The Fifth Frame of Colorblind Ideology: Maintaining the Comforts of Colorblindness in the Context of White Fragility

Abstract

In the context of newly emerging racial backlash with implications for colorblind ideology, the authors explore understandings of race and racism among white students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). They build on Bonilla-Silva’s four frames of colorblind ideology and describe a fifth—the disconnected power-analysis frame. Interviews with 18 white students across three HBCUs revealed that this frame allows students with a limited but growing awareness of racial inequality to more strategically engage with and benefit from an environment where race is salient, while preserving white privilege in the process. The findings underscore the enduring significance of colorblind frames and the need for continued vigilance in naming covert race-coded language that perpetuates white supremacy.