Aren’t They All Dead? Covert Racism And Native Americans

This chapter extends to all racial and ethnic minority groups; however, because the research was limited to racism against African Americans, references are limited to that group. It discusses three threads. The first reveals the presence of silent racism—the negative thoughts, images, and assumptions about African Americans—that exists in the minds of well-meaning white people who see themselves, and would be seen by other white people, as not racist. The second thread shows how passivity in well-meaning white people works with silent racism in the production of institutional racism. And finally, the third thread in the chapter illustrates that increasing race awareness in well-meaning white people, a topic generally overlooked by race theorists, is more important than trying to eliminate racism. Together these three threads construct a new way of thinking about racism in the 21st century. Keywords:African American; institutional racism; silent racism; white people