Race Relations Research Articles

Race and Faith: The Role of Congregations in Racial Justice

AbstractFollowing the killing of George Floyd, some congregations more fully entered the conversation on race. Although sometimes reinforcing institutional racism, many religious traditions also have tools for conflict resolution, repentance, and reconciliation. Given this ambivalence, how do congregations engage questions of racial justice, and how is this engagement influenced by race and religious tradition? Our answers come through multimethod data collected over 2 years: (a) Surveys of 2,293 congregants from 35 diverse congregations find that race relations is the issue they most want their place of worship to address, while revealing exhaustion among some Black members; (b) 90 sermons from 15 congregations reveal how clergy talked about race in the weeks after Floyd's murder depended largely on the race of the congregation; and (c) 21 clergy interviews illustrate differences in how clergy use religion to engage race. These diverse data reveal key differences, based on race and religious tradition.

Can History Bring Reconciliation in Divided Christian Communities?

As Elazar Barkan, the founding president of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation, pointed out, the recounting of history has been exploited to provoke conflict, incite war, and inflame genocides. Can it also be drawn upon to facilitate reconciliation? Indeed, many conflicts have an ideological component which is based on contested views of history. This applies to the Christian churches, starting with the Reformation. Using four case studies, the article argues that “good” history, based on reliable archival and oral evidence, can lay the foundation for a more serene view of the past and lead to reconciliation. It is essential to consider all points of view. The historian must navigate between diverse opinions and emotions, deepening the analysis when there are conflicts of interpretation. The article examines four recent memory debates in the Christian churches: the painful closure of the Federal Theological Seminary in 1993; the silence of the Rwandan churches during the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994; the brutal transfer of a group of black sisters from Newcastle to Montebello in 1939; and race relations and the search for unity in the history of the Lutheran churches of Southern Africa.

Jesus and Prophets like Jonah: A Message for Womanists and White Christian Nationalists

This essay explores the prophetic vocation vis-a-vis the challenge of contemporary Christian nationalism by reading the book of Jonah in the Hebrew Bible in conversation with what Jesus says about the sign of Jonah in Matthew 12. This essay puts two readings of Jonah into dialog—one for womanist prophets and one addressed to White Christian nationalists. These texts reveal God's relentless mercy for the outsider and God's unwavering love for the prophet of the oppressed. The essay considers what the sign of Jonah means for race relations and the troubling rise of White Christian nationalism in the United States today.

The Economic History & Urban Geography of Race Relations in Detroit: Movement of Capital, White Resistance and Immobility of Black Labor

Detroit's intertwined history of deindustrialization and racial segregation is often explored separately. In The Origins of the Urban Crises (1996), Thomas Sugrue examines post-WWII job losses and housing discrimination without elucidating why and how the city came to experience the abrupt flight of capital in that period. Conversely, Murray and Schwartz's Wrecked (2019) details the catalysts for Detroit's deindustrialization but neglects its impact on the African-American community. This paper aims to bridge these perspectives by utilizing various secondary sources and archival evidence to analyze how concurrent discrimination and economic decline have maintained the persistent segregation between Detroit and its suburbs.

Race, caste and colonialism

This article addresses Oliver Cromwell Cox’s criticisms of the application of the concept of caste to understand race relations in the southern states of the Unite States. It proposes that there are deep similarities in the experiences of Dalits in India and Blacks in the United States, but argues that these derive from the modern construction of caste and race in the conjunction of colonialism and capitalism. In each case, the problems do not derive from the resilience of ‘pre-modern’ social structures, but from modern structures of colonialism that continue in the post-civil war United States and post-independence India. They are problems of democracy, not problems to be solved by the application of democratic values.

Research on Social Stratification in Brazil

ABSTRACTBrazil, as the most unequal and populous country in Latin America, demands a closer examination of its patterns and trends of social stratification. With an emphasis on recent contributions, the paper reviews the literature on four major areas of stratification research: race relations and inequality, educational stratification, intergenerational mobility, and income inequality. The literature on racial stratification focuses on the following subjects: racial classification, discrimination, marital selectivity, educational stratification, and intergenerational mobility. In addition, educational stratification literature concerning trends and patterns is reviewed with special attention to studies advanced by sociologists of social stratification. Intergenerational mobility studies are also presented and discussed. Finally, studies on income and wealth inequality are reviewed. In all these areas the contribution of sociologists is highlighted, and trends and patterns of stratification are presented.

The heterogeneous origins of religion as a category in law in the United Kingdom: Implications for education

This paper examines the origins of ‘religion or belief’ as a protected characteristic as it came to be enshrined in the Equality Act 2010. In relation to the Equality Act 2010, heteronomous definitions, derived from race relations legislation can tend toward a conflation of race and religion. An example of this is the Mandla v Park Grove School case (1978) which determined the right of a Sikh boy to wear a turban to school through the application of the Race Relations Act 1976. Later jurisprudence including Begum v Denbigh High School (2006) and legislation such as the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 further draws upon the language of race to treat of religion or belief, resulting in a heterogeneous (mis)representation of religion which tends both toward essentialism and a deficit model of religiosity. With reference to education, a Christian welfarist orientation toward ‘religious instruction’ can be traced back to 1788, in the 20th century this begins to be supplanted by a concern for ‘religious neutrality’ derived from colonial practices of governance in India. Drawing on these, it is possible to recover a more positive and authentic definition of the role of religion in UK law.

Racismo no Brasil: de hipótese à premissa, sem passar por objeto

The area study of race relations is one of the oldest and most consolidated in Brazilian Social Sciences. Yet paradoxically, there is still little research focused on understanding and explaining Brazil’s racism, its mechanisms and characteristics. In addition to illustrating these claims, this text aims to explain why the mechanisms of racial discrimination still manage to escape the radar of sociology and, above all, to outline the general lines of a research agenda that takes discrimination as an object of investigation. It seems that racial discrimination stopped being a research hypothesis, reformulated and tested in different ways between the 1970s and 1990s, to become a premise in the area from the 2000s onwards. However, this came to be without racism being properly constructed as an object of sociological research itself.

Desigualdades raciais para além do paradigma

The so-called “paradigm of racial inequalities”, inaugurated by Carlos Hasenbalg, answered decisive questions about the permanence of disparities between blacks and whites in Brazil and guided new agendas, research designs and forms of analysis of racial inequalities. This article builds some critical notes on the way in which racial inequalities are thematized based on this paradigm, especially the focus on the market as a sphere of observation, and points out the potential for retaking this research object by the contemporary sociology of racial relations, renewed by perspective of intersectionalities and the emergence of new themes.

Community resilience and intersections between sociopolitical and racial relations in the aftermath of immigration raids in Mississippi

ABSTRACT Immigration law enforcement operations can negatively affect communities, creating or exacerbating problems among Latinx immigrants. Community resilience perspectives enable examination of how communities overcome challenges created by disruptions. Resilience studies have shown power relations can affect collective responses. However, few studies exist about how politics and race can affect community responses. This study examines how sociopolitical and racial relations influenced community resilience in the context of large immigration raids. Twenty-six Latinx organizers and allies involved in community responses in the aftermath of these raids were interviewed. The findings show how politics intertwined with racism-shaped Latinx community resilience. After the raids, Latinx groups and allies mobilized collective agency to address problems created by the raids, challenged by political and racial dynamics. The findings also show creating more visibility and consciousness about Latinx communities could be an important step for strengthening inclusiveness and community resilience.

Contextualising mental health: interdisciplinary contributions to a new model for tackling social differences and inequalities in mental healthcare

ABSTRACT Many classical approaches in the area of phenomenological pscyhopathology focus on structures of lived experience of mental illness and overlook the role social context plays in the formation of lived experiences. The paper addresses this issue and contributes to recent research which has pointed out that there is a need for an approach to mental health which investigates the role of context in shaping lived experiences. We propose a conception of contextuality (or situatedness) which we develop in terms of two main characteristics: intersectionality and social relationality of the human condition. We take context to be shaped by social interdependence and by the intersection of multiple factors including gender, race, ethnicity, class, socio-economic status and power relations. We develop this analysis in relation to substance misuse, refer to, and compare, certain case studies and perspectives from Brazil to illustrate our approach which can, however, be applied to other areas of mental health. We suggest that the proposed contextual approach is crucial for an in-depth understanding of psychopathology from a phenomenological perspective and in relation to contemporary ethico-political issues concerning social differences and inequalities in mental health.

An Analysis of the Time Travel Device for Exploring Black-White Race Relations in Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred

The thesis focuses on Octavia E. Butler’s novel Kindred and employs close reading and textual analysis to explore the depiction of black-white race relations through the time travel device. It points out that Butler cleverly uses the method of temporal rescue to break the “grandmother paradox.” The dual-time setting allows Dana, while saving her white ancestors, to witness the harsh realities faced by her African American ancestors in American history. On this basis, the thesis reveals and critiques the historical roots of racial issues, highlighting the physiological and psychological experiences of racial injustice endured by African Americans, as well as the persistence and improvement of the legacy of slavery. It emphasizes the importance of African Americans confronting history to break the cycle of oppression and shape a more equitable future.

Intersectional cognitive schemas of diversity and inclusion in higher education

ABSTRACT Despite efforts towards diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education, systemic oppression persists. This study reflects on how initiatives intended to foster inclusion interact with existing exclusionary mechanisms, impeding progress in equity projects. Specifically, we investigate the visual representation of diversity as an inclusion initiative and explore how the new diversity discourse is assimilated into established organizational cultures through intersectional cognitive schemas that help reproduce class, gender, race and ableist relations. Using a gendered lens to analyse university brochure photographs from five universities in Belgium, we identify the distribution of embodied dominant expressions of masculinity and femininity among white and non-white individuals across different professions. Our findings reveal a hierarchy of inclusion based on intersectional cognitive schemas that place non-white individuals under white women and those under white men. These schemas include meritocratic beliefs regarding the required capacities for each profession, with non-white women emerging as the most disadvantaged. The findings suggest that diversity and inclusion initiatives require critical re-evaluation, taking into account the intersectional and systemic nature of oppression.

A relational approach to digital racism: Toward a theoretical model

In recent decades, anti-immigrant, racist and nationalist attitudes have become increasingly mainstream, transforming public debates on immigration and immigrants in Europe and beyond. These attitudes and sentiments have been widely disseminated and amplified through digital communication, including commercial social media platforms. To better understand the relationship between racism and digital communication, it is necessary to move beyond media-centric explanations and simplified discussions of online hate speech and platform regulation. Therefore, this paper proposes a multi-theoretical approach to digital racism, i.e., racist content produced and circulated online. The paper presents an understanding of digital racism in relation to four perspectives: networked affect, nationalism, masculinity and conspiracy thinking. It takes a relational approach to these theoretical perspectives and discusses how they could be utilized to understand and analytically approach digital racism at the macro, meso and micro levels.

Interracial Unions and Racial Assortative Mating in an Age of Growing Diversity, Shifting Intimate Relationships, and Emerging Technologies

While racial assortative mating and interracial unions have been a central interest in the study of race relations and family demography since the early twentieth century, there have been marked changes in the social contexts in which these processes have taken place in recent decades. This review article examines three important shifts: (a) the rise of population diversity and its impact on traditional views of racial integration, (b) the changing institution of marriage in American life, and (c) the increasing centrality of technology. We discuss how these societal shifts have challenged traditional understandings of preferences, opportunities, and intermediaries in the mate selection process, as well as new opportunities for interracial intimacy that these changes have introduced. We conclude with a discussion on conceptual issues and promising future research directions.

Collective action success factors and community satisfaction in Malaysia’s urban commons

This study examines maintenance and management in socio-economically grounded multi-owned low-cost housing schemes in Malaysia, employing an augmented institutional analysis framework. Focusing on collective action success factors, the research addresses two main questions: ‘How does the influence of the six collective action success factors impact community satisfaction?’ and ‘To what extent does the income of parcel holders contribute to the success factors affecting community satisfaction within collective action?’ Combining quantitative and qualitative methods, this study encompasses a survey of 633 parcel holders in Greater Kuala Lumpur and subsequent interviews with local leadership. Successful self-management of common properties was influenced by the physical environment, social capital, rules-in-use, stakeholders’ interest, adaptation, and racial relationships. Additionally, income acted as a moderator between community satisfaction level and physical environment attributes, as well as stakeholders’ interests. This research recommends government subsidies for multi-owned low-cost housing maintenance, contributing policy insights to the global housing discourse.

Digital peacekeeping, cyborg soldiers and militarised masculinities: a posthuman critique

ABSTRACT This article contends that digital technologies are profoundly altering peacekeeping practices as well as peacekeeper consciousness and modes of being. It is proposed that combining postcolonial humanist and posthumanist ontological perspectives when undertaking ethnographic research enrichens investigations into global race and gender power relations in peacekeeping. Drawing on posthumanism and Bourdieusian practice theory, the article examines how 16 British infantry soldiers articulate reconnaissance and civilian protection experiences and construct their militarised masculinities prior to and after deployment to United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in 2020–2021. Findings show that deployment to a high-risk, stressful mission and functioning as ‘information processing devices’ in an increasingly centralised UN peacekeeping system disempowers and emasculates the men. The peacekeepers respond by engendering and racialising the British Army’s ‘gender-neutral’ cyborg soldier figuration and draw on virtual gaming syntax and framings to create relational distance between themselves, female colleagues and local populations.

Fugitive Archives: Architecture, Police Photography, and Decolonial Futures

ABSTRACT This paper examines underexplored police photographs of Chinese migrants in Korea under Japanese colonial rule, with a focus on architectural spaces. In 1940, a secret anti-Japanese association known as Ildonghoe was established by a group of Chinese migrants in the Korean city of Incheon. Following the arrest of its members in 1943, Japanese colonial authorities documented with photographs locations and objects related to the organization’s activities. This investigation serendipitously created a photographic archive of architectural spaces in and around Incheon’s Chinatown, many of which have since disappeared. The paper sheds light upon these police photographs as an “accidental archive,” a repository of historical materials that gives rise to unintended outcomes with critical information about certain events, places, and moments. The paper pays particular attention to the peculiarity of police photographs as a form of happenstance yet significant documentation capturing historical moments that might otherwise remain elusive. Reading against the grain of colonial archives, this paper shows how the Ildonghoe photographs invite viewers to envision a different narrative of the racial relations forged under colonial rule and imagine decolonial futures that have yet to come.

#BetterTogether: examining race-related crisis communication on a university campus

ABSTRACT This case study examines crisis communication during a series of racial incidents at the University of Oklahoma (OU) using the discourse of renewal theory and corporate responsibility to race (CRR) theory. Crisis messaging analysis showed organizational learning, ethical communication, prospective vision, and engaging rhetoric differences. OU’s crisis messaging differed greatly from its mission statement’s DEI goals. Conversely, several campus organizations more successfully communicated relationship management and emotional intelligence than OU. Comparison to preceding leadership during previous racial incidents showed stakeholders perceived previous racial incidents were better handled. Our study expands on discourse of renewal and CRR by showing key stakeholders – students, faculty, staff, and alumni – want racial incidents handled swiftly and decisively, with a clear university-level commitment to DEI efforts. In a U.S. higher education climate fraught with anti-DEI sentiment and tense racial relations this study shows the responsibility of leadership in responding to racial crises and stakeholder-preferred responses.

Powderly and the worker awakening: speaking to the South in 1885

ABSTRACT Throughout his 1885 speaking tour across the South, Terence Powderly both respected and challenged the region’s color line. Dedicated to growing the Knights of Labor (KOL) membership in the rapidly industrializing South, Powderly asked white and black workers to recognize their common cause in protesting their new wage slavery. Recognizing that the KOL’s vision of a cooperative commonwealth depended on a racially unified and enlarged union membership, Powderly pushed the notion of worker equality while respecting the South’s views of social inequality. His variegated approach to racial relations at speaking engagements across seven southern states over a four-week period reflected both a pragmatic approach to growing union membership and a moral courage in pressing against the south’s racial boundaries.