Abstract
In W.E.B. Du Bois’ Souls of Black Folk, he argued that the problem of the 20th century in the United States was the problem of the color line. Given that de facto and explicit racial discrimination persist, anti-immigrant rhetoric is intensifying, and legal status has become more salient, we argue Du Boisian theory remains relevant for understanding social and political cleavages in the 21st century United States. The intersection of race, ethnicity, and legal status or “racialized legal status” represents a new variation of Du Bois’ “color line,” due to how these statuses generate cumulative disadvantages and exclusion for citizens and immigrants of color, particularly the undocumented. We begin with a review of Du Bois’ double consciousness theory, highlighting the marginalization of African Americans. Next, we apply double consciousness to the 21st century U.S. context to empirically demonstrate parallels between 20th century African Americans and the marginalization faced today by people of color. We close with a discussion about how double consciousness enhances our understanding of citizenship and has also generated agency for people of color fighting for socio-political inclusion in the contemporary United States.
Highlights
Du Bois (1903) seminal work outlining double consciousness theory, he argued that the problem of the 20th century in the United States was the problem of the color line
We argue that Du Boisian theory— double consciousness—remains relevant for understanding social and political cleavages in the 21st century United States and that it can be extended to encompass “racialized legal status”, the intersection of race, ethnicity, and legal status
We demonstrate our argument about the relevance of Du Boisian theory for the present by discussing empirical work that shows how systemic racism has influenced the racialization of immigrants, the disproportionate impact of coercive law enforcement on Black and Brown people, and the influence of White supremacy and capitalism in shaping global migration flows
Summary
We use the term “racialized legal status” to describe the intersection of race, ethnicity, and legal status in applying Du Boisian theory to the 21st century We draw on this collective work to show how a Du Boisian framework can help us more concretely situate the racialized meaning of citizenship in the contemporary United States and its relevance for the global color line. Systematic incursion on non-citizens’ rights, and the role of the United States in shaping the global color line Such theory must account for shifting manifestations of ethno-racial discrimination, from overt legally sanctioned or de jure discrimination in the pre-Civil Rights era to the more informal/implicit de facto discrimination in practice that characterized the late 20th and early 21st centuries. 21st century makes multiple contributions for understanding contemporary social and political cleavages in the United States and beyond
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