Colorblind racial ideology as an alibi for inaction: Examining the relationship among colorblind racial ideology, awareness of White privilege, and antiracist practices among White people

Abstract

This study examines the relationship among White antiracism, colorblind racial ideology (CBRI), and White privilege awareness. We use Critical Race Theory (CRT) to frame the historical context of racism in the U.S. and the emergence of racist ideologies. We examine the extent to which White privilege awareness mediates the relationship between CBRI and antiracist practices among White people. We found that (1) participants’ antiracist practices were increased the more they rejected power-evasive forms of CBRI, (2) people who were more aware of their White privilege were also more driven toward antiracist practices, and (3) respondents’ awareness of their White privilege was enhanced as they rejected power evasive forms of CBRI. We also found that White people were more likely to participate in antiracist practices when they rejected power evasion CBRI partly because rejecting CBRI enhanced their awareness of White privilege. Our results suggest that the fight against racism requires White people to acknowledge and dismantle the privileges that come with being a member of a dominant group. We contend that CRT is a powerful framework for psychology because it helps resolve the problem of understanding how structural phenomena become ideologies that shape the way people believe and behave.