Having it both ways: White denial of racial salience while claiming oppression

Abstract

AbstractThis work will examine literature on white ideologies concerning the denial of the significance of race, the denial of white privilege, and increasingly popular claims of ‘anti‐white bias’ and white victimhood. Variant literatures on white attitudes and interracial practices recently emerged regarding racism; this review will examine how they are inextricably linked to one another. In reviewing the recent literature on colorblindness, the denial of white privilege, and white victimhood, I will show how these (sometimes contradictory) beliefs work in concert to perpetuate racial inequalities. I argue that volatile racist tactics obscure accountability, sustain denial, and ultimately create a protective barrier to directly addressing white supremacy in the United States.