Ethnoracism and the “Sandwiched” Minorities

Abstract

Using case studies from interviews and focus groups, this article reconceptualizes the meaning of race and racism by examining how members of a multiracial group, Puerto Ricans, experience racism. The authors argue that the social construction of race involves ethnic and global factors such as national origin, culture, language, the historical relationship between colonial powers and their political subjects, and race. The totality of these factors amount to a racial matrix of domination resulting in ethnoracism. Findings suggest that within the current climate of “colorblind” racism, ethnoracism is the mechanism through which the current racial order will be maintained.