The Paradox of Colorblindness: Undergraduate Students’ Selective Perceptions about Race and Racial Diversity

• In Event: 183 - Regular Session. Racial and Ethnic Inequality 2

Abstract

Using a mixed methods approach, this paper examines perceptions about race and racial diversity among undergraduate students at a predominantly white university in the South. Quantitative results indicate that race, experiences with racial harassment, and racial equality perceptions predict likelihood of whether students think about race (racial invisibility proxy). Moreover, race, curriculum coverage, and racial equality perceptions are predictors of opposition to university efforts to increase student racial diversity (racial consciousness proxy). Drawing from the literature on colorblind racism and our qualitative findings, we explain these patterns by highlighting what we call “the paradox of colorblindness.” This work extends existing scholarship by identifying the processes that foster colorblindness and contribute to selective color consciousness among university students.

Authors

• Reginald Anthony Byron, Southwestern University

• Maria R. Lowe, Southwestern University