Abstract

State of Denial

The author considers whether or not racism continues to exist in the United States and whether or not racial categories remain relevant. These days we can all pretty much acknowledge that race does not exist as a scientific construct; these days, we can all agree that racism is wrong. But clearly, acknowledging there's no biological basis for race is not the same as saying it has no force in the world. In my last column I wrote of my concern about Proposition 54, on California's recall ballot, which would prohibit the gathering of statistics regarding race, color, ethnicity and national origin. There's a very good new book just out from the University of California Press that addresses the growing national tendency to minimize, ignore or outright deny the racial problems that still divide us. Whitewashing Race: The Myth of a Color-Blind Society is a definitive treatise written by Michael K. Brown, Martin Carnoy, Elliott Currie, Troy Duster, David B. Oppenheimer, Marjorie Shultz and David Wellman. They test the narrative, advanced by conservatives from Abigail and Stephen Themstrom to Dinesh D'Souza, maintaining, in essence, that the civil rights movement was successful--and is over; that any remaining racial disparities are caused largely by those who are not sufficiently motivated to take advantage of the opportunities before them and that neither public policy nor law has any further role to play in leveling the playing field. It is good news that most of us Americans embrace racial equality. But for those people of good will who nevertheless plan to vote for Proposition 54, I do wonder: Do you really believe the disparities that divide us today are entirely the product of minorities' choosing residential segregation, choosing to exclude whites from their schools and choosing unemployment?