"Research: Color-Blind Attitudes and Behaviors Perpetuate Structural Racism" A Meta-Analysis

I spoke with someone yesterday evening from India who told me that when one of her family members first migrated to the U.S., they shared with their family back home that the U.S. has a caste system, too. I shared with her that class indeed becomes caste when entire subgroups—mostly, albeit not exclusively, of color—are generationally deprived of resources, including a lack of access to good schools, health care, safe neighborhoods, and so on. She asked me how it is that Americans don't see this and thusly, allow this to happen?

I hate to sound professorial at a party, but it was fresh on my mind. As I had just read this study of studies on color-blindness that now appears in the May 23, 2022 issue of the Journal of Counseling Psychology and authored by Yi, Nevill, Todd, & Mekawi, I answered her how question by addressing the underlying psychology of when folks say that they do not see race. That is, they don't see it when they have don't what to fix racialized systems of oppression. "Yeah, white supremacy," she said.

Specifically, Yi, Nevill, Todd, & Mekawi look at 83 previous studies from research consisting of more than 25,000 participants between 1995 to 2019. This meta-analysis clarifies how "color-blind" attitudes keep us from having a more equitable society with the primary reason being that its absence feeds the vacuum that remains for "victim blaming." The more that minoritized communities are blamed for these same disparities, this lets white people and institutions off the hook for assuming responsibility for what we know are the continued effects of exclusion and subordination.

The researchers break down color-blindness into either "color evasion," "power evasion," or both. Power evasion correlated to prejudice towards Blacks while color evasion did not, adding conceptual depth to a growing literature on color-blindness and the psychology of white supremacy.

This has implications for anti-bias training, working (or not) in diverse contexts, and inclusive curriculum in both K-12 schools and in higher education institutions. Today's "anti-woke" and "anti-diversity" initiatives seek to engineer colorblindness much to our detriment as a society. Yet, addressing these is the very "medicine" we need if we are to resist the impulse to "other" people who are different from ourselves and evolve as human beings.

It doesn't just help whites, but all groups in society to be aware of racial ideologies and how they work to either address, or conversely, to perpetuate, our nation's highly unequal status quo.

-Angela Valenzuela

Reference

Yi, J., Neville, H. A., Todd, N. R., & Mekawi, Y. (2022). Ignoring race and denying racism: A meta-analysis of the associations between colorblind racial ideology, anti-Blackness, and other variables antithetical to racial justice. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 70(3), 258. 

Research: Color-Blind Attitudes and 

Behaviors Perpetuate Structural Racism

The psychologists behind a new study say their field 

can play an important role in dismantling systemic

racism by first helping us better understand what 

creates it.

By Maia Niguel Hoskin, PhD | EveryDayHealth.com

June 7, 2022

Researchers presented evidence that ignoring structural racism leads to more, not less, racism.Adobe Stock

Psychologists say an important step in rooting out systemic racism is to first acknowledge it, rather than deny or minimize its existence.

In a review article published online May 23 in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, researchers looked at 83 previous studies in which specific types of color-blind ideology were found to increase anti-Black perspectives and give a pass to racist behaviors and attitudes. More specifically, power evasion (the denial of racism) led to these negative outcomes, and color evasion (ignoring race) did not necessarily do so.

The researchers noted in the paper that by helping people better understand the individual-level behaviors and ideologies that contribute to anti-Black sentiment, counseling psychologists can help dismantle the systemic racism those behaviors and attitudes lead to.

These findings can inform best practices for mental health professionals and others who work in fields such as education, social work, and various nonprofits, said the study's lead researcher, Jacqueline Yi, a clinical-community psychology doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in a press release.

“The denial of structural racism appears to be a big barrier to racial equity because it allows for more victim-blaming explanations of systemic inequality,” Yi said. “The more that BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and People of Color] individuals are blamed for racial disparities, the less likely it is for white people and institutions to take responsibility for the continued effects of systemic racism.”

Researchers Looked at Color and Power Evasion Separately

Psychologists define "racial ideology" as a belief system that informs one’s interpretation of and response to racial stimuli. For the study, the researchers analyzed data from 83 previous studies that had looked at the effects of color-blind racial ideologies on anti-Black prejudice and a willingness to show racial empathy or openness to diversity.

The researchers categorized color-blindness as either color evasion or power evasion. The first means ignoring someone’s race or ethnicity to reduce prejudice and possible tension, or focusing on human similarity rather than differences linked to racial group membership. The second, power evasion, is the denial, minimization, and distortion of the existence of institutional racism. All the studies in the new review focused on either color evasion, power evasion, or both.

The studies that were reviewed took place between 1995 to 2019 and included more than 25,000 participants.

The review found that power evasion was associated with greater prejudice against Black people and was not an effective way to “get past” or address structural racism; instead, it perpetuated anti-Blackness. Color evasion, however, was not associated with greater levels of prejudice.

The researchers also concluded that the denial of structural racism was more closely linked to anti-Black prejudice than to prejudice against other people of color; and that people who denied the existence of structural racism were more likely to endorse stronger beliefs, such as that societal inequality is acceptable, and they reported fewer intentions to engage in social justice behaviors.

Researchers noted some limitations: They did not analyze responses from study participants by race or ethnicity, meaning power evasion and color evasion attitudes from Black, white, and non-Black people of color were combined. And most of the studies in the analysis included mostly white participants.

Systemic Racism Needs to Be Addressed — Step 1 Is to Better Understand Why It Continues

Barbara Ford Shabazz, PsyD, a clinical psychologist and the owner of Intentional Activities, a personal and professional coaching company, says that better understanding attitudes that contribute to systemic racism will ultimately help address it. “Awareness and acknowledgment of the insidious effects of structural racism are not as prevalent as they could and should be,” she says.

The shocking murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, led to nationwide protests in opposition to racial violence directed toward Black people. In response at the time, the NAACP's president and CEO, Derrick Johnson, said, “This is about the systemic and pervasive nature of racism in this nation that must be addressed."

Doctors similarly pointed to systemic racism as driving racial inequities in COVID-19 infections and deaths in a 2020 New England Journal of Medicine article.

Research like this new analysis from Li and her team helps build a framework to address the specific mental health concerns that victims of racism face, and eventually dismantle structural racism, Dr. Shabazz says.

Color-blindness may be an attractive ideology because it allows people who benefit from a racist society to ignore their own privilege and lets them off the hook for contributing to it, adds Jocelyn Smith Lee, PhD, an assistant professor of human development and family studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.

Even though the data from this research did not suggest that color evasion contributes to anti-Black sentiment, Dr. Smith Lee adds: “That approach is also harmful.”

Shabazz agrees. “The willful avoidance of appreciating diversity and [not] looking at racial disparities only reinforces white comfort, power, and privilege, rendering this approach wildly ineffective.”

Based on their findings, the researchers noted future directions for study, such as developing a tool to measure color-blind racial ideology, investigating the implications of color-blindness across ethnic groups, and studying the motivations behind it.

I don't even know if I  should even post a piece like this that is so incredibly deficit oriented except for the fact that individualistic, "success-oriented" arguments about low-income students' school failure are so appealing to so many--particularly that segment of the public that refuses to acknowledge the "savage inequalities" (to use Jonathan Kozol's term) that characterize inequities in our schools, neighborhoods, and society.

This piece pretends to be explanatory, yet it fails to acknowledge society's unwillingness to equitably and adequately fund our schools.  Racism is powerfully systemic, as well, where race is not only historic and profound, but is also an organizing principle of society.  Segregation, bias, prejudice, discrimination stubbornly find expression in policies and practices to the point that it is the air that we breathe.  One can hardly turn on the morning or evening news and not address racial inequalities in America.  

And why is speaking another language even a "language barrier?"  Why is English monolingualism even a goal given that bilingualism and multilingualism have always been the gem of the upper class in our own country?  For an increasingly multilingual world, this goal is not only passé, it is also a target that represents the interests of those that want to perpetuate a parochial mentality that reinscribes their statuses or positions within our highly unequal and massively diverse status quo. It's problematic that this person would view English monolingualism as a marker of success, particularly for our children who are wonderfully poised for biliteracy, biculturalism, and multilingualism.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan's comments to CNN are pathetic.  Give me a break.  We don't have African American teacher role models in schools because we are losing them to gangs? The way that this is written, that is exactly what Carter suggests.  Even if  this were anywhere close to true, for our schools, policies, and policymakers to have no onus in the matter is off base, at best, and blaming the victims, at worst.  Ever heard of the school-to-prison pipeline...?

The author ends her piece with statements about children's resilience.  If our children could get "success-coached" into  success, this would have happened a long time ago.  Indeed, our children are resilient...which includes their capacity to weather good, power-evasive and power-neutral, liberals like her.

Angela Valenzuela
c/s

Why Aren't Low-Income Students Succeeding in School?

by Carol J. Carter

Posted: 03/19/2013 5:18 pm EDT Updated: 05/19/2013 5:12 am EDT

Many low income first-generation college students who are reading and doing math at a seventh or eighth grade level are admitted into college. Every year, as many as 1.7 million first-year students entering both two- and four-year colleges will take a remedial course to learn the skills they need to enroll in a college-level course. African American, Hispanic, and low-income students represent the largest populations of entering college freshmen who require remedial courses. In fact, 64.7 percent of low-income students who are enrolled in a 2-year college and 31.9 percent enrolled in a 4-year college will require remediation. Academic challenges are often deep-seeded and begin in primary and secondary school, which when left unaddressed, often leads to remediation at the postsecondary level. There are several factors that contribute to low-income students entering college with poor math and reading skills. Here are some of them:

1. Lack of exposure. In early childhood, many low-income students aren't exposed to books. Contrast that with the amount of books in middle-income students' homes.

• In low-income neighborhoods there is one book per every 300 children.
• In middle-income neighborhoods there are 13 books per one child.

Children from low-income families hear as many as 30 million fewer words by the age of 4 than their higher-income peers. In homes where education is not a priority, high standards need to be set for students from birth where language skills, language exposure, reading expectations, a love of learning, and a connection can be made between academic success and future success. Geoffrey Canada, who runs Harlem Children's Zone, emphasizes teaching these skills to pregnant moms so that their unborn children can benefit from increased access to learning. An exposure to books, after school programs, summer learning experiences, volunteering, and positive role models are crucial for all students, and can be provided after school in libraries, community facilities, and many of the housing projects where residents live.
2. Language barriers. English Language Learners (ELL) are defined as having English as a second language and predominately speaking a language other than English at home. While there are many affluent and advantaged ELLs in our schools, two-thirds of ELL students come from low-income families and nearly half of ELLs in grades pre-K to 5 have parents who did not graduate from high school. About 8 percent of students enrolled in U.S. schools are ELL. Research shows that ELL students are much less likely to score at or above proficient levels in both math and reading/language arts. The same report found, in Florida, a difference of 34 percentage points in math proficiency between ELLs and white students.
3. Lack of stability. Many low-income households can be tumultuous environments and create challenges for students to get to school, have an area at home that is conducive to learning, and engage in safe activities after school. The following statistics from the Urban Institute illustrate only some of the struggles a low-income family might face:

• Single-parent families are almost twice as likely to have low incomes compared to all families with children, and almost three times as likely to have low incomes compared to married-couple families with children.
• Health problems are more prevalent among low-income families, and these families are more likely to be uninsured.

In a separate study, research showed schools with high rates of student mobility -- those who change schools for reasons other than grade promotion -- generally have a large population of children migrant workers, homeless children, and or low-income families. Mobile students who don't have the opportunity to form enduring connections are likely to experience lower achievement levels and are at high-risk for dropping out.

4. Lack of role models. In low-income households where adults are less likely to hold high school diplomas or degrees of higher education, students lack positive academic role models. Even in the classroom, less than two percent of America's teachers are black men, according to the Department of Education. In response to the number of positive male role models, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said to CNN:

I think what we haven't talked about enough is that we're competing with the gangs, we're competing with the drug dealers on the corner, and when students fall through the cracks, when young people don't have that positive mentor, in a school setting, in the church or community, there's always a guy on the street corner that can say come my way.

5. First Generation. Of entering college freshmen, 30 percent are first-generation college students, meaning no one in their family has earned a degree, and 24 percent are first-generation and low income. Within six years, 89 percent of low-income first generation students leave without a degree. First-generation low income students are four times as likely to drop out of college in their first year (USA Today). This may be due in part to the fact that first-generation students often straddle two cultures -- the family culture and the college culture -- each with its own set of expectations, rules, and demands. Without support, it can be difficult for students to navigate the challenges of college and face sometimes conflicting demands.
Perhaps not surprising, some of the students who are from our roughest neighborhoods have the toughest skin and are often best equipped to deal with hardship, setbacks, and disappointment. Many deal better with these life realities than their suburban counterparts. The resilience that they possess is something that can inspire all of us. Sadly, they often don't know early enough how valuable their own difficulties are in the real experience that catapults people from poverty to self-sufficiency to prosperity. Next week, I will explore how low-income graduates can beat the odds, succeed, and thrive.