The Ugliness Of Racism, White Identity Politics And The Current Election

For centuries, American politics has had a sordid and complex history, but some argue that the current political climate and recent racial tensions that many are witnessing are almost reminiscent of the Jim Crow south. There’s a chilling feeling about the state of race relations in the U.S. and some are saying that racial and cultural differences are being used as a strategic and divisive tool for political gain. Specifically, that a spike in white identity and that the Trump administration are at the center of the striking racial tensions in the U.S. The country feels almost light years away from the, “yes we can” chants that once echoed throughout auditoriums and homes across the country during the Obama administration. At that time, for some, it felt as though the country was making great strides toward addressing challenges with racism and discrimination. After all, a Black man was leading the free nation. That alone had to count for something. Yet, only four years later the country appears to still be wrestling with the deathly consequences of systemic racism and structural oppression. 

The Trump administration 

In July, the Los Angeles Times called out President Donald Trump for the current tumultuous state of race relations in America and accused him of using purposefully racially and culturally divisive and inflammatory language to galvanize his base. “Seemingly every time President Trump speaks about race or what it means to be an American, he sparks outrage.” Some scholars argue that Trump panders to white Americans who have historically benefitted from racial privilege and are currently responding to a changing, more diverse, and global America that they fear might challenge the societal advantages to which they have explicitly and implicitly become accustomed. Some of these responses express fear and others express feelings of hatred and strong disdain toward people of color and many argue that Trump only adds fuel to the fire. 

The president’s language has been described as sometimes “combative” and “extreme”— inaccurately portraying Black Lives Matter activists as determined to end America, and retweeting a video showing one of his supporters shouting “white power.” Yet, he adamantly denies that he is encouraging racial hatred. Spencer Critchley, former Communications consultant for Barak Obama says this disconnect is fueled by how Donald Trump and other white Americans view the country. They view America through a dramatically different lens than people of color. “They simply don’t see America as inherently unfair and racist,” Critchley said in the article with the Los Angeles Times. “They believe the U.S. possesses a distinct identity and noble traditions that must be fiercely defended, not challenged.” Critchley argues that many white Americans neglect to realize that their experience of America is largely based on them benefitting from racial privilege and those benefits have subsequently shaped their perspectives more favorably than people of color who have experienced various forms of dehumanization, structural oppression, and the devastating and generational impact of systemic racism. “They love the country too, but they’ve been tormented by it instead of embraced,” Critchley says of people of color in America.

White identity in America 

Ashley Jardina, a white identity scholar and political scientist at Duke University recently wrote a book, “White Identity Politics,” in which she examines the increasing significance of white identity in the U.S. In her book, Jardina cites data from American National Election Studies surveys as well as her own research which found that about 40% of white Americans felt that their white identity is important to them and that this group partly overlaps with the group of white Americans who hold racist views. Additionally, Jardina’s study found that 38% of whites who value their white identity fall at or below the mean level of expressing feelings of racial resentment. “For those invested in racial equality, this outcome should be of little comfort,” Jardina writes, of white Americans declaring their identity, with or without explicit or implicit racial resentment. Jardina notes that in previous years when whites have been asked to share power and resources they have not expressed interest in “leveling the field; instead, they have expanded the scope of who is considered white, allowing the racial hierarchy to remain more firmly in place.”

Although there’s not a robust amount of research that examines spikes in levels of white identity according to changes in the country’s cultural climate, many argue that it has become clear that white identity and overall racial identity shapes how some white Americans currently view society and politics in America. Furthermore, that white identity is not always a consistent and overt driving force in the way that it’s being observed today. Although many argue that white supremacy and systemic racism have been an ongoing challenge in America since its inception and sit at the helm of the many racial injustices that people of color currently face, collective and overt assertions of white identity by individuals tend to lie dormant or present in much more covert ways until triggered. Some have compared this spike in white identity to moments in American history such as the civil rights movement. That is, white identity tends to spike during periods in American history when the dominant status of whites is being challenged. 

However, Jardina did not find a significantly strong relationship between a shift in white Americans' conception of their identity and Donald Trump being elected into office. Instead, what stood out as sticking to her was that either white people tended to openly identify less with their white identity since Trump was elected into office or they became more confident in their white identity. This is not to suggest that some people didn’t fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, because some did. However, the most provocative trend in her research was the two dichotomous outcomes. Jardina also pointed out that most white American’s opposition to diversity issues such as immigration and the rapid globalization of America is not necessarily rooted in a specific prejudice against people of color. For some, it is, but for others, there seems to be a deep fear of people immigrating to America from other countries and changing the American Anglo-Saxon white culture. This speaks to what many argue to be is the core of the polarization of race and politics that America is currently witnessing. 

Many argue that Donald Trump speaks to a certain sentimentality or nationalism that some white Americans feel about the country and their position in the U.S. Whether it’s fighting against the removal of Confederate monuments that many Blacks see as a commemoration of the confederacy and a time in American history that sought to actively oppress Blacks or the support of allegedly deadly ICE detention centers, some white Americans seem to be adamant in their fight to steady the needle for increased diversity and cultural inclusivity in America. In this regard, Trump has validated and justified their concerns and fears and normalized their trepidation, as opposed to encouraging them to be open and receptive to learning from other cultures. But many argue that this is a slippery slope. One in which a possible collective fear can evolve into disdain and resentment toward people of color.

Perceptions of race in America

There’s one thing that most people can agree on. Similar to Spencer Critchley’s argument – Blacks and whites see race as very different in America, and as it turns out, so do some Democrats and Republicans. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center last year found that 68% of Blacks feel that their race hinders their ability to get ahead in the country to which 55% of whites agree. However, there were vast differences between Blacks and whites in terms of what they felt was the cause of this. Blacks tend to cite factors such as racism, housing discrimination, and a lack of resources. Whereas, whites tend to point to unstable family structure and lack of mentorship. Interestingly, the same study found that 70% of white Democrats who agreed that being Black negatively affects a person’s ability to succeed was due to racial discrimination compared to fewer than a third of white Republicans. White Republicans were more likely to cite unstable family structure as well as a lack of mentorship and strong work ethic as reasons. Even more interesting, 78% of white Democrats say the larger issue is Americans not acknowledging racial discrimination enough while a similar number of white Republicans say that the problem is that Americans place too much emphasis on issues related to racial discrimination.

Relatedly, overall the vast majority of Americans agree that Blacks are treated less fairly than whites by the criminal justice system (87% of Blacks vs. 61% of whites) and in dealing with police (84% versus. 63%). However, when looking at political affiliation, 88% of white Democrats felt that Blacks were treated less fairly by the police compared to 43% of white Republicans and 86% of white Democrats say Blacks are treated less fairly than whites by the criminal justice system compared to 39% of white Republicans. The numbers were varied even more when asked about pay and promotions (72% versus 21%) and in hiring, pay, and promotions (72% versus 21%).

However, in slight contrast to Jardina’s research, the same study found that most Americans (65%) felt that it has become more common for people to express “racist of racially insensitive” perspectives since Trump was elected president and 45% said racist perspectives have become more acceptable. That said, Democrats tended to say that racist views have become more common and more acceptable than Republicans and a majority of Americans say Donald Trump has increased racial tensions in the U.S. Specifically, 15% say that he has made progress toward improving racial tensions in the country, 13% say that he has tried but failed to make progress, 14% say he hasn’t addressed the issue, and 37% say Barack Obama made progress on race relations when he was president. However, 27% say that Obama tried to make progress but failed, and a quarter said that he made racial tensions worse. 

Not surprisingly, 86% of white Democrats say Trump made race relations worse, but perspectives on Trump’s handling of race relations were a bit more divided among Republicans. About 34% say Trump has improved racial tension, 25% says he tried but failed to make progress, 19% say he hasn’t addressed the issue, and 20% say he has made racial tensions worse. To further expand upon Jardina’s research, overall, the study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that partisanship had a significant effect on perspectives about the country’s racial progress – more so than demographics. That said, age and level of education were also significant predictors, especially among whites.  

But we can’t blame this all on Trump

Whether a person supports the Trump Administration or is an avid critic, most can agree that racism existed long before Trump entered the White House. Although physical slavery has been abolished and Blacks are no longer being told to sit in the back of the bus, most Americans feel that the legacy of slavery continues to have an impact on the position of Black Americans. More than 4 in 10 people feel the country hasn’t made enough strides toward racial equality and that Blacks will ever experience true racial equity in America. 

That said, Ashley Jardina argues that not all people who have strong perceptions of white identity are racist. In an article she did with The New Yorker, she said, “I’m not saying all people who identify as white are devoid of racism, or that there’s no relationship between the two. There certainly is. But there are a lot of people in the middle of these spectrums who don’t hold really egregious racial attitudes, but at the same time, they are not particularly comfortable with their country becoming more diverse. It’s in part because they’re worried about the status of their group and the loss of the privileges that their group has.”

Perhaps, the issue is not necessarily patriotism or white identity, but rather what constitutes white identity. Feeling a sense of pride in one’s cultural background is not the issue. However, ethnocentrism and racism are. Food for thought – perhaps the goal should not be to make America great again for some but to work to make America great now for all. Furthermore, to not narrate or police the experiences of others but to believe, honor, and respect their stories by resisting the inclination to become defensive and dismissive and to listen and hold space for that person so that Americans are truly walking the walk of the great country to which they hold dear.