator, from rates of infant mortality, incarceration, home foreclosure and poverty disproportionately affects racial minorities. What if embracing a colorblind view of society is not an evasive maneuver to maintain privilege but is now simply regarded as the way things are? What if colorblindness has evolved into a social fact that is part of society's collective consciousness? It is my contention that for a many whites that time is now. We have arrived at the point where a large part of the dominant group has truly come to believe that individuals are now judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. In this paper I argue a number of social forces have converged that have pushed colorblind egalitarianism from an abstract cultural ideal to social fact that is now normative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A central idea in whiteness studies is the invisibility of whiteness. However, recent research has provided new insights into the nature of whiteness, questioning its widespread invisibility. A significant number of Americans, including whites, see ways in which being white provides advantages. This is not to say that whiteness has lost its power. Rather, the nature and power of whiteness has shifted over the past twenty years. This paper begins by providing a brief overview of central ideas from whiteness studies and then provides results from recent research that empirically tests these ideas. Following this, additional analyses are conducted to further explore whiteness today. These additional analyses show that a majority of Americans believe both Individual and Structural explanations are important in explaining white advantage. It is not that whites are unaware of white privilege and therefore allow it to continue. Rather, whites are aware of ways in which they receive advantages in our society and simultaneously believe that individualistic efforts play an important role in explaining white advantage. Colorblind ideologies help to maintain this position. The power of whiteness today may be its ability to generate privilege while simultaneously rationalizing and justifying visible racial privilege in a post-racial, colorblind society. This paper places recent empirical findings about whiteness in historical context to show how whiteness continues to transform and evolve, yet still wields significant power in maintaining and reproducing the racial hierarchy in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This project is a case study examining the presence of colorblindness on a college campus and specifically within a traditionally hostile environment- the Greek-letter fraternity system. The study focused on the attitudes and social mechanisms at work during the process of minority undergraduates deciding which fraternity to join: (1) a mainstream (traditionally "white") fraternity or (2) a fraternity that matches their racial/ethnic background. Consequently, this project is also comparative in that the two populations listed above are compared and contrasted. This study filled the gaps in the relevant literature by examining a particular type social organization within the college environment- the Greek letter fraternity. It additionally focused on the reasons behind the decision to join a specific category of fraternities (white versus ethnic), rather than examining the effects of such involvement. Consequently, my primary variable was which type of fraternity the students joined, and my secondary variables included selection process characteristics, family characteristics of respondents, the qualities that they desired in fraternities, and minority students' consideration of race. The findings suggest that contrary to the color-blind ideology, minority students who join white fraternities weigh the racial/ethnic breakdown of fraternities' memberships more heavily in their decisions than individuals who join ethnic fraternities. Additionally, support networks have a significantly positive impact in students' decisions to join ethnic fraternities. Subsequently, this study suggests that color-blindness has a oddly precarious existence in this environment; it operates on a more indirect or subconscious level. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]