You Can’t Get There from Here: A Social Process Theory of Racism and Race

Abstract

Theorizing the social influence of racism and race has long been a concern of sociologists. Theories have addressed how racism, race and race inequality are organized and changed. Yet they have not addressed why racism and race are persistent despite social change. A social process theory of racism and race is proposed that analyzes their flexibility and persistence. It posits that racism is a social process where the meanings of race identities are traded across macro, meso, and micro levels of society. These trades legitimate social policies, are used to define a society as moral, and inform experiences. Black and white identities in light of the civil rights movement and its retrenchment, and the post-9/11 identity of Muslim Americans provide examples for applying the theory. I discuss the implications of the social process theory of racism and race for the future of race inequality in American society and sociological research.