Prejudice plus power
Prejudice plus power is a stipulative definition of racism often used by anti-racist educators. According to this definition, two elements are required in order for racism to exist: racial prejudice, and social power to codify and enforce this prejudice into an entire society.[1][2] Reasons cited in support of this definition include that power is responsible for the creation of racial categories, and that people favor their own racial groups over others.[3] The reaction of students to this definition tends to be mixed, with some thinking that it makes sense, and others perceiving it as an unfair redefinition of racism to portray whites in an unfairly negative light.[4] The definition has also been criticized for relying on the assumption that power is a zero-sum game, and for not accounting for the lack of uniformity in prejudicial attitudes.[5]
References
- ^ Rothenberg, Paula (2004). Race, Class, and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study. Macmillan. p. 127.
- ^ Barndt, Joseph R. (1991). Dismantling Racism: The Continuing Challenge to White America. Augsburg Books. pp. 28–29.
- ^ Fiske, Susan (2011). Dowding, Keith (ed.). Encyclopedia of Power. SAGE Publications. p. 549.
- ^ Hoyt, C. (9 October 2012). "The Pedagogy of the Meaning of Racism: Reconciling a Discordant Discourse" (PDF). Social Work. 57 (3): 225–234. doi:10.1093/sw/sws009.
- ^ Bolaffi, Guido (2003). Dictionary of Race, Ethnicity and Culture. SAGE. p. 228.
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