Experiencing Race in a Race-less Time: College Millennials and Color-blind Racism

• In Event: 2352 - Racialization and Colorblindness: Intersection of Institutions and Identities

Abstract

Building upon previous research on color-blind ideology, this paper primarily seeks to explore how color-blind racism impacts the ways in which Millennials experience race in a “race-less” time. The research involves a study of 70 racially diverse college students from four universities in the Washington, D.C. area. Students kept weekly journals about race in their lives (n = 65), and about half were individually interviewed following the journaling period (n = 35). Findings suggest that white and racial minority Millennials experience race through colorblindness in distinct ways. White college Millennials often try to “whitewash” over race in their lives based on their racial privilege, but despite attempts to erase race, the impact of race still bleeds through. They believe their lives are much more diverse than they are in reality, experience guilt around racial issues, and even the most race-conscious whites find it hard to escape colorblindness completely. Millennials of color, conversely, are more limited because they lack racial privilege. They live much more diverse lives than their white counterparts, make intentionally race-based decisions, minimize racial matters as a psychological coping mechanism, and often experience racial awakenings that clue them into the harsh realities of race. This research has major implications for understanding color-blind racial ideology: it brings people of color into the discussion in ways that have not be done before, and addresses the call for more nuanced understanding of racial ideology.

Author

• Jonathan M. Cox, University of Central Florida