Racial stasis : the millennial generation and the stagnation of racial attitudes in American politics

Racial progress in the United States has hit a wall, and the rise of white nationalism is but one manifestation of this. Most Americans continue to hope that the younger generation, which many believe manifests less racism and more acceptance of a multiracial society, will lead to more moderate racial politics—but this may not be happening. Overtly racist attitudes have declined, but anti-black stereotypes and racial resentment remain prevalent among white Americans. To add, the shape of racial attitudes has continued to evolve, but our existing measures have not evolved in step and cannot fully illuminate the challenge at hand. With __Racial Stasis__, Christopher D. DeSante and Candis Watts Smith argue persuasively that this is because millennials, a generational cohort far removed from Jim Crow and the Civil Rights era, lack sufficient understanding of the structural nature of racial inequalities in the United States and therefore also the contextual and historical knowledge to be actively anti-racist. While these younger whites may be open to the idea of interracial marriage or living next to a family of a different race, they often do not understand why policies like affirmative action still need to exist and are weary about supporting these kinds of policies. In short, although millennials’ language and rationale around race, racism, and racial inequalities are different from previous generations’, the end result is the same. "Many doubt that the United States is making progress towards becoming an open and just multi-racial society however much the composition of our society has changed. The rise of white nationalism is but one sign of this. And yet we continue to hope that the young, who we think manifest less racism and more acceptance of a multi-racial society, will lead to more moderate racial politics. But this may not be happening. The authors argue that the Millennial generation is not moving the United States towards a more open, racially accepting society. They find that, while young whites report lower levels of racial resentment, a traditional measure of racism, they respond in a very similar way to older whites when asked about a range of other racial attitudes. Overt racism has declined while covert racial prejudice and discrimination still permeate American society"-- Provided by publisher