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St. Louis School Desegregation pp 9–18Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Soft Racism? How Complicating Interpretations of Racism Impact School History

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Part of the book series: Historical Studies in Education ((HSE))

Abstract

This chapter examines the historic and varied ways that racism has been used to prevent racial equality throughout Missouri’s history. The chapter establishes the conceptual framework of this research and carefully explores the concepts of soft racism, symbolic racism, symbolic violence, and everyday racism. The goal of this chapter is to challenge the notion that racism is singularly expressed via violence and overt actions and offers readers a nuanced look at ways that racism may be expressed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Malcolm X, “God’s Judgment on White America,” Speech delivered December 4, 1963, ed. Imam Benjamin Karim, http://www.malcolm-x.org/speeches/spc_120463.htm. See also, Kimberly Norwood, interview with Hope Rias, June 5, 2014.

  2. 2.

    Susan Uchitelle, interview with Hope Rias, November 24, 2015.

  3. 3.

    Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America, 4th ed. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).

  4. 4.

    Philomena Essed, Understanding Everyday Racism: An Interdisciplinary Theory (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1991); see also, Melanie E. L. Bush, Everyday Forms of Whiteness: Understanding Race in a Post-Racial World, 2nd ed. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011).

  5. 5.

    George W. Bush, “Text: George W. Bush’s Speech to the NAACP,” On Politics, WashingtonPost.com, July 10, 2000, accessed September 9, 2018, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/elections/bushtext071000.htm?noredirect=on.

  6. 6.

    Donald R. Kinder and David O. Sears, “Prejudice and Politics: Symbolic Racism Versus Racial Threats to the Good Life,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 40, no. 3 (1981): 414–431, https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.40.3.414.

  7. 7.

    Franny Nudelman, John Brown’s Body: Slavery, Violence, and the Culture of War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004); see also Mari J. Matsuda et al., Words That Wound: Critical Race Theory, Assaultive Speech, and the First Amendment (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1993).

  8. 8.

    Kinder and Sears, “Prejudice and Politics,” 428.

References

  • Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America. 4th ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bush, George W. “Text: George W. Bush’s Speech to the NAACP.” On Politics. WashingtonPost.com, July 10, 2000, accessed September 9, 2018. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpsrv/onpolitics/elections/bushtext071000.htm?noredirect=on.

  • Bush, Melanie E. L., and Melanie E. L. Bush. Everyday Forms of Whiteness: Understanding Race In a “Post-Racial” World. 2nd ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Essed, Philomena. Understanding Everyday Racism: An Interdisciplinary Theory. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  • “HIV Scare at Missouri High School.” CBS NEWS, October 24, 2008. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hiv-scare-at-missouri-high-school/.

  • Kinder, Donald R., and David O. Sears. “Prejudice and Politics: Symbolic Racism Versus Racial Threats to the Good Life.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 30, no. 3 (1981): 414–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malcolm X. “God’s Judgment on White America.” Speech delivered December 4, 1963, edited by Imam Benjamin Karim. http://www.malcolm-x.org/speeches/spc_120463.htm.

  • Norwood, Kimberly. Interview with Hope Rias. Phone Interview. June 5, 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nudelman, Franny. John Brown’s Body: Slavery, Violence, and the Culture of War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uchitelle, Susan. Interview with Hope Rias. Personal Interview. St. Louis, August 12, 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. Phone Interview. November 24, 2015.

    Google Scholar 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bridgewater College, Bridgewater, VA, USA

    Hope C. Rias

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  1. Hope C. Rias
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Correspondence to Hope C. Rias .

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Rias, H.C. (2019). Soft Racism? How Complicating Interpretations of Racism Impact School History. In: St. Louis School Desegregation. Historical Studies in Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04248-6_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04248-6_2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-04247-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-04248-6

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

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