Colorblind racism : the false promise of a post-racial society

Abstract

Since the 1970s, racial progress in the United States has stalled and in some ways, even regressed. There continues to be vast disparities between racial groups, pointing to serious inequities and systemic racism within our institutions. White privilege, a product of institutional racism and white supremacy, is a collection of unearned social benefits and courtesies that are bestowed upon a select group of people by virtue of their being white (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001). This literature review examines the dynamics of white privilege and power using the tenets of critical race theory to explain how they are both protected and perpetuated by liberal colorblind ideologies, particularly in education. Naming and examining whiteness, as opposed to ignoring and/or denying its significance, is the first step toward transforming the existing racial hierarchies in society.