Conceptions of White Identity and Their Role in Contemporary U.S. Politics

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

In recent years, it has become abundantly clear that white racial identity can be a potent factor in American politics. Yet political science lags behind other disciplines in measuring it and assessing its influence. The papers in this panel present the latest research on this important and timely front.

Dr. Lopez Bunyasi examines how attitudes about white privilege affected candidate evaluation in the 2016 presidential primaries, even after controlling for other traditional measures of racial attitudes. Questions she addresses include: Was candidate preference at the outset of the primaries related to how whites think about the life chances of their racial group? Are candidate preferences related to whether white people think their own personal life chances have been enhanced, diminished, or unaffected by being white? Does one’s agreement with the premise that racism systemically benefits white people animate attitudes about who should lead the country? In the next paper, Dr. Schildkraut presents qualitative data on how whites discuss the ways in which they do (or do not) consider their racial group membership relevant to political matters. Paying particular attention to the views of white liberals, she shows that even though white liberals talk about anti-racism, privilege, and institutional racism when asked about race and politics and say that they have become more aware of their race in recent years, they do not view their own whiteness and a politically salient identity. Next, Drs. Jardina, Kalmoe, and Gross document a decline in white racial identification following Donald Trump’s election and examine its causes, with particular attention paid to media consumption and feelings of disgust. In the fourth paper, Drs. DeSante and Smith analyze CCES and ANES data to illustrate the relationships between racial empathy, white racial identity, racial resentment, and policy-related measures. Together these papers offer essential insights into the political dynamics of white identity .

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 32: Race, Ethnicity and Politics

Individual Presentations

• Perceptions of White Privilege as Predictors in the 2016 Presidential Primaries - Tehama Lopez Bunyasi, George Mason University

• The Political Meaning of Whiteness for Liberals and Conservatives - Deborah Schildkraut, Tufts University

• Disarming White Identity: Electoral Effects on Group Threat - Ashley E. Jardina, Duke University; Nathan P. Kalmoe, Louisiana State University; Kimberly A. Gross, George Washington University

• How Racial Empathy Moderates White Identity and Racial Resentment - Christopher D. DeSante, Indiana University; Candis Watts Smith, PennState University

Chair

• Angie Maxwell University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Discussant

• Angie Maxwell University of Arkansas, Fayetteville