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rocial group, no matter rogeneous or homoge>f

sness
Ln

s F dN s -. $B# k{Ffr$dS$ q*{Sffi$Hflq${ K*,{}sl

iliy

if

Fq_StrS

,Yqe

sexual antipathy, the in communities in

almost homogeneous equally strong antiparnal groups, or between

7.

I by the Roman patrilartan l,acedaemonians

and sonte of the )w that antipathies are

.estes

"I DID NOT GET THAT JOB BECAUSE A BLACK MAN..."

OF

zill, you may call them only in so far as man social groups, leaving rat these social groups
e case for racial
asons

The Story Lines and Testimonies of Color-Blind Racism

EDUARDO BONILLA-SILVA, AMANDA LEWIS, AND DAVID G. EN/]BRICK

purity

rcial appeal in our soci-

that are adduced tihcation of society in in character will always r. As in all other sharp lual is not judged as an of his class. We may be
:never members rcial group
ce. They ye

Storytelling is how we make sense of the world and the things that happen to us. Some stories make us feel better or are told to make other people feel better. One of the stories white people can tell themselves now is that they personally are not racists. As this article shows, they tell this story in a number of ways-by comparing themselves to others, by distancing themselves from America's racist history, and by claiming an anti-white racism exists. These stories are told by peopie who may truly be progressive, decent people trying to navigate a racial divide they them selves did not make. Nonetheless, how do these stories reinforce that race line?

of difwith strong

racial antagonisms

will

fftorytelling is central to communication. #According to Barthes (1977:79), "Narrative is

present

to ideologies. We define racinl

ideology as Lhe brttad

may even dis-

insist on a stratifica-

I pay

the penalty in the Will it be better for us

doing, or shall we try that lead to the funda-

in every age, in every place, in every society; it begins with the very history of mankind and there nowhere is nor has been a people without a narrative." 1b a large degree, communication is about telling stories. We tell stories to our spouses,
children, friends, and coworkers. Through stories we present and represent ourselves to the world.

racial frameworhs, or "grirls," that racial groups use to make sense of the world, to decide u'hat is right or wrong, true or false, important or unimportant. And given that all societies are structured in dominance, the frameworks of the rulers (whether men, the bourgeoisie, or whites) are more likely to crystallize as "common sense" (van Dijk, 1999). Eduardo

uble us?

ln short, we tell stories and these stories, in turn,

make us

Bonilla-Silva (2003a,b) has operationalized the notion of racial ideology as an interpretive repertoire consisting of frames, style, and racial stories.' One sign that an ideology has gained dominance is that its central logic has come to be perceived as "common sense," so that actors in different positions and in different contexts deploy similar kinds

(Somers, 1994).

In this article we examine the dominant racial stories of the post-civil-rights era. Because all stories are told within particular ideological formations, it is important to highlight their relationship

from Eduardo llonilla-Silva, Amanda Lewis, and David G. Ernbrick , "'l Did Not Cet that lob Because of a Rlack Story Lines arrd Testimonies of Color-Blind Racism," Sociological Fontm 19 (2009): 555-810. References and notes have been renumbered and edited.
Excerpted Marr': 'I'he

69

7O

R^ctAr. t'ntNKrNc

of narratives to explain social reality. Such racial stories can then be understood as part of the contemporary dominant racial ideology as it is manifested in evelyday life (l.ewis, 2003). . . . We define story lines as the socially shared tales that incorporate a common scheme and wording. These racial story lines resemble legends or fables because, unlike testimonies (see below), they are most often based on impersonal, generic arguments with little narrative content-they are readily available, ideological, "ofcourse" narratives that actors draw on in explaining personal or collective social realities. In story lines, characters are likely to be underdeveloped and are usually social types (e.g., the "black man" in statements such as "My best friend lost a job to a black man" or the "welfare queen" in "poor black women are welfare queens").2 "The ideological nature of such story lines is revealed by the similar schemata and wording used in their telling (e.g., "the past is the past"), and by their use in a range
of locations by a wide variety of actors for similar
ends."
We proceed as follows. First, we describe the the-

of individual "racists" but of the crystallization of racial domination into a racial structure: a network
of racialized practices and relations that shapes the life chances of the various races at all levels. Hence, domination in hegemonic racial orders such as ours is produced by the collective normal actioirs of all actors rather than by the behavior of a few "racists" (on hegemonic domination, see Omi and Winant,
Lee4).

mat

subsr

toda'

of lir the
smal lysts "end

tunit

1996

ory and the racial context behind our analysis. Then we describe the data and methods for this study. Next we analyze the dominant story lines of colorblind racism.3 Then, for comparative purposes, we briefly discuss how these stories affect white racial
progressives and blacks. We conclude with a discussion ofthe ideological role ofracial stories.

The implications of this understanding of racism for our analysis are that the frameworks, affective dispositions (which range from sympathy to apathy and animosity), and stories that actors use or exhibit tend to correspond to their systemic location-actors at the top of a racial order tend to display views, attitudes, and stories that help maintain their privilege, whereas actors at the bottom are more likely to exhibit oppositional views, attitudes, and counternarratives. But racialized social systems are not fixed, and neither are the ideologies that accompany them. For instance, the racial structure of the United States underwent a tremendous transformation in the 1960s and 1970s (Bloom, 1987). Demographic

COnSr

preju

a "su (Mc(

Sand

et

al.

ture

i.g

A
o

al

tI
o
L

THEORY AND RACIAL CONTEXT FOR THE ANALYSIS OF RACIAL STORIES

Although racism often involves prejudice, anripathy, and irrationality, most researchers now concede that it has a material and, therefore, rational foundation (Bonilla-Silva, 1997; Feagin, 2000; Fredrickson, 2002). Racism springs not from the hearts of "rao ists," but from the fact that dominant actors in a racialized social system receive benefits at all levels (political, economic, social, and even psychological), whereas subordinate actors do not (Bonilla-Silva, 1997). Racial outcomes then are not the product

blacks), political (developmenr of minority organizations), and economic factors (industrialization) in combination with organized (civil rights movement) and "spontaneous" challenges (race riots) to the Jim Crow order led to the development of whatvarious authors label the "new racism" (Brooks, 1990; Smith, 1995). According to Bonilla-Silva and Lewis (1999:56), the elemenrs that make up this new racial structure are "(1) the increasingly covert nature of racial discourse and practices; (2) the avoidance of racial terminology and the ever growing claim by whites that they experience 'reverse racism'; the elaboration of a racial agenda over political matters that eschews direct racial references; (4) the invisibility of most mechanisms to reproduce racial inequality; and finally, (5) the rearticulation of a number of racial practices characteristic of the lim Crow period of
race relations."

(urbanization

of

c(

ir
E

racia

struc 2003

ideol inatir the a

matt(

op]
ra
.

of

ural

ties'

lack t

not

tr

"I

Did

Not Get thdt lob Because of a Black Man

71

re crystallization
structure:

of

...With the emergence of a new normative climate on racial matters, old-fashioned racial views

a network ions that shapes the at all levels. IIence,

L

substantially receded (Schuman, 1997). Hence

today few whites subscribe

orders such as ours

ormal actions of all ior of a few "racists"

e

to the classical ideas vast majority agrees with of Jim Crowism, and the the principles of racial equality and equal opportunity (Schuman, 1997). However, except for
small and decreasing number
1996;
a

and currency, ideologies must produce narratives that explain the world in ways that make sense to people, that convey its maior frames; these stories are then the conveyor belfs that transport the new
racial frames.

...The subtle, "now you see it, now you don't"

character

of contemporary racial practices is

Omi and Winant,

of scholars (Lipset,

matched by the apparent nonracialism of color-

rderstanding of racr framewolks, affec-

from sympathy to
rries that actors use

their systemic locaal order tend to diss that help maintain

at the bottom are

nal views, attitudes,
Ls

Sniderman and Carmines, 1997), most analysts argue that these changes do not signify the "end of racism" (D'Souza, 1995). Instead, the new consensus among survey researchers is that racial prejudice has gone underground or is expressed in a "subtle" (Pettigrew and Martin, 1987), "modern" (McConahay, 1986), or "symbolic" way (Kinder and Sanders, 1996) or as "laissez-faire racism" (Bobo et al., 1997). Kinder and Sanders' (1996:106) capture the essence of the new prejudice in the following passage:

blind racism. And, as we will try to demonstrate, racial stories fit color-blind racism, as they do not rely on traditional racist discourse to support the
racial status quo. DATA AND METHODS The data for the analysis comes from two projects

on racial attitudes: the 1997 Survey of

College

Students Social Attitudes and the 1998 DetroitArea

are

not fixed, and

A new form of prejudice has come to prominence, one that is preoccupied with matters of moral char-

accompany them.

ture of the Llnited s transformation in l9B7). Demographic

itical (development
economic factors tion with organized 'spontaneous" chalLd

informed by the virtues associated with the traditions of individualism. At its center are the contentions that blacks do not try hard enough to overcome the difficulties they face and that they take what they have not earned. Today, we say,
acter,

prejudice is expressed in the language of American

Study (DAS).... Since our goal is to examine the dominant racial stories, we rely almost exclusively on the interview data. The stories we draw upon emerged mostly spontaneously in discussions on race-related issues such as affirmative action, residential and school segregation, interracial friendship, and interracial marriage. Respondents inserted them to reinforce points, underscore the salience of an issue, or as digressions in the middle of racially sensitive
discussions.

row order led to the

individualism.
Elsewhere Bonilla-Silva (2003a) has labeled the

the "new 1995). According to ):56), the elements lructure are "(1) the
Lthors label

that glues the post-civil rights racial "color-blind racism" (Bonilla-Silva, structure as 2003a). He contends that the main frames of this
racial ideology

'acial discourse and

ideology are the denial of the centrality of discrimthe abstract

'racial terminology >y whites that they

re elaboration of a ratters that eschews

ination ("Discrimination ended in the sixties!"), extension of liberal principles to racial ("1 matters am all for equal opportunity; that's why

The interviews for these two studies were racematched, followed a structured interview protocol, were conducted in respondents' homes or in neutral sites, and lasted between 45 minutes and 2 hours. After the interviews were completed, project assistants transcribed the recorded material verbatim (i.e., included nonlexicals/ pauses, etc.). However,

to improve the readability of the quotations, we

have edited them in this paper. When ail the material was transcribed, one ofthe authors read ail the interviews to extract common themes and patterns. At that stage, the same author and project assistants performed a basic content analysis to locate all the

oppose affirmative action"),

the naturalization

invisibility of most :ial inequality; and f a number of racial

Jim Crow period

of

of racial matters ("Residential segregation is natural... "), and the cultural explanation of minorities' standing ("Mexicans are poorer because they lack the motivation to succeed"). But ideologies are not just about ideas (see above). To have salience

instances where respondents inserted these racial

stories.

72

R.\al.\L llltNKtNLl

Although all samples have limitations (ours, for

example, are not "natural" samples of "speech acts" and do not include as many blacks as we would have liked), ours have advantages over most of those used by qualitative researchers on racial matters. First, our samples are systematic (randomly selected subjects from those who participated in surveys). Second, one of the survey samples has a bias toward racial tolerance (the students' sample), but the other is a random sample. Third, the age, gender, and regional representation in these samples allow us to be confident that the findings are not peculiar to one subpopulation. Lastly, our subsamples for the interviews (representing 10% of students in the survey and 2lo/o of the DAS respondents) as well as the 134 total respondents interviewed are large by qualitative standards. Therefore, we beiieve that the data for this study allows us to gain insight into the kind of dominant stories that whites deploy while talking about racial matters.4 THE STORY LINES OF COLOR-BLIND
RACISM

"THE PAsr ls rHE pAsr"

The core of this story line is the idea that we must put our racist past behind us and that affirmative action programs do exactly the opposite by keeping the racial flame alive. Moreover, as the story line goes, these policies are particularly problematic because they attempt to address a past harm done against minorities by harming whites today, This story line was used by more than 50% of college students (21141) and by most DAS respondents, usually in discussions of race-targeted programs for blacks. A perfect example of how respondenrs used this story line is provided by Emily, a student at South tlniversity (SU), who told the story line in an exchange with the interviewer over the meaning of affirmative action.

ventir
archit

versio

tion

Nr

th th th
sla

he
sla

frc

]ohn's lous"

have,

I just have

a problem with the discrimina-

foral
cial
shoul,

If racial stories were immutable, they would not be useful tools to defend the racial order (lackman,
1994). Thus, racial stories are intricately connected

to specific historical moments and hence change accordingly (Hall, 1990; Omi and Winant, 1994). For example, during the Jim Crow era, the myth of
the black rapist became a powerful story line that could be invoked to keep blacks, particularly black men, "in their place" (Clinton, 1982; Hill-Collins, 1990). Today new story lines have emerged to keep blacks in their new (but still subordinate) place
(Crenshaw, 1997). The most common story lines we identified were "The past is the past"; "I did not own slaves"; "lf (other ethnic groups such as Italians or lews) made it, how come blacks have not?"; and "l did not get a (job or promotion) because of a black man." Although some of these story lines are interrelated (e.g., "The past is rhe pasr" and "l didn't own any slaves" appeared often together), we discuss each one separately.

tion, you're gonna discriminate against a group and what happened in the past is horrible and it should never happen again, but I also think that to move forward you have to let go of the past and let go of what happened um, you know? And it should really start equaling out'cause I feel that some o{, some of it will go too far and it's swing the other way. One group is going to be discriminated against, I don't, I don't believe in that. i don't think one group should have an advantage over another regardless of what
happened in the past.

cl

Bt

true tl insert
past

it
in

opr

oppre
"slave
th<

1970s

Clear in Emily's logic is the idea thar "rwo wrongs don't make a right." Thus, to compensate blacks for a history of white advantage or black oppresion would involve unjustified, unfair advantage today. Note this view does not involve a denial

relatir

that
storie

histor and b

ofpast injustice. Instead, it regards the past as unrelated or irrelevant to current realities. Hence, programs designed to redress the "horrible" pasr are constructed as "reverse discrimination." Almost all DAS respondents resorted to a ver-

white
"accur

blackr

nomir

they

'

sion of this story line to express their displeasure with programs they believe benefit blacks solely
because

hundr
eleme pensa reflect

oftheir race. However, these older respondents were more likely to use the story line while

ration

''l Di,/ Noi Cet lhd! Iob |lr,,tuse ol n

Rl,tch Man

the idea that we must and that affirmative the opposite by keep,4oreover, as the story
Ls

Il, for instance, a retired in his late sixties, used a homebuilderand architect
venting lots of anger. lohn
version of the story

line in his response to the ques-

facts. More than anything else, it provides a posrtive and even moral standpoint tbr them to explain why certain social programs are unnecessary and probiematic.

tion on reparations.
Not a nickel, not a nickel! I thir-rk that's ridiculous l think that's a great way to go for the black vote Btrt I think that's a ridiculous assumption, because those

particularly problemr address a past harm harming whites today. nore than 50% of colnost DAS respondents, ace-targeted programs
[e

"r DrDN'T owN

ANY sLAVEs"

that say we should Pay them because they were slaves back in the past and yet, how often do you hear about the people who were whites that were slaves and the white that were, ah! Boy, we should
get reparations,

This story iine appeared often in coniunction with the stoly line of "The past is the past," although

it was deployed somewhat less frequently-it was used by about a quarter of the college students (9/al) and a third of DAS respondents As with
the previous story line, this one usually appeared in discussior-rs of affirmative action (see Wellman, 1997). The core of this story line is the notion that present Senerations are not responsible for the il1s of slavery. For instance, Lynn, a Midwest University (MLI) student, used this story line to explain her opposition to the idea of a hypothetical company hiring a black rather than a white iob applicant because the company had discriminated against blacks in the Past.

of how respondents ed by Emily, a student o told the story line in

tbe Irish should get

reparations

from the Lnglish...

ewer over the

meaning

"ridiculohn's statement suggests not only that it is "a in compensatiou nickel" lous" to give blacks even for a history of slavery, but that blacks have no special claim

with the discriminagroup and is horrible and it should also think that to move ofthe past and let go of ow? And it should really
rm
nate against a :el that some

with regard to poor treatment ("the Irish

should get reParations

But what is

of, some

of

uing the other way.

One

rinated against, I

don't, I

think one group should cther regardless of what

s the idea that "two

Thus, to compensate

le advantage or black ustified, unfair advanes

not involve a denial

unret realities. IJence, prohe "horrible" past are

:gards the past as

fron the English")' ideological about this story? Is it not true that "the past is the past"? First, whether whites inserted this story line or not, most interpreted the past as slavery even when in some questions we left it open (e.g., questions regarding the "history of oppression") or specified that we were referring to "slavery andJ\m Crow." Since Jim Crow died slowly in the country (and lasted well into the 1960s to 1970s), the relerence to a remote past ignores the relatively recent overt forms of racial oppression that have impedecl black progless. Second, such stories effectively "erase" the limiting effects of historic discrimination on the ability of minorities and blacks to accumulate wealth at the same rate as whites. According to Oliver and Shapiro (1995), the "accumulation of disadvantages" has "sedimented" blacks economically so that even if ali forms of economic discrimination that blacks face ended today,

I think I would, I would, I'd disagree, I think

mean, yeah, t think I'd disagree because, I mean, even though it's kinda what affirmative actionwell, it's not really, because I don't think like rny
generation should have to be punished real harshly

for the things that our ancestors

did.

'

The story line allowed Lynn

to

state safely

(albeit quite hesitantly) her concerns about affir'mative action, even thoLrgh she had stated before that she supported the program. Again we can see the ideological connection between racial story lines when l.ynn responds to evidence of past discrim-

mination." ents resorted to a verpress their displeasure benefit blacks solely

'er, these

they would not catch up with whites for several hundred years. Third, the "reverse discrimination" element in this story line is central to whites as a
rationale for their opposition to all race-based com-

in a company's current racial 97o/o white) by suSSesting she as (described profile shouid not be punished for the actions of her ancestors-essentially saying, " Ihe past is the past " Even though the question here does not refer to slavery but suggests concrete evidence for discriminatory
ination manifested
practices by the company in the not-too-distant past, the story line provides a readily available iusti-

older respon-

ie the story line

while

pensatory programs. This story line then does no1 reflect whites' ignorance of racial history and racial

Iication lor

lacl<

olaction.

74

RACr,{l..l.tirNl{iN.l

employment manager for an advertising agency in her early thirties, said,

sate for past discrimination. For example, Dina, an

to answer a question on whether the government should spend money on blacks, behalfio compen_

Some DAS respondents deployed this story line

nothing to do with slavery. you, as a black person, you never experienced it. It was so long ago I just don,t see how that pertains to what,s happening to the race toda, so rhat's one rhing thar I,m just like ,,God, shut upl,,

ago, and you've got these sixteen_year_old kids.uyi.rg;W"ll, I deserve [reparations] because my great, great, grand_ daddy was a slave,,, Well, you know what, it doesn t affect you. Me, as [a] whire person, I had

No, and I have to say that I,m pretty supportive of anything to help people, but I don,t know why that slavery thing has a_l,ve got a chip on my shoulder about that. Ir,s like it happened so long

complaining about, it and attributing anyrhing bad that happens to them? I,ve never heard anyone say, "Oh, it's because I,m iewisl-r.,,And i know it,s a little different because a black, I mean, you can,t really, a lot of-you can,t really tell on the outside a lot of times, but they don,t wallow in what happened to them a long time ago. It was a horrible thing I admit, but I think that you need to move on urrd t.y to put that behind you.

rhar. I mean, like the Jewish people, look what hap_ pened to them. Do you hear them sitting around

No. I rhink rhat a lot of bad things happened to a lot of people, but you can,t sit there and dwell
on

this
(ens

grou

poin nich
smal

were

"In

releg

econ

much broader: that historical discrimination does not disadvantage blacks today. Therefore, this story con_ veys the notion that the current social

As exemplified in Dinat statement, this story line involves more than a denial of personal responsibil_ ity for historical discrimination. The claim is in fact

order i, .u."_ neutral and based on individual merit and effort....

schoolteacher in his fifties, who inserted the story to answer a question on compensatory government spending on blacks' behalf.
As a person who was once reversed discriminated against, I would have to say no. Because the government does not need programs if they,

story line comes from Henrietta, a transvestite

Flere, this story line is used to question blacks, claims to harm. It also presents a moral racial tale: the way to deal with hard times is to work hard and not to "wallow" in what happened ,,a long rime ago,, which, according to the story, is presumably what other racial and ethnic groups have done to move up in this country. An example of how DAS respondents used this

cut ( to th imm

Blau been Thus

priat
ties

<

ttr
B

OR\
EC/

The r minc

"lF JEWs, trAL|ANs, AND lRlsH

occar

percentage agreed with a survey question on this matter (6o0/o of DAS respondents and 350/o of college students). An example of how whites used this story is provided by Kim, a student at StI, who used What is ideological about this story? Have not it to explain why she does not favor government Iews, Irish, and other ethnic groups moved up and intervention on minorities' behalf. even assimilated in America? The problem is that

who experienced discrimination are doing well today, the predicament of blacks,must be their own doing. Although fewer respondents explicitly deployed this story in the interviews, a ,igr_rifi.a.rt

MADE IT, HOW COME BLACKS HAVE NOT?" Another popular story line of the post_civil rights era is "lf Jews, Italians, and Irish (or other ethnic groups) have made it, how come blacks have not?,, This story is used to suggest that because other
groups

HAVE

or ta

were immigrants who lived in terr.ible conclitions, who worked in terrible conditions too. But they had one thing in common; they all knew that education was rhe way our of that poverry. And they did it. I,m not saying the blacks were brought over here maybe not willingly, but if they realize educarion,s the key, that's it. And that,s based on individuality.

the Polish, and the East European Jews, thev all

would be motivated to bring themselves out of the poverty level. Ah. .. when we talk about certain programs, when the lrish came over, when the Italians,

if

people

How invol
requi

minc

to
for

igr
a

a sirn Suh, as p(

tantl\
bors

testir
sions
cies,

T]

more

"l llid Nor Cer thar lob Because of a Blnck Man

lgs happened rere and le, look what

to

this story

line equates the experiences of immiSrant Africans, etc.). But as Stephen Steinberg

dwell on

groups

with those of involuntary "immigrants"

haprm sitting around ting anything bad

heard anyone say, I know it's a
r,

(enslaved

story line, "l did not get that fob because of a black man." For instance, Bob, a student at SU, opposed providing unique opportunities to minorities to be

pointed out some time ago, most immigrant groups were able to get a foothold

admitted into un iversities:

friend, he wasn't-l don't like him that much, I think it's my brother's friend, a good friend of my brother's, who didn't get into law school here, and he knows for a fact that other students less qualified than him did. And that really-and he was considering a lawsuit against the school. But for some
I had a

in certain economic
an education or

niches or used resources such as

little

small amounts of capital to achieve social mobility.

you can't really,

lot of ivhat happened to

he outside a

"ln contrast, racial minorities were for the most part preindustrial sectors of the national the flow of immigration was until economy and,
relegated to the

ible thing on and

i admit,

try to put

cut off by the First World War, were denied access

question blacks' noral racial tale: o work hard and

'a long

time ago"

,resumably what
Ie done

industrial fobs that lured tens of millions of immigrants. All groups started at the bottom, but as Blauner points out, 'the bottom' has by no means been the same for all groups" (Steinberg, 1989:101). Thus, the comparison in this story line is not appropriate, as the historical experiences and opPortunities of the groups in question are vastly different
to the

reason, he didn't. I'Ie had better grades, better LSAT

better everything, and he....Other people got in up above him, I don't care who it is, if it's Eskimo, or Australian, or what it is, you should have the best
person there.

to move this

ndents used

r, a transvestite rserted the story

:ory Sovernment

"r DtD Nor cET A JoB (oR A PRoMorloN oR wAs ADMITTED TO A COLLEGE) BECAUSE OF A BLACK MAN,,
The core

of this story is the idea that less qualified minorities (mostly referring to blacks, although
occasionally

to women) are getting into

college

ied

Because

discriminated the gov-

if they, if people out of the rbout certain prorvhen the italians,

aselves

an Jews,

they all

rrible conditions,
too. But they had
rw that education rd they

or taking iobs that more qualified whites deserve. However, as we will illustrate, this story does not involve concrete experience or knowledge and requires little evidence; the mere presence of a minority person in a particular setting allows whites to ignore the possibility that they are not qualified for a job, a promotion, or admission to a college (for a similar point, see Goldfield, 1997, and Bobo and Suh, 2000). And this story line, although narrated

This is a classic example of this story line. Bob's brother has a friend who knows " for afact" that less qualified minority appiicants were admitted into a law school instead of him. For Bob, this is a matter ofprinciple: "the best person (should be) there" whether "it's Eskimo, or Australian." Darren, a bus driver in his late forties (and other DAS respondents like him), vented lots of animosity toward blacks in his answer to a question on affirmative action. In this context, he inserted the story line to affirm his belief that he had been the victim of reverse discrimination.5

No, other than

have applied at jobs and been

turned down because I was white. Now, I hdue nothing against the black person [if he] was quaiified better than I was. But when the guy comes into the interview, and I'm off on the side and I can hear them talking, and he can't even speak English, he
doesn't know how to read a map, and they're gonna make him a bus driver and hire him over me. l've been doing bus driving offand on since 1973, and I

did it. I'm

:over here maybe

.ucation's the key,

personal experience, is quite often about distantly removed friends, friends of friends, or neighbors and lacks the spontaneity and vividness of a
as

iduality. story? Have

s

testimonY.

This story line was most often used

in

kltow the guy well enough that [l knowl he's a lousy driver. I know why he got the job, and I don't think
that's fair.

discus-

not

sions about

moved up and

problem is that

affirmative action or race-based poiicies. Almost a quarter of the students (10/a1) and more than a third of DAS respondents used the

Although Darren's story seems like a testimony, it

has the scheme of this story line. He believes he was

76

RA(ttAL llllNI(lN(;

passed over for a iob by a bus company (presumably the one he currently works for) because he is

white. His facts come from what he overheard frorn an interview with a black applicant. Darren does
not provide data on his drivir-rg record or the record of the black bus driver. Complex processes involving multiple appli-

I saicl, "Well, if you think it's a quota system, weli you're wrong" and thar maybe it's hard to see what these people go through all their life and, I rnean-Me too, being female, what you go through,
iust the slight discrimination here and there, like common slur, you don't understand that You just think it's a harmless joke, but it's not. It builds
this

could

them
were

the ple,

te

deali:

her

cants are simplilied in such stories so that two individuals abstracted from their social context are depicted as goit'lg head-to-head in a competition of merit (Wise, 2004). Accordring to the stort race triumphs over merit, and a specific black candidate is imagined as the beneficiary who displaced a specific, deserving white candidate' Collectively this story line is important becatrse it makes the case that whites ale the real victims of racial discrimination (Feagin and Vera, 1995; Fine and Weis, 1998) and supports the argument that color-blind decision making is the only fair way to ploceed.
COUNTERNARRATIVES: EXAMPLES OF

up. FIe was just not getting it.

learn

Beth understood that discrimination affects the life chances of minolities and even expressed suppolt

by bl

for programs that compensate minorities for

pa$

in hi
tive
I

discrimination because, she said, "It's hard to stalt when you have hit rock bottom, it's hard to climb
back up." Judy, a college professor of nursing

in her forand new

said

(
I

ties, realized discrimination is still important described various examples of the old and

styles

of discrimination. For example,

she

that a black man told her that he was not

srved

at a local hospital because he was black. She also

mentioned that many blacks are used as guinea
pigs

WHITE RACIAL PROGRESSIVES AND BLACKS

Are all whites immersed in color-blind racism? Do they all buy into the racial stories we documented
hereS

because they are black and poor. Finally, she said that a biack woman toid her that when she shops in the suburbs, "she notices that people won't give her change in her hand" because they are "fearful

Whr
say

rest ups acc

Ify,

Do blacks rely on this ideology and its stories, too? Analysis of the interviews revealed that

although most whites ale "color-blind," 15% of the college students and 12o/o of the DAS lespondents were "racial progressives" who were significantly likely to invoke these stories.t'T'he analysis also revealed that color-blind racism and its stories had a relatively small impact on blacks (but see below). lnstead, white racial progressives and blacks were more likely to provide argllments and narratives asainst. the dominant frames and racial stories of
less

of her, and that bugs hel to death." )udy, like many racial progressives, rtsed her experience as a woman to understand blacks' plight.? For instance, while explaining how the few blacks that move up in society "feel always on display," she connected it to her
experiences as a woman: It's kind of like women, you know, have to be that much better just because of various conclitions and practices tbat occur. So in that way I can understand it, because it's difficult being a woman in this society. It is planned, it's organized by men. It's set up for them, and we've had to struggle to become equal. It's iust that way for people of color'
Last is Kay, an Mtl student, who said that hel parents were displeased that she had a black boyfriend: "Not between us, but my parents at first didn't approve of it really. Like my parents always told me that I

thir

lml vid
ties

exa

qu(

color-blind racism.
For example, Beth, a student at WU, said in ref-

erence

to a white male who opposed affirmative

action, "Being a white male I guess you don't realize [sicl... [shit] unless it's shoved inyourface." She also told the following story about her interaction with this student:

I'I( int

"I Did Not Get that Job Because of a Black Man

77

well see to hard a i1's I and, life rll their

quota system,

people' but I couldn't date could be friends with black learned that they them. But after a while, they fust Kay's story does not fit were gonna have to accept it'"
the te"stimonies as discussed above that we classified examFor racist' is dealing with someone close who or not use this story to exonerate herself pte, stt".

through, ere and there, this derstand that. You ut it's not. It builds
)at you go

h.,

, from the influence of racism ("they iust to accept it")' learned they were Sonna have
Our.r-t

ala

ideology to level even those who oppose it For an on class' gender' become dominant, whether based for those on all or race, it must have some salience in some muddle rungs of the social la<lder; it must the dominated and fash"ion the ideologicai waters of 1999) Thus it constrain their resistance (van Diik' white racial prowas not surprising to find that even the dominant by affected gressives and blacks were racial stories' provided One example of this phenomenon is who works as by Carla, a black woman in her forties vast majority an executive secretary Although the and reparaaction of blacks supported affirmative as reparations on tions, she answered the question

ion affects the life :xpressed support

provided An example of the counterarguments man unemployed an by blacks comes from Edward'
in ni,
tive action:

rinorities for past

"lt's hard to start it's hard to climb
rursing

fifti.r, who said the following about afflrma-

affirmative action I'd say that I would have to be for

simply because you

in her for-

till important and the old and new

xample, she said [e was not served 'as black. She also
lsed as guinea Pigs

still have ignorant people Some are in control and have a people of these ignorant like to think they should I'd little more power than from having opporpeople have... to prevent other have growth and can't tunities [so] that " they a means and [a] is development. Affirmative Action got a locked you when nethod. Then it's like a key door. You've got to have it'

did most whites.

remember That became [a] topic in school l don't long ago so what I said, but right now I feel that was anyhave that the people who are here now didn't mean' I thing to do with it So I don't feel it would' going to-take .ur-t say you're sorry but it's not

yor,

'Iherefore' back what happened'

necessary.

don't think it's

r. Finally, she said at when she shoPs people won't give

e

When asked, "What would you say

to those who
D

h." Iudy,

they are "fearful like manY

rrience as a
.at move

woman

to whites?"' he say affirmative action is unfair you call fair3' do ,erponded, "l tell them that'What of like saying you are If you got everything, it's kind you don't have upr., i..urlr" you got ice cream and you already got everya cone. Then put it in a bowl'
thing. Don't worrY about it'" is an Biacks also believed that discrimination proand status important reason for their present For vijed oppositional testimonies as evidence an unemployed man in his for-

tSCU SSlo N

In this article we have examined the dominant era' These racial stories of the post-civil rights them navistories "make" whites, but also help

ror instance,

while

up in soci-

connected it to her

on gate the turbulent waters of public discussions our of accuracy the i".". Ho*err"r, before accepting race taik' we must analysis of whites' contemporary explanations' address a few plausible alternative

now have to be that

rious conditions at'rd

at way I can underaing a woman in this rized by men. It's set ) struggle to become
ple of color.

example,'lyrone, in his answer to ties, gave the following testimony question on discrimi nation:

possibility The first one is the always present we got answers the get we Did of researcher bias. particular way? because we framed questions in a original purthe believe this is unlikely, since

to work in I think sometimes you do 'Cause I used in Detroitl' I used Sterling Heights [a neighborhood somebody would to be out there waiting on the bus' nigger" at least drive by and call me a "black ass

We if whites' pose of these two studies was to assess than in racial attitudes were different in interviews and Forman' 2000) rather

surveys (Bonilla-Silva Therefore' than to examine whites' racial stories

ho said that her ParC a black boyfriend: rt first didn't aPProve

vays

i'm just trying to three times out of the week and work and come home'

told me that I

However, color-blind racism would at some inant racial ideology if it had not affected

not be a

dom-

were based the questions we asked in the interviews in the included we on the ,ame issues and questions survey the in survey, and the bulk of the questions other survey were exactly the same questions that

78

RACtAi. l.llNi{tNC

researchers have used

in the

ries we found among these respondents were thus not the products of a fishing expedition ,,racists,,

past.s .Ihe racial sto_

for.

or of tendentious questions intended to make our respondents answer in a particular wav.

Second, some analysts ,tisagree about our interpretation of the ideological function

collectiu e n arratives.

the racial stories we identified occurred so regu_ larly in our diverse sarnple suggests that such stories are being repeatecl throughout society. Such wide_ spread repetition is unlikely unless rhose who tell them believe that they reflect some truth about the way the social world works. The fact that old and young alike, working-class and middle_class, and male and female respondents alj told these stories and told them so similarly is evidence that thev are

in whites' contemporary imaginary. The fact that

lenge our claim about the salience of these stories

stories.e However, such disagreement does not chal_

of these

the major. ity of whites, a few used some of the dominant racial stories. this fact should not surprise students 0l racial attitudes in the United States (e.g.,
1997) who have documented the ambivalent views of whites on racial matters, or students of ideology in general, who have pointed out the contested and always unfinished narure of icleoiogy (Billig et al, lgBB). Yet, contradictions in attitudes, ideologlcai
Schuman,

Similarly, although racial progressives and exhibited radically different views from

(for example, they supported school integratiol or busing, or approved of interraciat malriage)
blacks

stories also had progressive views on specific

issua

case,

whi

as blacks

do not u

when sla ago!") or

versities
SLI Law

were, an whites as

ity
the

and
stc

these

contemp
currr

positions, as well as behavior do not detract from the fact that all actors end up stating and taking positions on social issues (in our case, racial issue$. And these contradictions allow us too, as analysts and policy makers, to think about ways to devise political arguments, policies, and politics
ing social change.
CONCLUSION The four story lines we analyzed in this article are powerful tools that help most whites maintain a color-blind sense of self and, at the same time, to reinforce views that help reproduce the current racial order. For example, if whites oppose affirmative action or reparations, they can ,s" th. "The past is the past,, or ,,1 did not own any slaves,, story line to bolster the apparent reasonableness of their argument. If the issue involves accounting for blacks' secondary status in this country, whites can use the story line ,,lf (other ethnic groups such as Italians or Jews) made it, ho* .om"tlacks have

never be

and, in

nation

tc

Thes,

for effe+

they

are

"commo course"

the growth of a new racial logic that helps preserve racial inequality. 'lherefore, our data ana ar-,atyrl, suggest not that there are more (or less) ,,racists,, or more or less "racism,, than in the past, but that a set not?" Finally, because the srory line ,,I did not get a of racial stories has emerged and is being deployed (job or promotion) because of a black man,, seems by whites from a wide range of social balkgrounds personal-even though the facts in such stories and from a variety ofgeographic locations. tend to be secondhand and remoter_it can offer Finally, some may argue that we are present_ powerful support to those opposing governmerrt ing white respondents in a monolithic fashion. .tb programs for mi norities. this potential charge we say that our respondents, These story lines also allow many whites to vent like all humans, exhibit contradictions. ._fhus, some deep-seated feelings about racial matters (on rac_ of the respondents who told the dominant racial ism and emotions, see Feagin, 2000). In case afier

work (Bonilla-Silva, t997, 2OOt, 2003a), the issue is not one of "good,, versus ,,bad,, or ,,educated,, versus "ignor-ant, whites, but one of documenting

stantively speaking, as we have argued in previous

Third, some analysts may believe that our goal is to label all whites racist. We went to great lengths to show that although most whites accept these stories as the "truth " about racial matters in America, a segment of the white conmunity (and most blacks) do not accept these stories and have developed incipient counternarratives. f'heoretically and sub-

AIthougl

hald dat nation (1

the
I

"sinr

1ee5), rl
nstead,

whites r,r ogy and them

lives as ,

be

ers

shar

the tellir

their

un,

is the wa
NC

1.
2.

'

3.

"I DirJ Nor

a Black Get thor' Job tsecause of

Man

vs

on sPecific issues

school integration terracial marriage). ressives and blacks :ws from the maiorthe dominant racial urprise students of ates (e.g., Schuman,
re ambivalent views
students ut the contested

understand the world case,whitesevincedangeraboutwhattheyinterpretRacialnarratives,however'potentiallydofar more than help whites to u'rJl ,iu.r.., any own (,1 didn,t justify current racial as blacks, whining particular ways: they also in things for asking they keep trying to explain do not unaerstand why inequality' For example' when r-rdred gotltlamnnd y"o:r' hu zo6 ended society' these stoof when slavery at the bottom or uni- why blacks are certain_iobs into getti; not peopre's station in life agol,,) or about ,i"s ar" used to sllggest that into admitted not was _ii" or harcl work' which explains versities (,,A friend depends on abilitf and students ualifiedblacks un4 but many own shortcomtngs
SLI

The story lines then were, and that's r.urong").

Law school,

of their serve blacks'status as a result

of ideologY and

eology (Billig et al.,

ttitudes, ideological do not detract from ) stating and taking

rrcase, racial issues). v us too, as analYsts
Lbout

only attempt to explain whitesasle8itimateconduitsforexpressinli^,-",(I{ochschi1d,1995;WetherellandPotter,lgg2). These racial narratives not toward also have the capacity to ity ancl resentment Tl":"1'":,]::*' larger raciai realities but i,-'t",p,"totio,-,'-of For specific a offer these story lines behavior and interactions ur'ra ., *i'ri favors that "u"'yday 'hJpt contemporary ,u.iut ,.I1utt"rs thecurrentracialorder:,,Thepastisthepast,weexample,recentwolkonthebehaviorofwhites *ttl]"-llt of unfair neverbenefitedfromthePast,everyonehaditbadtowardstudentsofcoloroncoliegecampuses(who often are imagined to be the
and,

in fact, and we are

;;

real vicrims or

ai..ri-i-

ways to devise for effectpolitics nd

led in this article are

ost whites maintain d, at the same time,

1996; Lewis et ai ' 2000; nationtoday,,(Doane,rcgz;cuttuel-,er,i995).advantage)demonstratestheperniciousimpactof such stories (Feagin et al ' because "ideological" These r.acial *ori.r-ur" etal'' 2000)' rights color-blind Sololzano po't-t*il tft" of and activists alike parr are they lt is the iob of social analysts i" worl. the ,,common sense.,, They represent ";-;;; to break the conventionality and commonsense we have provided evidence course,,manner-asif;;"r"storiesareself-evident. character of these stories' are ,il;; norecl, n""" stories, Although such ", -" harddata,misrepresenttheimportanceofdiscrimi-forawayoutofthei<leoiogicalwebofcolor-blind most blacks nation(botholdandnew),andcanbe.tu.,in"ao.racismu,''.lofthe,"Storiesthroughourexamplesof white racial progressives.and (Feagin and vera, the way rhe
,,sincere fictions,,

r reproduce
,le,

the cur-

dissidents" 1995),theyalenotexperiencedassuchby'whites.arechallenginstheseraciaInarratiu:.'o'discussed 'ur" t-'"'"' *u^f of these "ideological imagi""rnlt the ruolin even deveioped srories have these
lnstead, whites who subscribe

"i

#nt,",

(van

oPPose lns, they can use the I not own anY slaves"
rarent reasonableness

if whites

a ,n" ao-i.ant

racial

iieol-

Diik' 1999) and

"race traitors"

our tasks are ogyandshapehow.*,.."'*...,,.'a",..u,-'a.t-'.i,oppositionalnarfatives(albeitlesscoherentthan the dominant racial narratives). to factual are They utu.ks. strategic f'nctions of lives as well as ,no," o-r recognize the origins and
an<l (white) them because both storytellers

.fhus,

involves accounting a this countrY, whites er ethnic grouPs such row come blacks have ry line "l did not get a
e

we can challenge their ersshateafePiesel]tationalcommu.,i,y.H",-,.",theseracialstoriesandhelppopularizecountefnalrarives (Delgado, 1999) so thesesrories.rr".rrri"rl of contemporary "white theteliingandretellingof thJworld role in the maintenance and why how rrvvv crrs 'r--l u;o.rr :ruuur their unclerstarrai'rg supremacy" (Mills, 1997)' is the way it is.r.
and Potter "interpretive repertoire" from wetherell the idea of ideology as an
we 'rddress thedomrna.nt"''1,'l:"'::ly

I;*"-

to

rf a black man" seems

facts

in such

stories

remoter-it can offer

opposing Sovernment
w many whites to vent :acial matters (on rac-

it;:to.rr.*

, lltli]r.rer
righrs racial

story lines we

i::;i';:ii:*'era in highlig; O. ^.i "-n*.,. uit,rn"-riories

rhererore' the rour secondary the field' as there may be

n, 2000). In case after

r.::' ,''"'1 "muted hostility"' I(inder , **:*i:::*:li:1:"J"in'ilx'::"ip:Tffi!l'^:'rllli:-"'*"-en'1s ,,tuirr.r-f"ii;;r-," Jackman',s (".;;Lo,,

on

di..."*"

EFr80

and Sanders' "symbolic racism," etc.). However, we use the term color-biind racism because it fits better how whites talk about race in the post-civil rights era. More important, this concept

is anchored in different theoretical and methodological traditions. Rather than basing this perspective on whites' "attitudes," we argue this viewpoint represents a new ideological cat formation and use textual (rather than survey) data to document it (see Bonilla-Silva, 2003b). 4. No one has systematic data on private, nonnormative interactions on race among whites or nonwhites. The available (unsystematic) data suggest that whites' private race talk is much more racial in tone and content (see Graham, 1995, and, particularlt Myers, 2003). 5. Despite the regularity with which this story line is deployed, the number of actual cases filed by whites as "reverse discrimination" before the LDOC is quite small, and the great majority of them are dismissed as bogus (Wicker, 1996). 6. We classified as racial progressives respondents who supported affirmative action, interracial marriage, and recognized the significance of discrimination in the United States. When respondents exhibited reservations on one of these issues, we searched for other elements disclosed in the interview to help us classify these respondents (e.g., whether they had meaningful relationships with minorities or the degree of racial progressiveness on other racerelated issues discussed in the interviews). 7. Our analysis revealed that white racial progressives were significantly more likely to be working-class women. For a discussion, see Bonilla-Silva (2003b: chap. 6). B. The instruments for the 1998 DAS survey are available from the Detroit Area Study at the lh-riversity of Michigan. The instruments for the other survey can be obtained from E,duardo Bonilla-Silva. 9. Charles Murray (1984), Hernstein and Murray (1994), D'Souza (1995), and orhers have concluded that whites' "common sense" on minorities (the idea that minorities arelazy, not too smart/ see racism in everything, etc.) is fundamentally right. Liberal social analysts have read whites' contemporary views as expressions of racial ambivalence (Schuman, 1997). 10. We are trying to convey here the positive role of ideology. As Althusser suggested a long time ago, the content of an ideology may be false (misrepresent real social relations), but that ideology shapes the actions and behavior ofpeople and is thus real because ideology "inter, pellates" individuals as subiects (in our case, as "racial subjects") from the day they are born (Althusser, 7977. Ott the notion of "racial subjects," see Goldberg, 1993).
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79 89. Ethnic Myth.Uo1ao,r, Beacon. van Dijk, T'eun. 1999. ,O:,o.rn!r, ,l UultidiscipiinaLry Approach. Lonclon: Sage. wellman, David. rscz. "M;.t."I rh.;., #;.lru,rrr" action talk, urrJ o-rr*., racial orherness in the 1ee's." white men: Marki'g rn Rurh rru,.L.,ru"rg ("d ):,-;ir;;';;)r *runrur, Essaysin social and curtural Criticism:311-331. Durham and LondJn: o",." ii",""r'.ity press. wetherell, Margarer, and Jonathan 0.,,". itr. Mapping rnn Lorgu ; o1 Racism: Discourse Legitimation oJ'Exploitation anti the New York: a.,r-ot" llniversity press. wicker, Tom. 1996. tragic Fai.Iure: n,rri,rt tntugit|ion in America. N"* yo.k: wi,iam wise,

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