Multivalent Oppression K - Northwestern 2015

7/21/2019 Multivalent Oppression K - Northwestern 2015

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Multivalent Oppression K -

NDI 2015



NEG



1NC ShellAf o!us on "la!#ness as e$planator% o overar!hin&

oppression ren'ers it i(possi)le to !hallen&e (ultivalentor(s o ra!is( * 'is!ri(ination+ in!reasin& suferin&Al!of , Linda Alcof a philosopher at the City University o New York who

specializes in epistemology, eminism, race theory and existentialism!"isi#le identities $ace %ender And the &el' ())* +xord ress-

Native peoples were represented. as van/0ished, disappearing, and th0s o no acco0nt. 1h0s, the paradigm oan anti#lack racism intertwined with slavery does not help to ill0minatespeci2c orms and experiences o oppression, where ideologies oten reliedon charges o innate evil, religio0s #ackwardness, horde mentalities, theinevita#ility o extinction, and other pro3ections not 0sed in regard to Arican

Americans4 will arg0e that

the hegemony o the #lack5white paradigm hasstymied the development o an ade/0ate acco0nt o the diverse racialrealities in the United &tates and weakened the general acco0nts o racismthat attempt to #e tr0ly incl0sive 1his has had a negative efect on o0r a#ility to developefective sol0tions to the vario0s orms that racism can take, to makecommon ca0se against ethnic6 and race6#ased orms o oppression and tocreate lasting coalitions, and has recently played a signi2cant role in thedemise o a7rmative action 4 will s0pport these claims 0rther in what ollows Criticisms Critics o the

#lack5white paradigm have arg0ed that, altho0gh all comm0nities o color have shared theexperience o political and economic disenranchisement in the United &tates,there are signi2cant diferences #etween the ca0ses and the orms o thisdisenranchisement 8ong 9wan :im, a :orean American comm0nity leader who has worked #oth as the

director o the :orean Comm0nity Center o. ;ast 8ay in +akland and as director o the :orean Yo0th and Comm0nityCenter in. Los Angeles, #lames the #lack5white #inary or disa#ling relationships among. people o color and even orcreating the conditions leading to the Los Angeles civil. disaster o April <==(, in which (>)) small :orean6owned#0sinesses were destroyed. #y mostly Latino and Arican American looters :im cites the xenopho#ia marshaled. #yArican American leader ?anny 8akewell #eore the looting occ0rred,. and arg0es that the :orean American comm0nityhad #een and contin0es to #e. systematically rendered incapa#le o responding to s0ch rhetoric #eca0se they are. notrecognized in the media as a player in racial politics( ;laine :im explains@. 4t is di7c0lt to descri#e how disempoweredand r0strated many :orean Americans. elt d0ring and ater the sa6i6k0 pok6dong Bthe April (= riots- :orean. Latinos,

Asian Americans, and the 8lack6Dhite 8inary (E>. Americans across the co0ntry shared the ang0ish and despair o theLos Angeles. tongpo Bcomm0nity-, which everyone seemed to have a#andonedFthe police. and 2re departments, #lackand white political leaders, the Asian and aci2c. American advocates who tried to dissociate themselves rom 0s #eca0seo0r. tragedy disp0ted their narrow and risk6ree oc0s on white violence against. Asians G1Hhe :orean Americans at thecenter o the storm were mostly. voiceless and all #0t invisi#le Bexcept when stereotyped as hysterically inartic0late,. and

mostly emale, r0ined shopkeepers- B:im <==I, J<KJ(-. &imilar to the exican Americans in 1exas, the :orean Americans have #een denied the legal or socially recognizedcategory o #eing a politicized gro0p at the same time that they are mades0#3ect to gro0p6#ased scapegoating oreover, as this event demonstrates, the#lack5white paradigm o race is incapa#le o theoretically or politicallyaddressing racism among comm0nities o color, or addressing. racism, inother words, that is not all a#o0t white people A response to this line oreasoning might #e that it is white s0premacy which is at the root o theconMict0al relations among comm0nities o color and responsi#le or their acceptance o stereotypes

man0act0red #y a white dominant power str0ct0re 1h0s, on this reading, what occ0rred in Los Angeles can #ered0ctively. explained as the res0lt o white s0premacy Altho0gh 4 oten 2nd explanatory. arg0ments that oc0s onpolitical economy compelling, it is simplistic to. imagine c0lt0ral conMicts as the mere epiphenomena o economic orces





<==>- Yet a politics o m0ltivalent recognition is act0ally poised to !0n#0rdengro0ps o excessive ascri#ed or constr0cted distinctiveness' BPraser and 9onneth

())>, IJ- like the 0niversalist politics o recognition rom which 4 disting0ished it earlier 9ighlighting thediversity within identities #rings points o similarity across identities to light 0t otherwise, as the sym#olic#o0ndaries o identities are widenedFas more and diferent people are accepted as !really #lack'F

identities once seen as distinct rom one another are now seen as overlapping Dhile a m0ltivalent

politics o recognition centers on a single collective identity, it necessarily hasimplications across identities Dhen #lack eminist men demand recognition,or instance, this demand has implications or the categories o #lack, maleand emale oreover, inasm0ch as identity categories are interrelatedFthink, or example, o the

dependence o whiteness on #lacknessFa m0ltivalent politics o recognition as engaged in #y one identity

gro0p will afect another articipation #y one identity gro0p in the politics orecognition may #e catalyzed #y the participation o another identity gro0p@witness the mens movement springing rom the s0ccesses o eminism 80tcooperation #etween identity gro0ps in a politics o m0ltivalent recognitioncan #e sec0red #y agreement that more capacio0s notions o identity can#ene2t mem#ers o all identity gro0psFincl0ding the privileged withinidentity gro0ps and mem#ers o privileged identity gro0ps Coalition work is

the only hope or radical transormation in an identity 2eld inasm0ch as!resistance on one ront in isolation rarely represents a signi2cant depart0rerom or challenge to the dominant modes o #eing or prod0ction' B4ton ())O, <)>-

8y drawing attention to similarities across identities, intersectionality, the interrelatedness o gro0p

identities, and the #ene2ts that redo0nd rom more capacio0s notions o identities, a politics om0ltivalent recognition can oster the kind o cross6identity coalitions that arenecessary to incite radical changes within an identity 2eld = oreover, actorsengaged in a politics o m0ltivalent recognition are predisposed to coalitionwork #y the 0nderstanding that any orm o politicsF#e it intra6identity orcross6identityFre/0ires working across diference 8y complicating identitiesin a way that enco0rages cross6identity coalitions, an a7rmative politics o

recognition can have transormative efects BPraser and 9onneth ())>-



/in#s



/in# - "la!#ness as Monovalent I'entit%heir 'is!ussion o )la!#ness is (onovalent- (onolithi!

interpretation o )la!# i'entit%Sn%'er 12 B%reta Powler, h? Candidate in the ?epartment o olitics,

University o "irginia, '0ltivalent $ecognition@ 8etween Pixity and Pl0idity in4dentity olitics', 1he o0rnal o olitics, "ol JI, No <, an0ary, 3stor-

?espite contentio0s diferences in their vision and pro3ection o #lackidentity,> there was one striking similarity in the way anther leaders and:arenga along with 8A artists presented #lack people@ #lack people werepresented as 0ndamentally alike !4n the GinitialH 2ght or representation andrecognition,' says Cornel Dest, !images re6presented monolithic andhomogeneo0s 8lack comm0nities R 1hese 8lack responsesRass0med thatall 8lack people were really alike' B<==>, <*K<J- ?emands or recognition #ythe anthers and #y the U& +rganization and those they inM0encedenco0raged the perception that #lack identity is more !2xed'Fmore

homogeno0s, more staticFthan it can possi#ly #e Barkell ())>Q hillips())J- 1he privileging o a partic0lar monolithic interpretation o #lackidentity had pro#lematic efects in terms o #oth intra and intergro0prelations 8lack people that did not accept U&s philosophy were re3ected as!Negroes'@ !the only thing Negroes prod0ce,' :arenga proclaimed derisively,!are pro#lems and #a#ies' B+g#ar ())E, =I- Dhile progressive in relation towhite racism, the 8lack anther artys oc0s on the redemption o #lackmanhood had repressive efects on #lack women and gay men BDhite <==)-

1he #roader extragro0p efects o the recognition politics o the U&+rganization and the anthers were am#ivalent at #est andco0nterprod0ctive at worst ?rawing rom a vision o Arica that was

signi2cantly shaped #y Bracist- Destern readings o Arica B8rown ())>Q Dhite<==)-, :arenga reinscri#ed the !romanticist mythology created #y ;0ropeanideologies' that associated civilization5reason with whiteness andnat0re5emotion with #lacknessFthere#y !giving credence to the oldest oracist stereotypes' Bercer <==I, <<>- 4n their vehement re3ection o #lackidentities represented #y oynihan, cCone, the so0thern civil rights protestmodel, the Nation o 4slam and U&, the anthers enco0raged !myopic andsimplistic notions o ghetto a0thenticity' B+g#ar ())E, <((-, promoted thepervasive e/0ation o !#lack' with !0r#an poor' B+ngiri ())=, <=- andopened the door or the association o #lack men with hypermasc0lineaggression Borgan ())*- 8oth gro0ps so0ght to reverse stereotypes in the

dominant disco0rse 0sed to oppress #lacks 80t as &t0art 9all hasadmonished, !to reverse the stereotype is not necessarily to overt0rn ors0#vert it' B<==J, (J(- &ince the sym#olic system remains intactFwhite is tocivilization as #lack is to nat0reQ white is to reason as #lack is to emotionFmeaning contin0ed to #e ramed #y it B())=, (JI- 8y emphasizingdiferences #etween gro0ps and homogeneity within them, a politics orecognition !tends to call 0p its own stereotypes' Bhillips ())J, ><- %iventhe monolithic nat0re o the identity #eing pro3ected #y these gro0psF#lack



identity as homogeno0s, static, and wholly diferent rom white identityF4categorize the kind o politics o recognition engaged in #y the anthers,:arenga and 2g0res associated with 8A as a politics o monovalentrecognition Dhile U& had some s0ccess in reval0ing essential #lackness andthe anthers had some s0ccess in reval0ing a0thentic #lackness, #othreinorced pro#lematic stereotypes and a hierarchically organized sym#olicsystem Looking to other c0lt0ral political realities and possi#ilitiesoverlooked #y political theorists, however, we 2nd demands or recognitionanimated #y a diferent goal than p0#lic a7rmation o a homogeno0s, static,and 0tterly diferentiated conception o a collective identity



/in# Authenti! "la!#ness"la!#ness i'eals are (onovalent-ena)les i'entit% as

(utuall% e$!lusiveSn%'er 12 B%reta Powler, h? Candidate in the ?epartment o olitics,


1hanks to the politics o monovalent recognition, positive representations o#lack identity are m0ch more common today than they were prior to the8lack ower movement Yet as ;liza#eth Alexander laments, visions o#lackness are calci2ed@ !em#racea#le' #lack people tend to #e athletes,comedians, m0sicians and mystics or g0r0s B%0errero <==EQ 90ghey ())=Qage <==J- while the gangster, the pimp, the h0stler, and the welare /0eenstill dominate the c0lt0ral imaginary B;ntman and $o3ecki ())<Q 10cker ())J-4ndeed, in a ())= review o the state o race relations, Lawrence 8o#o andCamille Charles report that !#etween hal and three6/0arters o whites in the

United &tates still express some degree o negative stereotyping o #lacks'B())=, (I*- 1his regime o representation has #een prod0ced andreprod0ced #y #oth racist ideology and the monovalent recognitionmovements that so0ght to challenge this ideology 1he ())O residentialelection provides a compelling example o the way in which !calci2ed' visionso gro0p identity are implicated in #oth the reprod0ction o themarginalization o #lack Americans and repressive intragro0p dynamicsConsider the /0estions that dogged 8arack +#ama d0ring his primaryFis he!#lack eno0gh5too #lackS' +ne prominent commentator opined that these/0estions, asked #y #oth #lacks and whites, were #orne o the !#elie that E)Cent, not 8arack +#ama, represents the real #lack America' BCoates ())J-

4ndeed, the notion that !real #lackness' resides !excl0sively in the ghettoamong the poorest and most disenranchised o the Arican Americanpop0lation'Fthe notion endorsed #y the 8lack anthersF!contin0es to #epervasive in post68lack owerRc0lt0re' B+ngiri ())=, <=- 1his association0ndermines the a#ility5willingness o #oth #lack and white people to seethose who identiy as #lack #0t do not 2t these c0lt0ral constr0ctions Bie,+#ama- as !really #lack' oreover, these /0estions s0ggest that!#lackness' is incompati#le with traits exempli2ed #y +#amaFincl0ding, ascomments #y oe 8iden in an0ary ())J implied, his artic0lateness andintelligence BCoates ())J- resenting a collective identity like !#lack' ashomogeno0s, static, and #o0nded as monovalent recognition movements do

ena#les that identity to #e 0nderstood as one part o a sym#olic system inwhich identities are m0t0ally excl0sive And in s0ch a system, as ac/0es?errida, &t0art 9all, and others have orce0lly arg0ed, the traits associatedwith one gro0p will always #e privileged 9ighlighting the m0ltiplicity o #lackidentity and 0nmooring #lackness rom a speci2c and limited set ocharacteristics challenges white dominance witho0t promoting intragro0prepression or excl0sion Fthat all #lack people are the same Movin&)e%on' the s%()oli! !onnes set )% the he&e(oni! &roup or



3ne&atin& the ne&ation4 involves hi&hli&htin& the 'iferen!e thate$ists ithin i'entit% !ate&ories throu&h 'e(an's or re!o&nition6



/in# - Slaver%heir (onolithi! 'epi!tion o "la!#ness i&nores (aterial

evi'en!e o (ultivalent responses to the !on'ition oslaver%

Matthe 11 BChristopher N atthews, 9ostra University , Arican?iaspora Archaeology Newsletter, >6<6()<<, !1he Archaeology o $ace andArican American', http@55scholarworks0massed05cgi5viewcontentcgiSarticleT())=contextTadan-

1he chapter reprod0ced here is my avorite since it exempli2es how 4 workedto weave together c0lt0ral, historical, and political economic actors toprod0ce an archaeological interpretation that highlights #oth agency andcriti/0e y arg0ment is that capitalism is #ased on a partic0lar worldviewthat s0pports the agency o actors engaged in society as individ0alsQ th0sindivid0al agency is a key to participation and to the reprod0ction o thecapitalist system 9owever, individ0al agency comes at a price Dhile manypay this price in la#or, de#t, and sacri2ce, others, 0s0ally those mostmarginal to the mainstream and th0s least a#le to aford the costs oparticipation, developed alternatives that 4 consider as criti/0es 1hesecriti/0es pointed o0t the shortcomings and Maws o the system capitalismcreated, #0t as < show in the #ook, most o these criti/0es ailed to generaate s0#stantial change as they were adopted #y people too heavily invested inthat system to see #eyond it y chapter on Arican ?iaspora comm0nitiestells a diferent story #y showing how the material c0lt0re o AricanAmericans exhi#its ast0te and critical readings o racism and the o0ndationso capitalism that helped to deh0manize them as slaves and, th0s,commodities 8eing so marginalized, in other words, Arican Americans elt

and saw what capitalism most expects rom its participants and th0s were ina 0ni/0e position to develop a critical standpoint against it 4 also emphasizethe importance o considering m0ltivalency in the interpretation o Arican?iaspora materials 1he act that o#3ects can prod0ce and s0stain m0ltiplemeanings allowed Arican Americans to develop a0tonomo0s tho0gh partlyhidden c0lt0ral systems inormed #0t not controlled #y the white capitalistswho s0rro0nded them &imilarly, 4 highlight the val0e o consideringassem#lages so that we are a#le to consider how artiacts were ordered andrelated in partic0lar ways that allow 0s to see the Arican American c0lt0ralcriti/0e o capitalism Pinally, 4 emphasize the social val0e o religio0sexpression As religion is #ased in a comm0nity o #elievers 4 descri#e how

the material expressions o rit0al action and religio0s #elie, rom markingcolonoware #owls to experiencing conversion in Arican AmericanChristianity, inorms 0s a#o0t how comm0nities critical o racism andcapitalism were reprod0ced thro0gh time Ultimately, 4 arg0e that anarchaeology o capitalism provides vital insights into the origins andmeanings o Arican American c0lt0re rom which America as a whole still hasso m0ch to learn





/in# - "la!#78hite "inar%he af onl% 'es!ri)es one a!et o ra!e )ut !lai(s that it

is a universal approa!h this ren'ers an%one outsi'e o"la!#78hite invisi)le

9erea :; Groessor o Law, University o Plorida College o Law, 0an,$AC;, ;19N4C41Y NA14+N9++?@ A$14CL;@ 1he 8lack5Dhite 8inary aradigmo $ace@ 1he VNormal &cienceV o American $acial 1ho0ght, Caliornia Law$eview, +cto#er, <==J, OE Cali L $ev <(<>, p <(EIH

y o#3ection to the state o most c0rrent scholarship on race is simply that (ost o thiss!holarship !lai(s universalit% o treat(ent hile a!tuall%'es!ri)in& onl% part o its su)<e!t+ the relationship )eteen "la!#san' 8hites =a!e in the >nite' States (eans (ore than <ust "la!#an' 8hite It also reers to /atino7a+ Asian+ Native A(eri!an+ an'other ra!iali?e' &roups6 A!!or'in&l%+ )oo#s titled V$ace in AmericaV or VDhite

$acismV that onl% 'is!uss "la!#ness an' 8hiteness !lai( a universalit%o s!ope that the% 'o not 'eliver hese )oo#s ofer a para'i&(ati!ren'erin& o their su)<e!t that e$!lu'es i(portant portions o !ivilri&hts histor%6 Authors o su!h )oo#s nee' to )e aare that the%pro(ul&ate a )inar% para'i&( o ra!e that operates to silen!e an'ren'er invisi)le /atinos7as+ Asian A(eri!ans an' Native A(eri!ans6A!!or'in&l%+ the% repro'u!e a serious har(



/in# 8hite7Non8hiteCollapsin& o (ultiple i'entities into 3non hite4 erases

'iferen!e"o(an 1 B:risti, pro o law W&U, ? rom ?0ke, ?0ke Law o0rnal !1he

New Pace o &chool ?esegregation,' http@55wwwlawd0keed05shell5citeplSE)X?0keXLXX<JE<-

Dhite privilege is reinorced when racial and ethnic gro0ps areconcept0alized not as Dhite, Arican American, Latino, Asian American,Native American, etc, #0t instead as Dhite or Non6Dhite Acknowledgement o diferences among gro0ps disappears in a Dhite6Non6Dhite paradigm,#eca0se instead o allowing racial or ethnic gro0ps to identiy themselves #ywhat they are,(>O all Non6 Gpg <JOJH Dhite gro0ps are explicitly identi2ed #ywhat they are not, and only #y reerence to whiteness Altho0gh aspects o a speci2c

Non6Dhite gro0p might #e easier to identiy than VDhite c0lt0re,V this occ0rs #eca0se Dhite c0lt0re is

mainstream c0lt0re 1he c0lt0re o a speci2c Non6Dhite gro0p appears distinctive

#eca0se it deviates rom the norm roessor artha ahoney notes that a term s0ch asVracially identi2a#leV in the context o ho0sing and 0r#an development generally reers Vto locations that

are racially identi2a#ly #lackV(>= 1he same is tr0e in the context o ed0cation@ racially identi2a#lemeans racially identi2a#ly Non6Dhite 1he Dhite6Non6Dhite paradigm reinorces the power

dynamic o the acted and the acted 0pon, o presence and a#sence, o the de2ning and the de2ned 1hepower that Dhites receive rom their 0nearned privilege in the Dhite6Non6Dhite d0ality Vis, in act, permission to escape Gthe de#ate o raceH or todominateV(I) Dhen ederal co0rts reinorce this dynamic in the name o school

desegregation, they perpet0ate the normalized, mainstream practices and instit0tions

that reinorce racial ine/0ality 4t is oten these practices and instit0tions that are most

damaging in terms o perpet0ating oppression #eca0se they are not 0s0ally /0estioned 1hey are

concept0alized as 30st normal(I< 4n contemporary school desegregation 30rispr0dence, Dhites are

normalized, and all Non6Dhites are collapsed into the category o VotherV Like

Arican Americans, Latinos have #een the victims o state6sanctioned ed0cational segregationQ(I( #0t ico0rts gave attention to the present diferences #etween Arican Americans and Latinos, co0rtsZ remedialorders wo0ld likely #e str0ct0red diferently As will #e disc0ssed #elow, the recognition o Latinos andArican Americans as distinct gro0ps that contin0e to s0fer diferent harms is easily within reach



/in# =e<e!tion o State=e<e!tion o soverei&nt% is another lin# there are &roups

that strive or in!lusion ithin the state6 heir !riti!is( o the state erases their i'entit%6

9erea 10 B0an, Cone, Dagner, N0gent, ohnson, 9azo0ri $oth roessoro Law, University o Plorida Levin College o Law, An ;ssay +n 1he 4conic&tat0s + 1he Civil $ights ovement And 4ts Unintended Conse/0ences,"irginia o0rnal o &ocial olicy the Law, "ol <O@<, Pall, p EJ,http@55scsst0dentvirginiaed05v3spl5<O(5ereapdH

here are i(portant reasons to re!o&ni?e the Chi!ano+ A(eri!an-In'ian+ an' Native @aaiian stru&&les or !ivil ri&hts Dith respect to the

Chicano and American64ndian str0ggles, it is important to co0nter the #elie, demonstra#ly 0ntr0e, thatgro0ps other than Arican Americans are latecomers to civil rights str0ggle 1o the extent that thelegitimacy o civil rights claims rests on a history o str0ggleFand the Arican6American Civil $ights

ovement s0ggests that this is tr0e to a large extentFthen the le&iti(a!% o /atino an'

A(eri!an-In'ian !lai(s or !ivil ri&hts 'epen's on a!#nole'&e(entan' re!o&nition o their histories o stru&&leEI 4t is also important to recognize

that the su)stantive !ontent o !ivil ri&hts or &roups other thanAri!an A(eri!ans (a% )e 'iferent than the civil rights demanded #y Arican

Americans 1o ill0strate, the Ari!an-A(eri!an stru&&le has o!use' oneualit% an' ull in!lusion in American society ;/0ality and incl0sion are remedies or

cent0ries o servit0de and orced excl0sion A(eri!an-In'ian an' Native @aaiianstru&&les or !ivil ri&hts+ on the other han'+ o!us on the attain(entan' enhan!e(ent o soverei&nt%6 Greater soverei&nt% or American 4ndians

and Native 9awaiians is the re(e'% or the 'enial o soverei&n statushistorically characteristic o relations #etween the ederal and state governments and 4ndian nations Civilrights in the orm o enhanced sovereignty or indigeno0s peoples, altho0gh diferent than the civil rights

so0ght #y Arican Americans, remain civil rights Civil rights are, in important part, remedies or partic0larorms o oppression experienced #y some peoples As a'vo!ates or !ivil an' hu(anri&hts &enerall%+ e 'o not ant to ail to re!o&ni?e a stru&&le or!ivil ri&hts (erel% )e!ause it 'ifers ro( the Ari!an-A(eri!anstru&&le



/in# 8hite supre(a!%O)session ith 8hite Supre(a!% is )a' hite ra!ists

have (astere' that &a(e6 he result o their pro<e!t is toreins!ri)e hites as the prin!ipal point o reeren!e6

8est :B BCornell, $ace atters, p =O6==H 1he pro3ect o #lack separatism 66 to which alcolm [ was #eholden or most o his lie ater his 2rst psychic conversion tothe Nation o 4slam 66 s0fered rom deep intellect0al and organizational pro#lems Unlike alcolm [Zs notion o psychicconversion, ;li3ah 0hammadZs idea o religio0s conversion was predicated on an o#session with white s0premacy 1he#asic aim o #lack 0slim theology 66 with its distinct #lack s0premacist acco0nt o the origins o white people 66 was to

co0nter white s0premacy Yet this preo!!upation ith hite supre(a!% still alloe'hite people to serve as the prin!ipal point o reeren!e 6 hat hi!hun'a(entall% (otivates one still 'i!tates the ter(s o hat onethin#s an' 'oes 66 so the (otivation o a )la!# supre(a!ist 'o!trinereveals ho o)sesse' one is ith hite supre(a!%6 his isun'erstan'a)le in a white racist society 66 )ut it is crippling or a 'espise' peoplestru&&lin& or ree'o(+ in that ones e%es shoul' )e on the pri?e+ not

on the perpetuator o ones oppression 4n short, ;li3ah 0hammadZs pro3ect remainedcaptive to the s0premacy game 66 a game mastered #y the white racists he opposed and imitated with his #lacks0premacy doctrine



/in# Opa!it%7u&itivit%u&itivit% is a (onovalent re!o&nition-

Sn%'er 12 B%reta Powler, h? Candidate in the ?epartment o olitics,

University o "irginia, '0ltivalent $ecognition@ 8etween Pixity and Pl0idity in

4dentity olitics', 1he o0rnal o olitics, "ol JI, No <, an0ary, 3stor-Like atricia Dilliams, 4 want to maintain that there is a distinction #etween!good visi#ility' and !#ad visi#ility' 8ad visi#ility, as Dilliams arg0es,involves hypervisi#ility, o#3ecti2cation, making a spectacle, stereotyping%ood visi#ility, on the other hand, involves !a recognition o individ0ality thatincl0des #lacks as a social presence' BDilliams <==<, <(<- Dhile a politics omonovalent recognition enco0rages visi#ility, the kind o visi#ility itenco0rages oten ends 0p alling on the negative side o Dilliams spectr0m+n the other hand, 4 #elieve that a politics o m0ltivalent recognition canmake #lack Americans visi#le in ways that #etter their lives



Alternative



Alt En'orse Multivalent "la!#nessOur alternative shoul' )e to en'orse (ultivalent

)la!#ness- (ore nuan!e' visions o )la!# i'entit%Sn%'er 12 B%reta Powler, h? Candidate in the ?epartment o olitics,


oet and c0lt0ral critic ;liza#eth Alexander champions an alternative in her())I #ook o essays entitled 1he 8lack 4nteriorI Alexander is explicit a#o0tthe importance o presenceFo recognitionFto Arican American lie andpolitics B())I, O- Yet her criti/0e o !narrow descriptors o #lackness' andher concern with !the straight3acketed constraints o racial ideologiesimposed rom the mythic within' BAlexander ())I, ()I- comm0nicates awariness o the politics o monovalent recognition Driting to #lack c0lt0ralprod0cers, Alexander seeks to reorient #lack c0lt0ral politics Alexanderopens with the ollowing concern@ "isions o #lack identityF#oth sel6

representations and representations o #lack identity in the mainstreamFhave #ecome !calci2ed' B())I, ix- ?rawing the connections #etweencalci2cation, oppression o the gro0p and repression o the individ0al,Alexander arg0es that c0ltivating and accessing that metaphysical spaceF!the #lack interior'From which complex and n0anced visions o #lackidentity spring is o the 0tmost importance Dhile the #lack interior har#orsracialized visions o identityFthe interior o which Alexander speaks isspeci2cally #lackFshe Alexander insists that a social identity like #lack !neednot #e seen as a constraint' B())I, E- 4n the #lack interior, #lack artists haveo0nd #lack !selves that go ar, ar #eyond the limited expectations andde2nitions o what #lack is, isnt or sho0ld #e' BE- +nly s0ch #lack selves can

com#at not 30st deval0ation, #0t calci2cation 4ntegral to achieving a morecapacio0s notion o #lack identity is the prolieration o diferent identitiessigni2ed as #lack onolithic versions o #lackness re/0ently contradict oneanother BAlexander ())I, *-Q this was certainly tr0e o #lackness asrepresented #y the anthers and U& 1hese gro0ps did not allow the diferentvisions to peace0lly coexist, #0t Alexander advocates or a world in whichdiferent conceptions o #lackness are ena#led to coexist side6#y6side incontradiction 4n this world, people insist on the importance o !#lack' as asocial identity while em#racing the m0ltiplicity o #lackness As the visions o#lack identity ena#led to sit side6#y6side prolierate, Alexander envisions!#eing #lack' going so ar as !to #e emptied o meaning and reclaimed as

possi#ility' B())I, O- An a#0ndance o contradicting meanings renders#lackness more mallea#le 4n the a#sence o a determinate de2nition o real#lackness, #lack people are reed o expectations a#o0t what #lack is, isnt,and sho0ld #e, and empowered to realize selves that go !#eyond stereotypeand romance' B()>-



I(pa!ts



No Solven!% or ra!is(af !an never solve hite ra!is(

9erea 10 GCone, Dagner, N0gent, ohnson, 9azo0ri $oth roessor o

Law, University o Plorida Levin College o Law, 0an, AN ;&&AY +N 19;

4C+N4C &1A1U& +P 19; C4"4L $4%91& +";;N1 AN? 41& UN4N1;N?;?C+N&;\U;NC;&, "irginia o0rnal o &ocial olicy the Law, "ol <O@<, Pall, pEJ6EO, http@55scsst0dentvirginiaed05v3spl5<O(5ereapdH

Lastly, re!o&ni?in& a uller s!ope o !ivil ri&hts stru&&les is i(portantin helpin& us un'erstan' the ull (easure o unre(e'ie' pastin<usti!e6 I e ta#e no a!!ount o 'enials o !ivil ri&hts to Me$i!anA(eri!ans+ A(eri!an In'ians+ an' Native @aaiians+ a(on& other&roups+ then e un'eresti(ate 'ra(ati!all% the s!ope o hitera!is( Ever% stru&&le a&ainst ra!is( an' oppression 'eservesre!o&nition 1he iconic stat0s o the Arican6American Civil $ights ovement is a testament to the

power o righteo0s str0ggle Dhile it certainly deserves its hallowed place in o0r history and o0r hearts, we

sho0ld #e care0l that its long shadow not o#sc0re the importance o other righteo0s str0ggles I e!are a)out <usti!e+ e shoul' ala%s )e attune' to stru&&les or&reater <usti!e, whether or not they resem#le the Arican6American str0ggle or civil rights Asinspirin& as the Ari!an-A(eri!an stru&&le has )een+ e (a% n'a''itional inspiration+ an' (ore possi)ilities or <usti!e+ i e !astour &a?e )e%on' the Arican6American Civil $ights ovement, gazing 0rther #ack, 0rther

orward, and to the side

he% !al!i% ne&ative ra!ial !lassi!ations/eon& 10 Nancy, Assistant roessor, Dilliam and ary &chool o Law,

U?4C4AL ;$A&U$; +P 4[;?6$AC; ?4&C$44NA14+N, A;$4CAN UN4";$&41YLAD $;"4;D, "ol E=, E= Am U L $ev I*=, p EE<H

Multira!ial in'ivi'uals have long vexed co0rts and commentators #eca0se they challenge and

!onoun' e$istin& ra!ial !ate&ories Despite the re!o&nition that(ultira!ial in'ivi'uals have re!eive' in some contexts, the relian!e o

antidiscrimination 30rispr0dence on !ate&ories has &enerall% e$!lu'e' plaintifsi'entie' as (ultira!ial6 his a)sen!e o)s!ures ani(us 'ire!te' at(ultira!ial in'ivi'uals oreover, the 'o(inan!e o ra!ial !ate&ories!al!ies e$istin& ra!ial !lassi!ations an' the stereot%pesasso!iate' ith the(+ preventin& so!iet% ro( (ovin& )e%on' thesear)itrar% !ate&ories

o!us on the )la!#-hite )inar% e$!lu'es anal%sis o

ra!is( that afe!ts other oppresse' populations69erea :; B30an, roessor o Law at the University o Plorida, V1he

8lack5Dhite 8inary aradigm o $ace@ 1he VNormal &cienceV o American$acial 1ho0ght,V +ct E, &1+$H

aradigms o race shape o0r 0nderstanding o race and o0r de2nition o racialpro#lems 1he most pervasive and power0l paradigm o race in the United&tates is the 8lack5Dhite #inary paradigm 4 de2ne this paradigm as the conception that



race in America consists, either excl0sively or primarily, o only two constit0ent racial gro0ps, the 8lack

and the Dhite any scholars o race reprod0ce this paradigm when they write andact as tho0gh only the 8lack and the Dhite races matter or p0rposes o disc0ssing

race and social policy with regard to race 1he mere recognition that Vother people ocolorV exist, witho0t care6 0l attention to their voices, their histories, andtheir real presence, is merely a reassertion o the 8lack5Dhite paradigm 4

one conceives o race and racism as primarily o concern only to 8lacks andDhites, and 0nderstands Vother people o colorV only thro0gh some 0nclearanal6 ogy to the VrealV races, this 30st restates the #inary paradigm with a slight

concession to demographics y assertion is that o0r shared 0nderstanding o race and racism is

essentially limited to this 8lack5Dhite #inary paradigm(J 1his paradigm de2nes, #0talso limits, the set o pro#lems that may #e recognized in racial disco0rse

:0hnZs notion o Vnormal science,V which 0rther artic0lates the paradigm and seeks to solve the pro#lemsperceiva#le #eca0se o the paradigm, also applies to Vnormal researchV on race %iven the 8lack5Dhiteparadigm, we wo0ld expect to 2nd that m0ch research on race is concerned with 0nderstanding thedynamics o the 8lack and Dhite races and attempting to solve the pro#lems #etween 8lacks and Dhites

Dithin the paradigm, the relevant material acts are acts a#o0t 8lacks and Dhites 4n addition, theparadigm dictates that all other racial identities and gro0ps in the United

&tates are #est 0nderstood thro0gh the 8lack5Dhite #inary paradigm +nly a ewwriters even recognize that they 0se a 8lack5Dhite paradigm as the rame o reerence thro0gh which to

0nderstand racial relations(O ost writers simply ass0me the importance andcorrectness o the paradigm, and leave the reader grasping or whateversigni2cance descriptions o the 8lack5Dhite relationship have or other peopleo color As 4 shall disc0ss, #eca0se the 8lack5Dhite #inary paradigm is so widelyaccepted, other racialized gro0ps like Latinos5as, Asian Americans, and NativeAmericans are oten marginal6 ized or ignored altogether As :0hn writes, Vthosethat will not 2t the #ox are oten not seen at allV(=

Al!of ,F

Linda Alcof a philosopher at the City University o New York who specializesin epistemology, eminism, race theory and existentialism !"isi#le identities$ace %ender And the &el' ())* +xord ress

Dhat 4 wo0ld arg0e here is that the #lack5white #inary is operating in this case. to o#sc0re the realpro#lems Conservatives arg0ed that Asian Americans are nonwhite. so that their case can #e 0sed to

dismantle a7rmative action or all@ i they can. get in, we all can get in 80t this wo0ld ollow onlyi the category nonwhite is. 0ndiferentiated in terms o how racism

operates +thers wanted to arg0e that Asian. Americans are #eing treatedhere as white, and th0s have no interest in an antiracist . coalition. 4t iscertainly tr0e that it is a white power str0ct0re that privileges s0ch things . astest scores 80t Asian Americans were still not act0ally #eing treated aswhites. 1akagi points o0t that the claims o overrepresentation convenientlyignored the. large disparity #etween Asian American admission rates andwhite admission rates. Bthe percentage o admissions in relation to the pool o applicants-, a

disparity that. cannot #e acco0nted or #y &A1 scores or grades 1hat is, holding scores and. gradesconstant, white individ0als were more likely to #e admitted than Asian. Americans, even i in real n0m#ers



on some camp0ses Asian American acceptances. o0tn0m#ered whites B1o give one example o this, theAsian American. &t0dent Association at 8rown University discovered that #etween <=J= and <=OJ. therewas a JE) percent increase in Asian applications, even while there was a. steadily declining admission rateFrom II percent in <=J= to <I percent in <=OJ-. B<==(, (O- &o there has #een a covert /0ota systemoperating against Asian. American applicants in many 0niversity systems, which is covered over #y their. high n0m#ers o admission and is no do0#t motivated #y the same ears o yellow. (*( Latino5aartic0larity. peril that were 0sed to 30stiy discrimination in the <O))s Asian Americans are not. seen aswhite despite the act that they have so6called white attri#0tes #eca0se they. are seen as 0nassimila#leQ

they are s0spected o retaining loyalty to Asian co0ntries. and th0s o #eing a threat to the nation 1heconcern a#o0t overrepresentation. targeted Asian Americans excl0sivelyQ theonly people similarly targeted in the past. were ews, and these cases areclearly attri#0ta#le to anti6&emitism 1his concern. certainly has not #een raised in regard to

the poor, who are 0nderrepresented, or to. the children o al0mni or to athletes, #oth o whom areoverrepresented . 1akagi traces the empirical st0dies, p0#lic disco0rse, and policy changes. prompted #ythis concern over overrepresentation to the arg0ment that a7rmative. action sho0ld ignore race andaddress only class, even tho0gh the claim that racism. can #e addressed in this way can #e easilyempirically disproved given the disparity. o &A1 scores within classes across racial diference*. Dhat thiscase demonstrates is not that all nonwhites sho0ld #e gro0ped. together in all cases o attempts to redresssocial ine/0ities, #0t precisely the. opposite@ they sho0ld not #e l0mped together 1he pro#lems odiscrimination that. Asian Americans ace in higher ed0cation in the United &tates have had to do with.

overt policies that apply /0otas #ased on speci2c orms o racism directed against. them 1he pro#lem

o discrimination that Arican Americans and Latinos have. aced in highered0cation has to do with the 0se o &A1 scores and the /0ality o . their p0#liced0cation, which is vastly 0ne/0al to that received #y whites $acism. is thec0lprit in each case, #0t the means and ideology vary, and th0s the efective. redress will have to vary. 1akagi reco0nts that some Asian American activistswho wanted to end the. 0nair /0otas on their admission rates called or ameritocracy o admissions #ased. on &A1 scores and grades 80t this wo0ld #lock only one orm

o racism, leaving. others not only intact #0t ideologically reenorced eritocracy is still an ill0sion. highly

disadvantageo0s to Arican Americans and Latinos 1h0s, strategies that. seek to eliminatediscrimination, incl0ding arg0mentative strategies 0sed to deend. a7rmativeaction, m0st either #e made speci2c to certain historically disadvantaged.

gro0ps or, i they are general, m0st consider their possi#le efects on other.

gro0ps +nly a rich knowledge o the speci2c and varia#le orms o racism inthe. United &tates will make s0ch considerations possi#le



Erases Ara) A(eri!ans"la!#78hite !on!eptions erase Ara) A(eri!ans

Chen, et al, ?epartment o ;d0cational sychology, University o 1exas,

200,

G%race, ;xploring Asian American $acial 4dentity, C0lt0ral ?iversity and;thnic inority sychology, "ol <(, No >, p I*<H

he histor% o ra!e relations in the >6S6 reveals that ra!ial (inoritieshave )een su)<e!te' to i'esprea' oppression )ase' on the !olor o their s#in B+mi Dinant, <==IQ 1akaki, <==>- Unort0nately, a )%-pro'u!t o the"la!#78hite )inar% (o'el o ra!e relations is that non-"la!#ra!iali?e' &roups e6&6+ /atinas7os+ Ara) A(eri!ans+ Asian Americans, and

Native Americans- have )een lar&el% un'erstu'ie' in ps%!holo&i!alresear!h on ra!e an' ra!ial i'entit% A starting point o o0r st0dy is that or Asian

Americans, in partic0lar, a clear distinction m0st #e made #etween the constr0cts o racial identity andethnic5c0lt0ral identity, even as we recognize the overlap and interplay #etween the two B9elms

$ichardson, <==J-

Ma#es it i(possi)le to !hallen&e Musli( erroristrepresentations

Gotan'a 11 Gproessor o law at Destern &tate University College o Law

Coeditor o Critical $ace 1heory@ 1he :ey Dritings that Pormed the ovement,he has written on racial theory, constit0tional color#lindness, and AsianAmerican 30rispr0dence, ()<< GNeil, 1he $acialization o 4slam in AmericanLaw, 1he ANNAL& o the American Academy o olitical and &ocial &cience,*>J, &eptem#er, p <OIH

Ater =5<<, the !0slim terrorist' trope altered the American 0nderstanding o 4slam 1his article arg0es

that the Musli( terrorist in our popular !ulture shoul' not )e seen asne )ut ithin an esta)lishe' tra'ition o ra!iali?in& AsianA(eri!ans he arti!le e(plo%s three 'i(ensions o ra!iali?ationra!e' )o'%+ ra!ial !ate&or%+ an' as!ri)e' su)or'ination6 he ra!e')o'% is the 3)ron4 )o'% o i((i&rants an' 'es!en'ants oi((i&rants ro( North Ari!a+ the Mi''le East+ an' Central an'Southern Asia6 3Musli(4 as a ra!ial !ate&or% has a!uire' (eanin&)e%on' reli&ion an' no also 'es!ri)es a ra!ial !ate&or% thosehose an!estr% tra!es to !ountries here Isla( is si&ni!ant6 /in#e'to that !ate&or% are the stereot%pes o 3terrorist+4 3sp%+4 or3sa)oteur4Hun'erstan'in&s ithin the tra'ition o !hara!teri?in&

Asian A(eri!ans as per(anent+ unassi(ila)le orei&ners6 Ins!ri)in&the lin#e' ra!ial !ate&or% an' as!ri)e' su)or'ination o per(anentorei&nness upon the 3)ron4 ra!e' )o'% is the ra!iali?ation oMusli(s into Musli( terrorists



Erases /atinos7asheir !hara!teri?ations o ra!e that !ate&ori?e ever%thin&

as part o a

"la!#78hite para'i&( this e$!lu'es /atinas ro(

anal%sis+ hi!h repro'u!es ra!is(9erea :; Groessor o Law, University o Plorida College o Law, 0an,

$AC;, ;19N4C41Y NA14+N9++?@ A$14CL;@ 1he 8lack5Dhite 8inary aradigmo $ace@ 1he VNormal &cienceV o American $acial 1ho0ght, Caliornia Law$eview, +cto#er, <==J, OE Cali L $ev <(<>, p <(<I6<(<*H

G<(<IH 1his Article is a#o0t how we are ta0ght to think a#o0t race 4n partic0lar, 4 intend to analyze therole o #ooks and texts on race in str0ct0ring o0r racial disco0rse 4 #elieve that m0ch writing on racism isstr0ct0red #y a paradigm that is widely held #0t rarely recognized or what it is and what it does 1hisparadigm shapes o0r 0nderstanding o what race and racism mean and the nat0re o o0r disc0ssions

a#o0t race It is !ru!ial+ thereore, to i'enti% an' 'es!ri)e this paradigm and to

demonstrate how it #inds and organizes racial disco0rse, limiting #oth the scope and the range olegitimate viewpoints in that disco0rse 4n this Article, 4 identiy and criticize one o the most salient

eat0res o past and c0rrent disco0rse a#o0t race in the United &tates, the "la!#78hite )inar%para'i&( o ra!e A small #0t growing n0m#er o writers have recognized the paradigm and its

limiting efect on racial disco0rse n( 4 #elieve that its dominant and pervasive character has not #een wellesta#lished nor disc0ssed in legal literat0re 4 intend to demonstrate the existence o a 8lack5Dhiteparadigm and to show its #readth and seemingly pervasive ordering o racial G<(<EH disco0rse and

legitimacy P0rther, 4 intend to show how the "la!#78hite )inar% para'i&( operatesto e$!lu'e /atinos7as n> ro( ull (e()ership an' parti!ipation inra!ial 'is!ourse+ an' how that e$!lusion serves to perpetuate not onl%the para'i&( itsel )ut also ne&ative stereot%pes o /atinos7as ull(e()ership in so!iet% or /atinos7as ill reuire a para'i&( shitaa% ro( the )inar% para'i&( an' toar's a ne an' evolvin&un'erstan'in& o ra!e an' ra!e relations6 1his Article ill0strates the kind o

contri#0tion to critical theory that the emergent Latino Critical $ace &t0dies B/atCrit- movement may

make 1his (ove(ent is a !ontinuin& s!holarl% efort, 0ndertaken #y Latino5a

scholars and other sympathetic scholars, to e$a(ine !riti!all% e$istin& stru!tures o ra!ial thou&ht an' to i'enti% ho these stru!tures perpetuate thesu)or'inate' position o /atinos7as in parti!ular LatCrit st0dies are, then, an

extension and development o critical race theory Band critical theory generally- that oc0s on theprevio0sly neglected areas o Latino5a identity and history and the role o racism as it afects Latinos5as 4identiy strongly, and sel6conscio0sly, as a Latino writer and thinker 4t is precisely my position as a Latinoo0tsider, neither 8lack nor Dhite, that makes possi#le the o#servation and criti/0e presented in this

Article M% !ritiue o the "la!#78hite )inar% para'i&( o ra!e shosthis !o((onl% hel' )inar% un'erstan'in& o ra!e to )e one o the(a<or i(pe'i(ents to learnin& a)out an' un'erstan'in& /atinos7as

an' their histor%6 As 4 shall show, the para'i&( also !reates si&ni!ant'istortions in the a% people learn to vie /atinos7as6 4 #egin with a review

o the principal scienti2c theory that descri#es the nat0re o paradigms and the power they exert over theormation o knowledge 4 then analyze important, nationally recognized #ooks on race to reveal the #inaryparadigm o race and the way it str0ct0res race thinking Ater reviewing these pop0lar and scholarly#ooks on race, 4 analyze a leading case#ook on constit0tional law Like other #ooks, text#ooks onconstit0tional law are shaped #y the paradigm and reprod0ce it 1hen, #y descri#ing some o the legal

str0ggles Latinos5as have waged, 4 will demonstrate that para'i&(ati! presentations ora!e an' stru&&les or eualit% have !ause' si&ni!ant o(issions



ith un'esira)le reper!ussions6 1h0s, 4 demonstrate the important role that legal history

G<(<*H can play in #oth correcting and ampliying the 8lack5Dhite #inary paradigm o race



Ansers o



A 9er(Startin& points (atter all o our lin# evi'en!e prove the%

ore!lose (ultivalent anal%sis o oppressions+ (eans theper( !ant solve

9er( is severan!e - heir 1a! (a'e e$!lusive7prioriti?in&!lai(s a)out "la!#ness li#e e$a(plesJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ

he (etho' o the af 'oesnFt ta#e into a!!ount orviolen!e )eteen !o((unities - (ar&inali?ation an''isavoal o a&en!% are DAs to the per(

Al!of 2 Linda art]n, , roessor o hilosophy at 90nter College and the

CUNY %rad0ate Center, !Latino5as, Asian6Americans and the 8lack6Dhite8inary,' http@55www3stororg5discover5<)(>)J5(E<<EJIJS0idT>J>=(E*0idT(0idTIsidT(<<)(I=IOI)==<

Critics o the #lack5white paradigm have arg0ed that, altho0gh all comm0nities o color haveshared the experience o political and economic disenranchisement in the U&,there are si&ni!ant 'iferen!es #etween the !auses and the or(s othis disenranchisement 8ong 9wan :im, a :orean American comm0nity leader who has

worked #oth as the ?irector o the :orean Comm0nity Center o ;ast 8ay in+akland, CA, and as ?irector o the :orean Yo0th and Comm0nity Center in Los Angeles, #lamesthe #lack5white #inary or 'isa)lin& relationships a(on& people o !olorand even or creating the conditions leading to the Los Angeles !ivil 'isaster o

April <==(, in which (,>)) small :orean owned #0si nesses were destroyed #ymostly Latino5a and Arican American looters :im cites the xenopho#iamarshaled #y Ari!an A(eri!an lea'er Dann% "a#eell #eore the looting

occ0rred, and arg0es that the :orean American comm0nity had #een and contin0es to#e systematically rendered in!apa)le o respon'in& to s0ch rhetoric#eca0se they are not re!o&ni?e' in the media as a pla%er in ra!ial politi!s6()

;laine :im explains@ 4t is di7c0lt to descri#e how disempowered and r0strated many :orean Americans

elt d0ring and ater the sa6i6k0 pZok6dong Bthe April (= VriotsV- :orean Americans across theco0ntry shared the ang0ish and despair o the Los Angeles tongpZo Bcomm0nity-,

which everyone seemed to have a#andoned 6 the police and 2redepartments, )la!# an' hite politi!al lea'ers, the Asian and aci2c

American advocates who tried to dissociate themselves rom 0s #eca0se o0rtragedy 'ispute' their narrow and risk6ree oc0s on hite violen!ea&ainst Asians the :orean Americans at the center o the storm were mostly voiceless and all

#0t invisi#le Bexcept when stereotyped as hysterically inartic0late, and mostly emale, r0ined

shopkeepers -(< &imilar to the Me$i!ans in 1exas, the :oreans have #een 'enie' thelegal or socially recognized category o #eing a politi!i?e' &roup at thesame time that they are made s0#3ect to &roup )ase' s!ape&oatin&6

oreover, as this event demonstrates, the #lack5white paradigm o race is in!apa)le o

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/25115747?uid=3739256&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21102494840991






theoretically or politically addressing ra!is( a(on& !o((unities o !olor,

or racism, in other words, which is not all a#o0t white people A response to this line o

reasoning might #e that it is white s0premacy which is at the root o the conMict0al relations amongcomm0nities o color, and responsi#le or their acceptance o stereotypes man0act0red #y a whitedominant power str0ct0re 1h0s, on this reading, what occ0rred in Los Angeles can #e red0ctively analyzedas ca0sed #y white s0premacy Altho0gh 4 do 2nd explanatory arg0ments that oc0s on political economy

oten compelling, it is ar too simplistic, as 4 think :arl arx himsel knew, to imaginec0lt0ral conMict as the mere epiphenomenon o economic orces with no lieor gro0nding o their own 1o #lame only hite supre(a!% or what occ0rred in Los

Angeles wo0ld also 'en% poer an' a&en!% to any gro0ps #0t the dominant,which is in!reasin&l% untrue6 De m0st all accept o0r right0l share o the #lame, whatever

that t0rns o0t to #e in partic0lar instances, and resist explanations that wo0ld a priori red0ce that #lame tozero or comm0nities o color &0pporting the arg0ments o #oth ;laine :im and 8ong 9wan :im, 0an

erea arg0es that #eca0se o the wide acceptance o the #lack5white paradigm,Vother racialized gro0ps like Latino5as, Asian Americans, and NativeAmericans are oten (ar&inali?e' or i&nore' alto&etherV(( 9e points o0t that

the concerns o Asian Americans and Latino5as cannot #e addressed thro0ghimmigration legislation #eca0se all are not immigrants, which is one o the reasons to

re3ect the claim o some ethnic theorists that these gro0ps will ollow the path o ;0ropean immigrants ingrad0al assimilation and economic s0ccess Bthe other reason to re3ect this claim is their racialization-(>

urn 9er(utation ootnotes other oppressions+ repeatsin!lusions7e$!lusions9erea :; B0an , roessor o Law, University o Plorida College o Law,

$ace, ;thnicity Nationhood@ Article@ 1he 8lack5Dhite 8inary aradigm o$ace@ 1he VNormal &cienceV o American $acial 1ho0ght, Caliornia Law$eview, +cto#er, <==J, OE Cali L $ev <(<>, p <(EJ6<(EOH

9ara'i&(ati! 'es!riptions an' stu'% o 8hite ra!is( a&ainst "la!#s+ith onl% !ursor% (ention o other people o !olor+ (ar&inali?es all

people o !olor )% &roupin& the(+ ithout parti!ularit% + as so(ehoanalo&ous to "la!#s V+ther people o colorV are deemed to exist only as 0nexplained analogies

to 8lacks 1h0s, s!holars en!oura&e un!riti!al rea'ers to !ontinue toassu(e the para'i&(ati! i(portan!e o the "la!#78hite relationshipan' to i&nore the e$perien!es o other A(eri!ans ho also aresu)<e!t to ra!is( in prooun' a%s Criti!al rea'ers are let ith(an% i(portant uestions "e%on' the (ost super!ialun'erstan'in& o aversion to non-8hite s#in !olor+ in hat a%s is8hite ra!is( a&ainst "la!#s e$planator% o or analo&ous to 8hitera!is( a&ainst /atinos7as+ Asian A(eri!ans+ Native A(eri!ans+ an'othersS %iven the 0ni/0e historical legacy o slavery, what does a deep 0nderstanding o Dhite68lack

racism contri#0te to 0nderstanding rac6isms against other V+thersSV 8h% are other peopleo !olor !onsistentl% rele&ate' to parentheti!al status an' near-none$isten!e in treatises purportin& to !over their el's!o(prehensivel%L 4t is time to ask hard /0estions o o0r leading writers on race It is also

ti(e to 'e(an' )etter ansers to these uestions a)out in!lusion+e$!lusion+ an' ra!ial presen!e+ than perun!tor% reeren!es to otherpeople o !olorV In the (i'st o prooun' 'e(o&raphi! !han&es+ it isti(e to uestion hether the "la!#78hite )inar% para'i&( o ra!e



ts our hi&hl% varie&ate' !urrent an' uture population6 Our nor(als!ien!e o ritin& on ra!e+ at o''s ith )oth histor% an''e(o&raphi! realit%+ nee's reor#in&



A 3No /in# eFre not politi!s o re!o&nition4Af is or( o politi!s o re!o&nition- 'e(an'in&

re!o&nition o hite or the stateSn%'er 12 B%reta Powler, h? Candidate in the ?epartment o olitics,


4 will end #y highlighting some additional contri#0tions this article makes to the political theoreticalliterat0re on recognition 1oo oten, the enco0nter #etween dominant and marginalized gro0ps has #eenrendered in overly simplistic ways@ marginalized gro0ps demand recognition rom privileged gro0psQ

marginalized gro0ps demand recognition rom the state 4n this article, 4 ofer a #roaderconception o where and how the politics o recognition occ0rs De are rightto #e skeptical o the arg0ment that the 8lack anthers were reallydemanding recognition o whites or o the state@ the anthers were primarilydirecting their message to #lack people and yo0ng, 0r#an #lack men inpartic0lar Yet the anthers did seek to change the white a0thority str0ct0reand the Bintentional- p0#licization o the anthers sym#olic mediations o#lack identity B+ngiri ())=- made it a orce in the str0ggle over what #lackness meant to the

American p0#lic 4nstead o a 0nidirectional str0ggle or recognition, this examination o c0lt0ral politics

shows that demands or recognition are part o a m0ltidirectional str0ggle orinM0ence over the dominant c0lt0ral order, a str0ggle that occ0rs in m0ltiplemedi0ms and m0ltiple sites, at m0ltiple levels and #etween m0ltiple parties

Dhile the c0lt0ral st0dies literat0re enhances political theory #y enco0raging political theorists to widentheir vision o the politics o recognition there#y altering calc0lations a#o0t the possi#ilities and pitalls othis politics, 4 also #elieve that greater interaction #etween the two disciplines can #ene2t c0lt0ral st0dies4ntegrating the insights o c0lt0ral st0dies into the political theoretical ramework o recognition ena#les 0sto speciy the links #etween representation and power5resistance in a way that those engaged in the

discipline o c0lt0ral st0dies oten ail to do Bsee Alvarez et al <==J, *- 4n this article, 4 havedeveloped and ofered a normative arg0ment or a standard o political

c0lt0ral prod0ctionFm0ltivalent recognitionFthat is more n0anced than!positive imagery' BAlexander ())I- and less pro#lematic than !representational correctness'

B&hiappa ())O- ?espite the United &tates commitment to ormal e/0ality, racialidentity contin0es to matter 8eing identi2ed as #lack means one issigni2cantly more likely to ace demeaning and constraining stereotypes,s0spicion, distr0st, poverty, illness, discrimination, and violence 1hehegemony o color#lindness has efectively reconstit0ted white power #y0nderc0tting political claims made #y marginalized gro0ps even as thec0lt0ral representations that 0nderwrite racial ine/0ality contin0e to circ0late

B8onilla6&ilva ())=Q &nyder ()<<- 4n this context, a politics o m0ltivalent recognition hasan important role to play@ challenging white dominance witho0t inc0rring thesigni2cant costs o internal repression and excl0sion



A Coalitions "a'+ Erase "la!#nessheir ev on !oalitions 'oesnFt a!!ount or (ultivalent

anal%sis that un!tions not to erase or su)su(e'iferen!e+ )ut to hi&hli&ht 'iversit% ithin i'entities

hile (aintainin& a)ilit% to ore&roun' "la!#nessSn%'er 12 B%reta Powler, h? Candidate in the ?epartment o olitics,


Critics o identity politics warn that the politics o diference 0nderminescross6identity coalitions #y emphasizing diference B8rown <==EQ %itlin <==*QDolin <==>- Yet a politics o m0ltivalent recognition is act0ally poised to!0n#0rden gro0ps o excessive ascri#ed or constr0cted distinctiveness'BPraser and 9onneth ())>, IJ- like the 0niversalist politics o recognition romwhich 4 disting0ished it earlier 9ighlighting the diversity within identities

#rings points o similarity across identities to light 0t otherwise, as thesym#olic #o0ndaries o identities are widenedFas more and diferent peopleare accepted as !really #lack'Fidentities once seen as distinct rom oneanother are now seen as overlapping Dhile a m0ltivalent politics orecognition centers on a single collective identity, it necessarily hasimplications across identities Dhen #lack eminist men demand recognition,or instance, this demand has implications or the categories o #lack, maleand emale oreover, inasm0ch as identity categories are interrelatedFthink, or example, o the dependence o whiteness on #lacknessFam0ltivalent politics o recognition as engaged in #y one identity gro0p willafect another articipation #y one identity gro0p in the politics orecognition may #e catalyzed #y the participation o another identity gro0p@witness the mens movement springing rom the s0ccesses o eminism 80tcooperation #etween identity gro0ps in a politics o m0ltivalent recognitioncan #e sec0red #y agreement that more capacio0s notions o identity can#ene2t mem#ers o all identity gro0psFincl0ding the privileged withinidentity gro0ps and mem#ers o privileged identity gro0ps



A Alt Denies "la!#nessOur alt is not so(e va&ue universali?ation or e(pt%in& o

i'entit%+ )ut rather opens spa!es or parti!ular'iferen!es ithin an' a(on& "la!#ness

Sn%'er 12 B%reta Powler, h? Candidate in the ?epartment o olitics,University o "irginia, '0ltivalent $ecognition@ 8etween Pixity and Pl0idity in4dentity olitics', 1he o0rnal o olitics, "ol JI, No <, an0ary, 3stor-

4dentity claims are integral to this negation o the negation Yet thesedemands are neither or recognition o a 0niversal identity Bie, h0man,citizen- nor or recognition o a political identity that c0ts across identitygro0ps Bie, !the let'- Unlike these orms o recognition politicsFwhereinactors deemphasize the identity that marks them as partic0larFthose whoseek m0ltivalent recognition explicitly identiy themselves as partic0lar Bie,as !#lack'- 4n other words, or those engaged in m0ltivalent recognition, !itis not the existence o GidentityH categories that is the pro#lem, #0t rather themeaning and partic0lar val0es attached to them' BCrenshaw <==<, <(=JQ alsosee 9ancock ())J- Contesting the meaning and val0es attached to anidentity category re/0ires working with, within, and thro0gh a partic0laridentity@ it re/0ires ofering !racialized #0t not delimited' visions o identityEDhile #lack people engaged in a politics o m0ltivalent recognition demandrecognition as #lack, they demand recognition as not only #lack 1heysim0ltaneo0sly demand recognition or other salient aspects o their identityFdemanding recognition as #lack andR 1his !and' can draw attention to themem#ership o #lack individ0als other categorical identity gro0ps B#lack andwoman, #lack and gay, #lack and poor, etc-* 80t it also strategically links#lackness with traits, val0es, a#ilities, talents, and predilections with which

the collective identity has not previo0sly #een predominantly associated 4n apolitics o m0ltivalent recognition, #lack eminist lower6class men, #lack gay

ews, and r0ral #lack working6class single mothers demand recognition otheir em#odiments o and claim to #lackness, and in t0rn strategically de6essentialize #lackness 1hey demand to #e recognized as !#lack' despite theact that they contradict stereotypes o5a#o0t #lackness 4 a politics omonovalent recognition aims or 2xity and th0s transparency Barkell ())>-in identity, then a politics o m0ltivalent recognition is a#o0t 0n2xing anidentityJ

=eal visions o )la!#ness !o(e ro( (ultivalent vies-

not onl% 'e(an'in& one !ate&or% )ut 'ene the(selvesSn%'er 12 B%reta Powler, h? Candidate in the ?epartment o olitics,


&ome might say that s0ch a politics !dil0tes' #lack identity 80t those whowo0ld do well to remem#er that altho0gh strong visions o !real #lackness'do have signi2cant efects, they do not have an anchor in a metaphysical



reality 1he politics o recognition cannot achieve a !mimetic correspondencewith the real' in either its monovalent or in its m0ltivalent incarnations, or,as Cornel Dest notes, no one has !0nmediated access to the real 8lackcomm0nity' B<==>, <O- &eeking to #roaden p0#lic perception o an identityis not to #etray it, #0t to recognize the diversity that was always alreadyinherent in it Alexander has pointed to the diversity that #0##les 0nder thes0race o anthologies that aim to present the #lack arts and politics o a timeas 0ni2ed And as adhavi &0nder B())<- arg0es, this diversity is increasingly#reaking the s0race@ individ0als engaged in !c0lt0ral dissent' aredemanding not only mem#ership within a partic0lar category, #0t the right tode2ne it on their own terms



A Alt .a!atin& I'entit%Alt is not 'e!onstru!tion o i'entit%



4dentity olitics', 1he o0rnal o olitics, "ol JI, No <, an0ary, 3stor- 1he 0n2xing that a politics o m0ltivalent recognition aims to accomplish,however, sho0ld #e disting0ished rom the deconstr0ction that some anti6identity theorists hope to achieve Unlike an anti6identity politics s0ch as thatrecommended #y oni/0e Dittig B<=OE-, the 0ltimate p0rpose o a politics om0ltivalent recognition is not to do away with those collective identities thathave #een s0#3ect to oppression Dhereas Dittig envisions a world witho0tidentity Bmore speci2cally, gender- distinctions, those who engage in apolitics o m0ltivalent recognition aim or a world in which identity categoriesare more capacio0s 9ighlighting the !m0ltivalence' o the identity categoryFits m0ltiple meanings, the diversity withinFstretches its sym#olic

#o0ndaries ?isparate individ0als demands or recognition o their claim to#lackness prompt gro0p mem#ers and mem#ers o other identity gro0ps to#roaden their 0nderstanding o #lack identity 4n doing so, they complicatethe distinctions drawn #etween #lack and white, distinctions that helpreprod0ce ine/0ality A politics o m0ltivalent recognition operates on theass0mption that we need not do away with identity categories to #reak downhierarchical sym#olic distinctions and transorm identity relations Un2xing isdistinct rom deconstr0ction that goes !all the way down' 4n act, there aregood reasons or s0staining partic0lar identities as actors engaged in apolitics o m0ltivalent recognition seek to do Certainly, the concept o raceand racial identity has 30sti2ed the 0n30st treatment o #lack Americans Yet

while implicated in oppression, categorical distinctions like !#lack' and!white' have a critical role to play in addressing oppression, ena#lingindivid0als to talk a#o0t racial in30stice and to develop a sense o !we'BCrenshaw <==<, <(=J- &econd, even those who do not 0nderstand racialdistinctions as nat0ral may view them as inextrica#le BYo0ng <==)- A politicso m0ltivalent recognition is premised on the ass0mption that identities areresigni2a#le, #0t not in2nitely reconstr0cta#le Pinally and perhaps mostimportantly, these identities are not simply sites o oppression #0t so0rces opride and meaning B8ickord <==JQ :ompridis ())J, (O*- onovalentmovements insist that #lack Americans are talented c0lt0ral creatorsQm0ltivalent movements reinorce this point, while s0ggesting that m0ltiple

and disparate #lack identities spring rom the c0lt0res created #y #lackAmericans 4n light o the inherent and strategic importance o #lack identity,not to mention its indeli#ility, those engaged in a politics o m0ltivalentrecognition are not only concerned with demonstrating the contingency oidentity as are those engaged in a strategy like parodic s0#version B80tler<===- A politics o m0ltivalent recognition is e/0ally concerned with thereval0ation o an identity category as a whole ;liza#eth Alexander, orexample, rerains rom presenting certain poems in certain spaces d0e to her



sense that the poems wo0ld reinorce pro#lematic stereotypes 1hoseengaged in a politics o m0ltivalent recognition seek to change #lacknessvalence #y changing its connotative 2eld o reerence 1o delegitimize asym#olic system that marginalizes #lack people, they m0st #ring greatervisi#ility to speci2c ways o realizing #lack identity

he i'ea o (ultivalent thin#in& or!es us to !hallen&eassu(ptions o i'entit%



As 4 hope this arg0ment demonstrates, even those actors who agree thatdemands or recognition are simply a means to the end o e/0ality candeploy these demands in diferent ways, with diferent efects@ even iessentialism is deployed strategically, it invites a monovalent reading oidentity and the pro#lems associated with it 1he distinction #etween

m0ltivalent and monovalent recognition ofers a more n0anced pict0re owhat 4ris Yo0ng calls the !politics o positional diference' B())J-, there#yena#ling political theorists and actors to speciy and attend to the range opro#lems acing those who engage in the politics o recognition Additionally,the idea o a politics o m0ltivalent recognition orces 0s to rethink o0rass0mptions a#o0t recognition politics and identity politics Dhile presentingthe politics o recognition as a kind o identity politics, 4 have resisted NancyPrasers concl0sion that identity politics rei2es identities 1he concept om0ltivalent recognition not only disting0ishes the politics o recognition romthe politics o a0thenticity and the politics o essentialism, it presentsrecognition as a means to address their pro#lematic conse/0ences +n the

other hand, 4 present m0ltivalent recognition as distinct rom deconstr0ctiveanti6identity approaches 4n its m0ltivalent orm, the politics o recognitionhas the potential to transorm identity relations while maintaining identities



A "la!# hite "inar% Goo'7Ne!essar%"inar% stru!ture is ron& /oo# throu&h a lens o

(ultivalent oppression8est(orelan' 1BF

eter Destmoreland ?octrine $ace political and social proessor at the 0niversity o iami Area ospecialization in Continental ;arly odern $o0ssea0 !$acism in a 8lack Dhite 8inary@ +n the $eaction to

1rayvon artins ?eath'

Can this o0tcome #e rightS ?oes racism re/0ire a #inary str0ct0reS Let 0sconsider three proposals Pirst, we may make choices to re3ect the #inary Baserea and Alcof do- De can attack it in at least two ways philosophicallyPirst, we can recognize that Po0ca0lts arg0ment is s0#3ect to re#0ttal +neapproach wo0ld /0estion whether the texts he examines are representativeo the dominant race paradigm o the time 4n the philosophical disco0rse onthe ormation o the race concept, or example, we have inM0ential thinkerss0ch as :ant, 9egel, and de %o#inea0 who re3ect #inary thinking $o0ssea0,

on whom Po0ca0lt relies, models the people as sovereign6s0#3ects in anexplicit attempt to s0#vert #inaries in the states str0ct0re De co0ld perhapswrite a co0nter6history o the relationship #etween race and the state thateschews the #inaryQ possi#ly it shows 0p #0t does not have the inM0encePo0ca0lt s0ggests Another version o the 2rst proposal wo0ld emphasize the#lack6white #inarys ar#itrariness and contingency +nce we diagnose theparadigm, disting0ishing races o0tside its terms according to their own voicesand concerns can mitigate the #inarys orce &imilarly, 4 wo0ld note that the#inary str0ct0re is a contingent eat0re o o0r race disco0rses history, evenon Po0ca0lts scheme, and we can move against #inary race thinking thro0ghpractical advancement o the concerns o races o0tside the terms o the

#inary 1his response ass0mes that the #inary, while power0l, is notincontroverti#le and can #e separated rom the !0s vers0s them' warstr0ct0re Let 0s now p0rs0e a second proposal@ we accept the #inarystr0ct0re o racism De have seen there are positions, evidence, andarg0ments indicating that race disco0rse has a #inary paradigm and that thishas #een the case since the origins o modern racism 4 race disco0rse is#inary and we act to destroy the #inary, then, we may not #e opening thedoor to identiying new orms o racism 4nstead, we destroy the historicalmeaning o race altogether with the res0lt that all oppression is detachedrom racialization Bor #etter or worse- Conversely, we may rigidlycirc0mscri#e the #o0ndaries o racism to one #inary str0ct0re or another,

which allows 0s to think some oppression o0tside o racialization ;ither way,we may then move #eyond thinking oppression predominately in racial termsDe may ask whether some orms o oppression, altho0gh taken as orms oracism, may #e #etter addressed thro0gh nonracial disco0rses B4 havealready indicated that nativism may not 2t the concepts o racialoppression-<= Now, tho0gh, we may 0ncover a new concept0al tension 1he2rst proposal lets race remain a hegemonic concern Bas it is or erea andAlcof-, which means that orms o oppression that do not s0it the race model



o disco0rse may #e covered over 1he second proposal protects nonracialoppressions rom racialization, #0t it deemphasizes race disco0rse and the#inary so that act0ally racist oppression may #e overlooked 4 do not #elievethere is a resol0tion to this tension 9owever, 4 also do not #elieve that weneed one 1h0s, a thir' proposal 8hat e nee' to 'o is re!o&ni?e that

there is a tension6 =ather than e(poerin& the re'u!tion o or(s o oppression to ra!is(s or re<e!tin& the )inar% or ti&htl% li(itin& its

s!ope+ e reali?e that there are (an% or(s o oppression6 &ome wills0it racial analyses completely or partlyQ others will not De m0st activelyreMect on sites and instances o oppression to determine which modes ooppression are in operation and provide the #est reso0rces we can manageDe have many possi#le modes o analysis or the 1rayvon artin case@ anti6#lack racism, racism #etween minorities, c0lt0ral insensitivity, &tand Yo0r%ro0nd laws, the c0lt0re o ear, the c0lt0re o policing, the voicelessness ochildren, and so on All o these topics and others deserve o0r consideration i we are tr0ly to generate 30stice or 1rayvon artin and other victims &omeconcerns may merit racialization and others may not $eMection on s0chdiverse concerns is not easy or ailsae, #0t at the least it means that we maytake advantage o all availa#le reso0rces to identiy efectively victims,modes o oppression, and options or relie 1he third proposal is a signi2cantadvance #eyond previo0s positions 4 p0rs0ed rigoro0sly it has the potentialto delimit what co0nts as racial and nonracial oppression so that we mayrecognize and p0rs0e proper responses 1he racism pl0ralists move toexpand the concept o racism does not give nonracial oppressions oc0sedconsideration, which leaves open the pro#lem o giving race hegemonicstat0sQ that is, pl0ralist analyses raise the ear that all orms o oppressionmay #e coded as racial At least, the third proposal re/0ires 0s to considerstrategically where race #egins and ends so that we do not overlook or cr0sh

into the disco0rse o race nonracial oppression Dhat proposal three does, inefect, is open the air or the voices o victims to speak and #e heard withmore clarity, which 4 #elieve is the intent o racism pl0ralists Dhat proposalthree does not do is concretely demarcate racial and nonracial orms ooppression, which is #oth a strength and a weakness &alient details will varycase to case Pirm determinations may not #e possi#le in many cases, #0trecognizing that di7c0lty is itsel something that the third proposal helps toena#le #y calling o0r attention to the m0ltivalent nat0re o oppression Asthinkers have recognized that race disco0rse in the United &tates ispl0ralistic, the #lack6white #inary paradigm has #ecome #oth 0ntena#le andcommon 8y taking the #inary serio0sly, the str0ct0re o race and racism will

0ndamentally change Dhat comes is 0ncertain, and may not #e or the#etter, #0t i we are sensitive to #oth racial and nonracial considerations wehave a chance to attend to once hidden modes o victimization De owe thisto all victims, incl0ding 1rayvon artin()

"la!#7hite )inar% ails- reasons

Na#a&aa 1BF



&cot nakagawa, =6I6()<>,Nakagawa is a Lielong political activist, comm0nityorganizer, organization #0ilderV$ace 8eyond 8lack and Dhite@ Po0r $easonsto ove 8eyond the $acial 8inary,V

Dith that in mind, here are o0r reasons to move #eyond the #lack6whiteracial #inary@ < 4gnorance o o0r m0lti6racial history is the enemy o civil

rights 9eres an example 4n the <==)s, the evangelical right rose to power inpart thro0gh exploiting widespread homopho#ia 80t, while they appeared to#e narrowly targeting L%81 people, they were 0sing those attacks on L%81rights to sim0ltaneo0sly talk a#o0t civil rights more generally 1hey did so #ycontrasting L%81 people with #lacks who they said have a !legitimate' claimto civil rights #eca0se, they arg0ed, #lacks were a#le to pass a litm0s test os0fering and morality witho0t which civil rights cannot #e conerred

1hereore, civil rights are special rights 1he s0ccess o that arg0ment relied0pon the widespread #elie among what we nowadays reer to as !low6inormation voters,' that civil rights are #lack rights, not American rights thathave historically #een withheld rom #lack people $ight wingers exploited

this con0sion and do0#led down on it, inciting anti6#lack racism #y claimingthese B#lack- rights were #eing taken too ar #y a civil rights lo##y L%81people wanted a piece o #eca0se it had capt0red control o Congress ( Deare all pro2led diferently #y race, #0t all o the diferent ways in which weare pro2led serve the same racial hierarchy Por instance, in the <=*)s, 30stas the civil rights movement was cresting and #lack 0r#an 0prisings weredominating the news cycle, news stories appeared pro2ling Asian Americansas a model minority 1hat pro2le, which privileged Asians as a s0per6minoritythat was !o0t6whiting the whites,' claimed that Asians in the U& hadmanaged to clim# to s0ccess not thro0gh protest nor #y way o !riots,' #0tthro0gh hard work and /0iet cooperation with the powers that #e 1his story

o Asian s0ccess #egged the /0estion, i Asian Americans can do it, why cant#lack peopleS 1he media provided the answer@ #lacks arent s0cceeding#eca0se theyre a !pro#lem minority' ;ver since, the model minority mythhas #een 0sed as a lever o racial in30stice on the 0lcr0m o anti6#lackracism > $ace is central to the str0ggle over citizenship in America 1hecontest over voting rights, or instance, is a 2ght a#o0t citizenship rights, whohas them, and who gets to decide in the matter 30st as m0ch as is the/0estion o the right to citizenship o new immigrants, incl0ding thosewitho0t doc0ments At the center o these 2ghts is a str0ggle overnationality, power, and control that revolves aro0nd race De will neverresolve these /0estions 0ntil we are a#le to grapple #roadly with the iss0e orace and citizenship as regards all people o color Until then, we are all 30st2ghting diferent #attles in the same war, #0t witho0t the common ca0senecessary to #0ild a winning coalition I 4n order to achieve racial e/0ity, weneed to complicate o0r 0nderstanding o race 1he #lack6white racial #inary isas m0ch a part o the 2ction o race in America as d0#io0s science a#o0t#rain size and intelligence 1he tr0th may not, #y itsel, set 0s ree, #0t itmight at least get 0s headed in that direction As we head toward a !ma3ority6minority' 0t0re, wed do well to acknowledge the complexity o the story o



race in America 0st ignoring it might #e good or ratings, #0t it wont makeit go away



A "inar% is Corre!t; reasons ron& ith the hite7)la!# )inar%

Al!of ,F

Linda Alcof a philosopher at the City University o New York who specializes

in epistemology, eminism, race theory and existentialism !"isi#le identities$ace %ender And the &el' ())* +xord ress

0st as the protection o the. right o property advantages the propertied, and the protection o reespeech. increases the inM0ence o those who are artic0late and can aford microphones,. 1" air time, andso on the ;/0al rotection Cla0se prod0ces a social good,. namely e/0ality, or those alling 0nder itscoverageF#lacks and whites 1hese it. gen0inely helpsFat least on occasion 80t it leaves everyone else0nprotected. B<==O, >J)KJ<-. 0t in more general terms, these arg0ments can #e s0mmarized as ollows@.

<- 1he #lack5white paradigm has disempowered vario0s racial and ethnic. gro0ps rom #eing a#le to de2ne their own identity, to mark their diferenceand. speci2city #eyond what co0ld #e capt0red on this limited map 4nstead o

naming. and descri#ing o0r own identity and social circ0mstance, we have had descriptions. oisted on 0s

rom o0tside. (- Asian Americans and Latinos Bamong others- have historically #een

ignored. or marginalized in the p0#lic disco0rse in the United &tates on raceand racism. 1his is a pro#lem or two reasons, 2rst, #eca0se it is simply 0nair to #e excl0ded. rom

what concerns one, and second, #eca0se it has considera#ly weakened the. analysis orace and racism in the mainstream disc0ssions 1o explain the social. sit0ation o Asian Americans or Latinos simply in terms o their de 30re andde. acto treatment as nonwhites is to descri#e o0r condition only on themost shallow. terms De m0st #e incl0ded in the disc0ssions so that a moreade/0ate acco0nt. can #e developed. >- 8y eliminating speci2cities withinthe large #lack or nonwhite gro0p, the. #lack5white #inary has 0nderc0t thepossi#ility o developing appropriate and efective. legal and politicalsol0tions or the varia#le orms that racial oppression can. take A #road

0nited movement or civil rights does not re/0ire that we ignore the. speci2ccirc0mstances o diferent racial or ethnic identities, nor does it mandate. thatonly the similarities can 2g0re into the orm0lation o protective legislation 4. will disc0ss an example o this pro#lem, one that concerns the application o . a7rmative action in higher ed0cation, at the end o this chapter. I-;liminating speci2cities within the large #lack or nonwhite gro0p also. makes it di7c0lt to 0nderstand or address the real conMicts and diferenceswithin. this amalgam o peoples 1he #lack5white paradigm proposes to0nderstand all. conMicts #etween comm0nities o color thro0gh anti#lackracism and white s0premacy,. when the reality is more complex. E- Por allthese reasons, the #lack5white paradigm serio0sly 0ndermines the. possi#ility

o achieving coalitions 4t is o#vio0s that keeping 0s in conMict with each . other and not in coalition is in the interests o the c0rrent power str0ct0re . 4wo0ld add to these arg0ments the ollowing two. *- 1he #lack5white #inaryand the constant invocation o all race disco0rses. and conMicts as #etween#lacks and whites has prod0ced an imaginary o race in . this co0ntry in whicha very large white ma3ority conronts a relatively small #lack. Latinos, AsianAmericans, and the 8lack6Dhite 8inary (EE. minority 1his imagery has theefect o reenorcing the sense o inevita#ility to. white domination. 1his is not

the reality o racial percentages in almost any ma3or 0r#an center. in the co0ntry today Nonwhites



o0tn0m#er whites in New York, iami, Chicago,. Atlanta, and Los Angeles, and come very close in &anPrancisco, ?allas, and. Dashington, ?C 1here is th0s a real potential or a ma3or shit in political power,. #0t there are two main challenges #eore this shit can take place 1he 2rst is the. a#ility o nonwhites to0nite and to also make common ca0se with progressive antiracist. whites 1he second is the ;lectoralCollege 1he original intent o the. ;lectoral College was to protect small states and also to create a #0fer#etween. the hoi polloi and the government, #0t the c0rrent efect o the ;lectoral College,. given thesechanged demographics, has the added advantage o disenranchising. the occ0pants o cities generallyand people o color speci2cally rom inM0encing. national electoral o0tcomes 1he act is that i the pop0larvote determined. elections, the cities wo0ld have the determining n0m#ers o votes, since this is. wherethe ma3ority o U& citizens now live and where the trend o movement is. toward 1he n0m#ers andconcentrations o people o color in the United &tates. means that we are /0ickly moving past the politicso recognition, in which people o . color m0st clamor or recognition rom the all6power0l ma3ority, andreaching the. politics o power negotiation, in which we can negotiate rom a position o power. rather than

having to rely excl0sively on moral appeals 1he white ma3ority will not. maintain its nearhegemonic political control as new con2g0rations o alliances. developI

oreover, the white ma3ority is ar rom monolithic, splintering most. nota#lyalong gender and class lines@ the gender gap has widened in electoral. politics along with the gap #etween 0nion and non0nion ho0seholds, withdroves. o white women and white 0nion mem#ers voting the same as thema3ority o . people o color. 1h0s, thinking o race only in terms o #lack and

white prod0ces a sense o . inevita#ility to white domination and th0s a senseo atalism, even tho0gh the acts. call or the opposite 4 #elieve this iss0e oimagery is very signi2cant@ it afects. peoples choices, voting Bor nonvoting- practices, and the

level o energy they are. willing to devote to political activism 8y opening 0p the #inary imagery torain#ow. images and the like, as esse ackson did with great efect in his presidential . campaign, we canmore acc0rately and th0s help0lly present the growing and . 0t0re conditions within which political action

and contestations will occ0r 1his. is in everyones interests Bor at least, the ma3oritys-. J- 1he nextarg0ment that 4 wo0ld make in regard to the #lack5white #inary is. that itmistakenly con2g0res race imagistically as excl0sively having to do with . color, as i color alone determines racial identity and is the sole o#3ect oracism. ;/0ating race with color makes it seem as i all the races other than#lack and. white m0st #e lined 0p #etween them since they clearly represent

the polar extremes. 1here is certainly a racist contin00m o color operating inthis and in. many co0ntries, #0t my point is that this contin00m is not theonly axis #y which. racism operates. &ome have taken the horri2c hierarchyo adoption preerences in the United. &tates, that r0ns #asically rom whiteto Asian to Latino to #lack, as representative. (E* Latino5a artic0larity. o acontin00m o color $elated to this idea is the claim that Asian Americans and.

Latinos are closer to white and will event0ally #ecome white Let me address

this. latter idea 2rst 1he claim that Asian Americans and Latinos will #ecome white is. 2rst o all premisedon the ass0mption that we have two choices o racialized. identities@ white and #lack 1he ass0mptionpres0pposed is then that i a gro0p is not. economically and politically located at or near the #ottom o thesociety, which the. #lack5white paradigm associates excl0sively with #lackness, then s0ch a gro0p is. ass0med to have achieved whiteness 80t class does not perectly map onto race@. the poor come in allcolors oreover, there is signi2cant racial and class variety. within each o these large amalgamated

gro0ps with highly variant median incomes.

"inar% is ron&-'oesnFt a!!ount or an% other ra!es other

than )la!# an' hiteAl!of ,F



Linda Alcof a philosopher at the City University o New York who specializesin epistemology, eminism, race theory and existentialism !"isi#le identities$ace %ender And the &el' ())* +xord ress

Danting to avoid this o0tcome, however 0nlikely it. Latinos, Asian Americans,and the 8lack6Dhite 8inary (I=. might #e, the co0rt decided to em#ellish onthe arg0ments made in appeal 0stice. Charles 0rray interpreted legalprecedent to arg0e that the terms #lack and. white are oppositionalterms, rom which he concl0ded that #lack m0st mean. nonwhite and whitem0st excl0de all people o color 1h0s, #y the law o #inary. logic, ChineseAmericans, ater having #ecome Native American, then also #ecame. #lack.+ the many /0estions that one might like to go #ack and pose to Charles.0rray, perhaps the most o#vio0s is the ollowing@ i #lack and white areoppositional. terms, then, instead o #lack meaning nonwhite, doesnt it 30stas logically. ollow that white co0ld mean non#lack, in which case all peopleo color except. Arican Americans wo0ld #e whiteS 1his concl0sion is nomore or less allacio0s or. a#s0rd than 0rrays concl0sion that #lack meansnonwhite 1hat s0ch an idea. was, apparently, #eyond the imagination o theco0rt at that time #egins to reveal. the strategy at work here ?e2ning whitesas only those witho0t one drop o other. #lood has #een a tool to maintaina clear and distinct #order aro0nd white identity. +n the other hand, the#orders o other identitiesFtheir distinctiveness rom each. otherFare notimportant or the law to de2ne and maintain 1he controlling term. here isnot race #0t whiteness 1o #e #lack is to #e nonwhite, #0t this e/0ation is.not reversi#le i one is 0sing the 0s0al meaning o #lack today, since or0rray. #lack incl0des virt0ally every Asian American, Latino, NativeAmerican, and. mixed race person as well as all those o Arican origin

Altho0gh this case #egan. with a strategy to link the Chinese to American4ndians, it ends in a r0ling that. prescri#es a #lack5white #inary 1he r0lingessentially allowed the state to make. one all6p0rpose arg0ment against thecivil and political rights o nonwhites, th0s. increasing the e7ciency withwhich it co0ld maintain discrimination. Asian Americans and Latinos have#een tossed #ack and orth across this. #lack5white #inary or <E) years Bsee9aney Lo^pez <==*Q Lee <==>Q % artinez. <==OQ +kihiro <==IQ +mi andDinant <=O*Q C $odr_^g0ez, ()))- 1o contin0e with. the example o ChineseAmericans, in <O*) Chinese Americans were classi2ed as. white in Lo0isiana8y <OJ) they were classi2ed as Chinese 80t in <=)), the. children oChinese and non6Chinese parents were reclassi2ed as either white or. #lack

+ther states had similarly convol0ted histories o classi2cation 4n <=(J the.U& &0preme Co0rt ended this con0sion and de2ned the Chinese asnonwhite,. th0s more 2rmly s0#3ecting them to all the segregationist and imCrow legislation. then in efect &imilar stories o varia#le racial classi2cationcan #e told a#o0t. exicans in 1exas and in New exico, apanese inCaliornia, and other gro0ps. Needless to say, the varia#le classi2cations tella story o strategic reasoning in. which arg0ments or legal discriminationsare deployed against people o color #y. whatever opport0ne classi2cation



presents itsel in the context. Contrary to what one might imagine, it has notalways or even generally #een. to the advantage o Asian Americans andLatinos to #e legally classi2ed as white. An ill0stration o this is o0nd inanother important legal case decided #y the U&. &0preme Co0rt in <=EI,

30st two weeks #eore they iss0ed the decision in 8rown vs. 8oard o;d0cation 1he case o 9ernandez v 1exas involved a exican American.man convicted o m0rder #y an all6white 30ry and sentenced to lieimprisonment. B% artinez <==OQ &0ro <===- 9is lawyer appealed theconviction #y arg0ing that. (E) Latino5a artic0larity. the a#sence oexican Americans on the 30ry was discriminatory, making reerence. to theamo0s &cotts#oro case in which the U& &0preme Co0rt overt0rned. Batermany years- the conviction o nine Arican American men on the gro0nds o.an a#sence o Arican Americans rom the 30ry 80t in the 9ernandez case,the. 1exas &0preme Co0rt r0led that exicans were white people o &panishdescent,. and thereore that there was no discrimination in the all6whitemake0p o the 30ry. Porty years later, 9ernandezs lawyer, ames ?eAnda,reco0nted how he made his. arg0ment appealing this r0ling@. $ight there inthe ackson Co0nty Co0rtho0se, where no 9ispanic had served on. any kindo a 30ry in living memory #eca0se exicans were white and so it was. okayto #ring them #eore all6white 30ries, they had two mens rooms +ne had a.nice sign that 30st said ;N on it 1he other had a sign on it that saidC+L+$;?. ;N and #elow that was a hand6scrawled sign that said9+8$;&. A\U4 Gmen hereH 4n that 30ry pool, exicans may have #eenwhite, #0t when it. came to nat0res 0nctions, they were not B&0ro <===,OE-. 4n act, in 1exas not only were exicans s0#3ect to im Crow in p0#licacilities. rom resta0rants to #athrooms, they were also excl0ded rom#0siness and comm0nity. gro0ps, and children o exican descent werere/0ired to attend a segregated. school or the 2rst o0r grades, whether

they spoke M0ent ;nglish or not. 1h0s, when they were classi2ed asnonwhite, Latinos were overtly denied certain. civil rightsQ when they wereclassi2ed as white, the de acto denial o their civil rights. co0ld not #eappealed. Altho0gh the U& &0preme Co0rt overt0rned the 1exas co0rtsdecision in. the 9ernandez case, its 2nal decision indicated a perplexityregarding exican. American identity 1he co0rt did not want to classiyexicans as #lack, and it. didnt want to alter the legal classi2cation oexicans as whiteQ since these were. the only racial terms the 30sticestho0ght were availa#le, they ended 0p explaining. the discriminationexicans aced as #ased on other diferences, let 0nde2ned. 1h0s, oddly,the co0rt 0pheld that there was racial discrimination against exicans,. #0t it

denied that exicans constit0ted a race B9aney Lo^pez <==O, <O(KO>-. One!lear lesson to )e learne' ro( this le&al histor% is that ra!e is a!onstru!tion that is varia)le enou&h to )e stret!he'opportunisti!all% as the nee' arises in or'er to (aintain an'e$pan' 'is!ri(ination6 $acism, in other words, molds. racial categories to2t its design And the legal history also shows that white s0premacy. hasmoved Latinos and Asian Americans aro0nd the classi2cation schema. or itsown #ene2t Nonetheless, one might take these legal cases to indicate that.



discrimination against Arican Americans was the paradigm case that U&co0rts. stretched when they co0ld to 30stiy discrimination against othernonwhites, and. th0s to provide s0pport or the #lack5white paradigm orace. odeling Arg0ments. 1he disting0ished historian ohn 9ope Pranklinmade s0ch an arg0ment at the 2rst. o7cial meeting o the $ace $elationsCommission, which was convened #y ormer. U& resident 8ill Clinton toadvance his initiative or a national dialog0e on race. Latinos, AsianAmericans, and the 8lack6Dhite 8inary (E<. Pranklin maintained that racismin the #lack5white sphere developed 2rst in. North America when slaverywas introd0ced in the amestown colony in <*<= and. has served as a modelor the treatment o race in the United &tates Attorney Angela. +h, alsoserving on the commission, arg0ed against Pranklin on this point, 0sing. theexample o the 0prising o April (=, <==(, in Los Angeles to show that thespeci2c. history and racist treatment o Asian Americans needs to #eacco0nted or in order. to 0nderstand the complex varieties o racism thatsparked that event 4 30st want to. make s0re we go #eyond the #lack6whiteparadigm #eca0se the world is a#o0t. m0ch more than that, she said BseeD0 ())(, >(K>E- Prank D0, commenting on. this exchange, triesdiplomatically to 0nite #oth +h and Pranklins points 9e. a7rms thatArican Americans #ear the greatest #0rden o racial discrimination. #0tadds that the Los Angeles 0prising needs to #e 0nderstood in relation #othto. Arican American history as well as :orean American history Band, 4 wo0ldadd,. Latino history, since Latinos were the largest n0m#er o personsarrested- D0. advocates the ollowing commonsense approach@. Dhateverany o 0s concl0des a#o0t race relations, we sho0ld start #y incl0ding all. o0s +0r leaders sho0ld speak to all individ0als, a#o0t every gro0p, and or.the co0ntry as a whole A 0ni2ed theory o race, race relations, and racialtensions. m0st have whites, Arican Americans, and all the rest, and even

within gro0ps. m0st incl0de Ara# Americans, ewish Americans, whiteethnicities, and so orth. +0r theory is an inade/0ate acco0nt otherwise BD0())(, >*-. 1he /0estion D0 does not address directly is whether thecontin0ed acceptance o. the #lack5white paradigm, what +h is contestingand Pranklin is deending, will. allow s0ch a comprehensive acco0nt. 1o saythat racism has #een modeled on slavery might or might not entail a #lack5.white #inary, depending on how m0ch is pres0med in the concept omodeling 80t. the reality o race and racism in the North Americancontinent has #een more. complicated than #lack5white since the initialcon/0est o native peoples #y ;0ropean. Americans &lavery was itsel anidea p0t orward #y Col0m#0s when he s0ggested. that the indigeno0s

pop0lation co0ld #e enslaved in order to #ring pro2ts to the. &panish crown#eca0se the amo0nt o gold and silver here was initially o0nd wanting. 1heconcept o race itsel was inspired in large meas0re witho0t a do0#t #y the.discovery o native peoples and the s0#se/0ent de#ates among learned;0ropeans. a#o0t their nat0re, their h0manity, and their rights Later on,emerging legal practice. developed typologies o rights #ased on typologieso peoples, s0ch as the excl0sionary. laws concerning testimony in co0rt, asmentioned earlier, which gro0ped #lacks,. m0lattoes, and Native



Americans 1he Chinese la#orers #ro0ght to the Dest in the. <O))s weres0#3ected to very speci2c r0lings restricting their rights not only to vote or.own property #0t even to marry other Chinese 1his latter r0ling o0tlastedslavery and. was 30sti2ed #y invoking images o Asian overpop0lation,another /0ite speci2c racist. ideology 1o control their reprod0ction, Chinesewomen were allowed to come as. prostit0tes #0t not as wives, a restrictionno other gro0p aced. 1he exicans deeated in the exican6American Darwere portrayed as cr0el. and cowardly #ar#arians, and altho0gh the 1reaty o %0adal0pe69idalgo rati2ed. in <OIO g0aranteed or the exicans who stayedin the United &tates 0ll rights o. (E( Latino5a artic0larity. citizenship, likethe treaties with Native Americans neither local governments nor. the ederalco0rts 0pheld the exicans right to vote or respected the land deeds. theyheld #eore the treaty Bsee Ac0n` a <=OOQ &horris <==(- 8y the time o the.&panish6American Dar o <O=O the image o #ar#arism 0sed against exicanswas. consistently attri#0ted to a Latin Catholic heritage and expanded or0se. thro0gho0t Latin America and the Cari##ean, th0s s0#se/0entlyafecting the. immigrant pop0lations coming rom these areas as well as

30stiying U& claims o. hegemony in the region Bignolo ()))- 1he so6called oot &0it riots in Los. Angeles in <=I> targeted exican Americansand their ethnically speci2c style o. dress 1he attempts made togeographically se/0ester and also to orci#ly assimilate. Native Americangro0ps were not experienced #y any other gro0p, and had their. ownideological 30sti2cations that com#ined contradictory images o the %reat.Chain o 8eing with the romanticized No#le &avage



A "la!#78hite IS Ori&inEven i their histor% lesson is !orre!t+ hite supre(a!% is

not a ?ero su( &a(e+ their o!us (a#es ta!#lin& otheraspe!ts o ra!is( i(possi)le

9erea :; B0an, roessor o Law, University o Plorida College o Law,$AC;, ;19N4C41Y NA14+N9++?@ A$14CL;@ 1he 8lack5Dhite 8inary aradigmo $ace@ 1he VNormal &cienceV o American $acial 1ho0ght, Caliornia Law$eview, +cto#er, <==J, OE Cali L $ev <(<>, p <(EI6<(EEH

One !oul' o)<e!t to my concl0sions on the &roun's that 8hite ra!is(a&ainst "la!#s has operate' or a (u!h lon&er ti(e than ra!is(a&ainst /atinos7as or Asians+ an' thereore the or(er pro)le(nee's to )e stu'ie' an' re(e'ie' rst ;nglish enslavement o 8lacks can #e traced

to the early <*))s, well #eore the nationhood o the United &tates n()J ;nco0nters #etween Anglo andexican people did not #egin on a large scale 0ntil the <O>)s, as Dhites moved west into 1exas and otherparts o the &o0thwest that, at the time, were parts o exico n()O 1o a large extent, the 8lack5Dhite#inary paradigm o race has developed precisely #eca0se o the historical priority in time o Dhite racism

against 8lacks and #eca0se o the nat0re o the exploitation that slavery ca0sed he uestion ishether the earlier 'eplo%(ent o 8hite ra!is( a&ainst "la!#s inthe >nite' States <usties the )inar% approa!h in ra!e s!holarshipan' thin#in& to'a% I !annot see s!holarl% eforts to un'erstan' an're(e'% 8hite ra!is( in all its or(s as a ?ero-su( &a(e+ in hi!heforts to un'erstan' other or(s o 8hite ra!is( so(eho ta#eaa% ro( eforts to un'erstan' an' re(e'% 8hite ra!is( a&ainst"la!#s6 M% &oal is not to take away anything rom the st0dy o Dhite racism against 8lacks

$ather, it is to i'enti% some li(itations o this stu'% and to add to these st0dies the

st0dy o Dhite racism against other racialized American gro0ps State' si(pl%+ e (uststu'% an' un'erstan' 8hite ra!is( in all its or(s 4ndeed, here lie some o

the possi#ilities or coalition and or solving some o the pro#lems that resist sol0tion 0nder o0r c0rrentscholarship n()=



A 9anthers not Monovalent9anthers are (onovalent-9anthers re'u!e' to a sin&le

'o(inant essen!eSn%'er 12 B%reta Powler, h? Candidate in the ?epartment o olitics,


Critics may say that the vision o the anthers, U&, and 8A 4 ofered a#ove isred0ctive 4n response, 4 want to revisit the anthers Dhile anther leadersare in part responsi#le or prom0lgating the monovalent identity widelyassociated with them, 4 agree that this characterization does not do 30stice toa dynamic organization 1he pop0larity o this characterization points tostr0ct0ral o#stacles to the politics o m0ltivalent recognition 4n contrast tothe gro0ps image as hypersex0alized, hypermasc0line aggressiverevol0tionaries, women constit0ted a signi2cant portion o the anthersmem#ership &acri2ces #y women like ;ricka 90ggins and Angela ?avis

prompted a transormation in the gender politics o the anthers Batthews<==O, (O(-Q a womanF;laine 8rownF0ltimately headed the anthers 1hesex0al politics o the anthers also evolved over time 4n A0g0st <=J), 90ey Newton preached solidarity with the %ay Li#eration ovement, saying !theterm aggotRsho0ld #e deleted rom o0r voca#0lary, and especially wesho0ld not attach names normally designed or homosex0als to men who areenemies o the people' BNewton <=J)- Nor was the agenda o the artystatic Altho0gh originally styled as a paramilitary organizationFthe 8lackanther arty or &el6?eenseFover time the gro0p #ecame increasinglyconcentrated on its !s0rvival programs' &0rvival programs incl0ded ree#reakast or children, ree health clinics, transport to visit relatives in prison,

political ed0cation programs, and more Unlike paramilitary operations, thetypes o activities involved in the s0rvival programs have traditionally #eencoded as eminine Pew i any wo0ld agree that the 8lack anther artyachieved a eminist or /0eer ideal ;ven when the o7cial rhetoric o the partyc0t across the image o #lack identity initially pro3ected #y leaders, thediversity within #lack identity contin0ed to #e glossed overFin his <=J)speech concerning the women and gay li#eration movements, or instance,Newton presented woman, gay and #lack as separate rather than overlappingidentities Yet at the same time, the arty was certainly more complicatedFand presented a more complicated image o #lack identityFthan was widelypro3ected 4n a content analysis o <*> articles a#o0t the anthers o0nd in

ma3or national magazines and newspapers over an <<6 year time span,;dward organ o0nd that the !the anthers are red0ced to a single,dominant essence' B())*, >><- 1he mainstream mediaFincl0ding some >))

3o0rnalist cooperating with C+4N1;L$+ eforts Borgan ())*, >(=K>)-F#roadcast images o !#rash, g0n6toting, proanity6spewing #lacks' B+g#ar())I, *J- 8y reezing the 8lack anthers at their origin, the mainstreammedia were deeply complicit in promoting the monovalent conception oidentity initially pro3ected #y the anthers 1he media itsel is not monolithic



and certainly alternative stories a#o0t the anthers were told thro0gh o0tletslike 1he 8lack anther Bthe artys comm0nity news service- ?espite this, itremains the case that those engaged in the politics o m0ltivalent recognitionare likely to ace signi2cant challenges not only in esta#lishing s0pport orand in strategizing how to promote a m0ltivalent view o identity, #0t also inthe dissemination process 1hat the mainstream media wo0ld present apredominantly monovalent view o #lack identity rather than a m0ltivalentone sho0ld not #e s0rprising any media ormats privilege the simple andthe sensational over the complex and challenging oreover, gatekeepersand decision makers in the c0lt0re ind0stry are oten mem#ers o thehegemonic racial Bgender, sex0al- identity gro0p with vested interests inmaintaining their power 1he example o the 8lack anthers is a potentreminder that the s0ccess o a politics o m0ltivalent recognition depends notonly on political actors intentions, #0t also on media o0tlets 4n other words,while c0lt0ral, this politics is not witho0t its str0ct0ral prere/0isites



A Sn%'er Onl% a)out =a!eSn%'er tal#s a)out re!o&nition an' e(inist re!o&nition

not onl% a)out ra!eSn%'er 12 B%reta Powler, h? Candidate in the ?epartment o olitics,


1o concl0de, 4 want to clariy several aspects o my arg0ment and ofer some2nal tho0ghts a#o0t how it contri#0tes to the literat0re on recognition andidentity politics Pirst, tho0gh 4 have oc0sed on one identity gro0p inela#orating the distinction #etween monovalent and m0ltivalent recognitionpolitics, 4 #elieve it to #e 0se0l in the interpretation and assessment o thec0lt0ral identity politics o other gro0ps &hane helan B<=O=-, or instance,ofers a detailed description and trenchant criti/0e o a monovalent les#ianeminist recognition politics, or instance +n the other hand, the early gaypride movement exempli2es the politics o m0ltivalent recognition in its

commitment to !0nity thro0gh diversity' BArmstrong ())(, (*-



A Ansers



9er(Do "oth (ono- an' (ultivalent shit over ti(e



4dentity olitics', 1he o0rnal o olitics, "ol JI, No <, an0ary, 3stor- 1ho0gh the gay pride movement was committed to !0nity thro0gh diversity'in theory, however, it was homogeno0s Boverwhelmingly white, male, middle6class, etc- in practice BArmstrong ())(, <>*- Dhile the 8lack anthersinitially pro3ected a monovalent view o #lack identity, #oth the theory andthe practice o the organization transormed over time 66 yet these changeswere not reMected in predominant representations o the anthers 1hesepoints highlight the ollowing considerations in the categorization andassessment o recognition politics Pirst, #oth political ideology and politicalpractice are important in determining whether an example o recognitionpolitics is monovalent or m0ltivalentQ #oth sho0ld #e considered &econd,

attention sho0ld #e paid #oth to the nat0re o the demands or recognition aswell as the way in which these demands are interpolated #y the c0lt0reind0stry Pinally, recognition movements are not static@ the nat0re odemands or recognition made #y a gro0p may change over time, movingnearer to or arther rom the m0ltivalent or monovalent pole



Alt ailsAlternative ails 2 reasons- !ivil ri&hts an' insi'e outsi'er

)inar%"roo#s an' 8i'ner 12F

$oy L 8rooks and :irsten Didner,8rooks is a senior editor o the Yale Law o0rnal,clerked or the 9onora#le Cliford &cott %reen o the U& ?istrict Co0rt inhiladelphia, and practiced corporate law with Cravath, &waine oore in New YorkCity 9e 3oined the U&? &chool o Law ac0lty in <=J= Didner is a ost ellow in lawworked as a director o policy and advocacy at ;mory law and got a degree in laworm University o &an ?iego. 4n ?eense o the 8lack5Dhite 8inary@ $eclaiming a

1radition o Civil $ights &cholarship, <( 8erkeley Ar6Am L olZy <)J B()<)- .

Availa#le at@ http@55scholarshiplaw#erkeleyed05#3alp5vol<(5iss<

P0rthermore, #y arg0ing that #lack scholars sho0ld a#andon the #lack5white#inary Bie, not oc0s on white6on6#lack racial pro#lems-, critical theorists,most o whom are non6#lack, > are 0nintentionally disrespecting a venera#letradition o #lack scholarship<I Arican American scholars as diverse as Battimes- ?errick 8ell, the VatherV o Critical $ace 1heory,Z E ichael ;ric ?ysonand Cornel Dest, civil rights li#erals,Z * %lenn Lo0ry, a civil rights moderate6conservative, <J and ohn 9ope Pranklin, perhaps the greatest AricanAmerican scholar o the last hal o the twentieth cent0ry<O Bwhose p0#licdisagreement with an Asian scholar over the #lack5white paradigm was highlyp0#licized-, <= not only write within this tradition #0t also have helped toshape it ;/0ally essential to this scholarly tradition are the end0ring works o the late 0dge A Leon 9iggin#otham, the nationZs 2rst scholarly AricanAmerican 30dge and the seminal writings o D ; 8 ?0 8ois, the nationZs 2rstBand still greatest- civil rights scholar ( Z 1his tradition o Arican Americanscholarship laid the o0ndation or the NAACZs s0ccess0l litigation strategy

against school segregation (( 4n addition to civil rights scholarship, criticismo the #lack5white #inary extends to civil rights law ?elgado and &teancicexplore the ollowing scenario@ 4magine, or example, that 0an ?oming0ez, a0erto $ican worker, is told #y his #oss, ZYo0Zre a lazy 0erto $ican 30st likethe rest Yo0Zll never get ahead as long as 4Zm s0pervisorZ 0an s0es ordiscrimination 0nder a civil rights6era stat0te designed with #lacks in mind9e wins #eca0se he can show that an Arican American worker, treated in asimilar ashion, wo0ld #e entitled to redress 80t s0ppose that 0anZscoworkers and s0pervisor make 0n o him #eca0se o his accent, religion, orplace o #irth An Arican American s0#3ected to these orms o discriminationwo0ld not #e a#le to recover, and so 0an wo0ld go witho0t reco0rse(> 1h0s,

the criti/0e o the #lack5white #inary proceeds on two levels6civil rightsscholarship and civil rights law 1his article considers #oth criti/0es Deconsider the criti/0e #ased on civil rights law in art 44 1here, we contendthat the critics o the #inary have misread the extant law As one o thea0thors has noted in a previo0s work, VCo0rts generally recognize thatdiscrimination on the #asis o a oreign trait, s0ch as accent, is actiona#le0nder 1itle "44 as discrimination on the #asis o national originZ (I 1he pointis, o0r most important civil rights laws apply to all racial gro0ps, incl0ding



whites, witho0t any precondition that non6#lack racial gro0ps analogize theirsit0ation to that o #lacks 1he $econstr0ction Amendments to theConstit0tion6the 1hirteenth, Po0rteenth, and Piteenth Amendments (E6whichprovide the o0ndation or modem civil rights law,(* the <=*I Civil $ightsAct,(J and modem6day case law (O all reach ar #eyond the #lack5white#inary 1o the extent that asymmetrical civil rights stat0tes have #eenenacted in the decades ater the <=*I Civil $ights Act, these laws have #eenresponsive to non6#lacks, incl0ding the disa#led,(= women,>) and olderworkers >Z Civil rights law recognizes m0ltiple #inaries rather than a single#inary De t0rn in art 444 to the theoretical arg0ments regarding the#lack5white #inary 9ere, we arg0e that Arican6American scholars have nots0ggested that non6#lack racial gro0ps sho0ld #e accorded second6class civilrights stat0s $ather, Arican6American scholars o any stat0re em#race them0ltiple6#inary approach reMected in civil rights law 1he act that #lackscholars oc0s on white6on6#lack racial pro#lems in their scholarship isnat0ral given their experiences as #lack Americans and the tradition o #lackscholarship Yet, critical theorists have attacked this tradition o #lackscholarship on anti6#inary gro0nds De address the three most compellinganti6#inary criticisms ofered #y critical theorists@ B<- the #inary ignores thehistories o other racial gro0ps, there#y distorting o0r 0nderstanding o civilrights historyQ >( B(- it ignores interest convergence and th0s threatensnat0ral alliances among o0tsiders, especially people o colorQ >> and, relatedto the latter criticism, B>- it is predicated 0pon a alse notion o V#lack0ni/0enessV> I 4n considering each o these criticisms, we arg0e that the#lack5white #inary6which, again, is most properly 0nderstood to mean theoc0s on white6on6#lack racial pro#lems makes very good sense to AricanAmericans #ased on their racial reality 1hose who wo0ld re3ect the #inary,and wo0ld have #lack scholars do likewiseQ have simply ignored this act o

lie Dhy can Zt #inaries co6exist in civil rights scholarship as they do in civilrights lawS De concl0de with two arg0ments in art 4" Pirst, contrary to whatthey claim, critics o the #lack5white #inary are, in reality, not arg0ing or thedissol0tion o all #inaries, #0t, instead, are arg0ing or a partic0lar #inary

1hey seek to replace the #lack5white #inary in civil rights scholarship with aninsider5o0tsider #inary 1he latter not only reMects a monolithic view o racialidentity, E it also s0#ordinates Arican Americans #y trivializing the #lackethos and pres0ming to tell Arican6American scholars what to write a#o0t&econd, criticism o the #lack5white #inary is, at #ottom, a claim regardingracial priority Dhile some critics o the #lack5white #inary may have hopedthat the priority iss0e co0ld #e avoided #y simply moving #eyond the

#lack5white #inary, >* that simply has not #een the case Among o0tsidergro0ps, competing claims and conMicts have not and will not disappear >J9ence, the /0estions #ecome@ ?oes it make moral, historical, political, orsociological sense to give priority to Arican Americans in the realm o civilrights when their interests clash with the interests o other civil rights gro0psS9ave the descendants o slaves earned the right to claim priority #eca0sethey have s0fered the longest and still remain at Vthe very #ottom o thewell,V to #orrow a metaphor rom critical theoryS Pormer resident 8ill



Clinton, a li#eral, and ames \ Dilson, a conservative scholar, answer these/0estions in the a7rmative Clinton states, V4 we can address the pro#lems#etween #lack and white Americans, then we will #e #etter e/0ipped to dealwith discrimination in other areasV >O &imilarly, Dilson writes in theatermath o :atrina that@ V1he main domestic concern o policy6engagedintellect0als, li#eral and conservative, o0ght to #e to think hard a#o0t how tochange these social weaknesses Lower6class #lacks are n0mero0s and 2ll o0rprisons, and among all #lacks the level o 2nancial assets is lower than it isor whites any #lacks have made rapid progress, #0t we are not certain howV>= Dhile saving 0ntil another day the constr0ction o a orm0la that mightacilitate the ranking o civil rights claims in partic0lar sit0ations, we do arg0ehere that any s0ch orm0la sho0ld not necessarily avor Arican Americans#eca0se o the simple act that they are not at the very #ottom o the wellacross the #oard 9owever, s0ch a orm0la sho0ld take into acco0nt therelative severity and d0ration o each gro0pZs deprivation o rights or e/0alityin vario0s sit0ations

"roo#s an' 8i'ner 12F$oy L 8rooks and :irsten Didner,8rooks is a senior editor o the Yale Law o0rnal,clerked or the 9onora#le Cliford &cott %reen o the U& ?istrict Co0rt inhiladelphia, and practiced corporate law with Cravath, &waine oore in New YorkCity 9e 3oined the U&? &chool o Law ac0lty in <=J= Didner is a ost ellow in lawworked as a director o policy and advocacy at ;mory law and got a degree in laworm University o &an ?iego. 4n ?eense o the 8lack5Dhite 8inary@ $eclaiming a



1he idea that Arican Americans sho0ld incorporate other racial histories intheir scholarship so as not to ignore those histories is thinly s0pported Asianand Latino5a scholars, or example, do not need Arican6American scholars tovalidate their work, which is exceptionally good b( &imilarly, altho0ghincorporating other racial histories into Arican6American scholarship mayenrich oneZs perspective on racism, this exercise is typically not a prere/0isiteor 0nderstanding civil rights or the #lack ethos6nor is it necessary oraddressing #lack iss0es 1o ill0strate the point, we reer to endez vDestminister &chool ?istrict o +range Co0nty<) > 1his case is oten cited #yLatCrits to ill0strate the indispensa#ility o Latino5a history in 0nderstanding

the history o school desegregation that c0lminated in 8rown <)I 4n endez,the co0rt overt0rned a school segregation stat0te applica#le to exican6American st0dents, a decision that predated 8rown 4 #y a ew years Dhileinteresting, the case is neither necessary nor s07cient in explaining 8rown 4or in 0nderstanding the NAACZs legal strategy endez was a Ninth Circ0itopinion, so its precedential val0e is low compared to that o the &0premeCo0rt cases traditionally regarded as the predecessors o 8rown <<)E Norwas endez as signi2cant as the scholarship that inormed the NAAC #ries



) * P0rthermore, even these &0preme Co0rt cases and scholarly works havelittle pro#ative val0 in explaining why the Co0rt decided 8rown 4 the way itdidZ) J 4ndeed, contemporary scholarship on 8rown 4 that omits thegeopolitical and other extra6legal actors that 0nderpin the opinion isins07ciently theorized )O A0thors who write a#o0t their own racialexperiences are not necessarily signaling ignorance a#o0t other racialexperiences 1hese writers are merely taking advantage o their 0ni/0eposition to get the story o0t more acc0rately and with greater insight 4n act,roessor ?elgado himsel rather enth0siastically em#raced this position inhis inM0ential article, V1he 4mperial &cholar@V G4Ht is possi#le to compile an apriori list o reasons why we might look with concern on a sit0ation in whichthe scholarship a#o0t gro0p A Go0tsidersH is written #y mem#ers o gro0p 8GinsidersH Pirst, mem#ers o gro0p 8 may #e inefective advocates o therights and interests o persons in gro0p A 1hey may lack inormationQ moreimportant, perhaps, they may lack passion, or that passion may #emisdirected 8Zs scholarship may tend to #e sentimental, dif0sing passion in0seless directions, or wasting time on 0nprod0ctive #reast6#eating &econd,while the 8Zs might advocate efectively, they might advocate the wrongthings 1heir agenda may difer rom that o the AZs, they may p0ll theirp0nches with respect to remedies, especially where remedying AZs sit0ationentails 0ncomorta#le conse/0ences or 8 ?espite the #est o intentions, 8Zsmay have stereotypes em#edded deep in their psyches that distort theirthinking, ca0sing them to #alance interests in ways inimical to AZs Pinally,domination #y mem#ers o gro0p 8 may paralyze mem#ers o gro0p A,ca0sing the AZs to orget how to Mex their legal m0scles or themselvesZ



A other ra!e oppressions9reer hite )la!# )inar% )i&&est pro)le( an' has

happene' or the lon&est"roo#s an' 8i'ner 12F

$oy L 8rooks and :irsten Didner,8rooks is a senior editor o the Yale Law o0rnal,clerked or the 9onora#le Cliford &cott %reen o the U& ?istrict Co0rt inhiladelphia, and practiced corporate law with Cravath, &waine oore in New YorkCity 9e 3oined the U&? &chool o Law ac0lty in <=J= Didner is a ost ellow in lawworked as a director o policy and advocacy at ;mory law and got a degree in laworm University o &an ?iego. 4n ?eense o the 8lack5Dhite 8inary@ $eclaiming a



Critical theorists re3ect the #lack5white #inary in large part #eca0se they re3ectthe notion that Arican Americans have always #een and contin0e to #e the

most racially s0#ordinated gro0p in America. 144 Professor Delgado, for example, arguesthat all racial minorities must avoid "the [s]iren [slong of [u]niqueness. ' According to Delgado, the

seductive idea of uniqueness can "predispose a minority group to believe that it is uniquely victimized and

entitled to special consideration from iniquitous whites.' 46 However, this argument runs contrary to

history, as documented by a large body of research. Although rarely stated in public, 4 J there iss0#stantial empirical evidence strongly s0ggesting that Arican Americans are0ni/0e and, hence, warrant separate (but not necessarily dominant) attention. 148 De

shall oc0s on a ew pieces o this evidence@ slavery and im CrowQ thes0#ordination o Arican Americans vers0s Native AmericansQ lynchingQ andwhat can #e termed, Vthe lost American dream." To begin with, African Americans are

the only group to arrive in this country not on, but under Plymouth Rock. African Americans have

encountered and continue to encounter unique disadvantages that stem from the very way they werebrought into American society. 1 49 Unlike most immigrants who came to the United&tates vol0ntarily, #lacks were imported in h0ge n0m#ers as slaves Altho0ghslavery had existed or tho0sands o years, the Atlantic slave trade was notslavery as 0s0al@ &lavery in the Americas introd0ced the tro0#ling element orace into the master5slave relationship For the first time in history, dark skin became the

social marker of chattel slavery. And, as a means of justifying this new face-a black face-given to an

ancient practice, the slavers and their s0pporters created a race6speci2c ideology

o condemnation150 1his new orm o slavery was so m0ch a part o colonialAmerica that the o0nders addressed it in m0ltiple provisions o the U&Constit0tionZ 5 1 1h0s, the s0#30gation o Arican Americans was written intothe a#ric o o0r nation rom the very #eginning6a sit0ation that no othergro0p has aced Altho0gh slavery o7cially ended with the Civil Dar and theadoption o the 1hirteenth Amendment, the systematic economic exploitationo Arican Americans contin0ed well into the twentieth cent0ry As Douglas

Blackmon chronicles in his Pulitzer Prize winning book, "Slavery by Another Name," southern states used

an elaborate system of laws "specifically enacted to intimidate blacks." They also used a variety of other

slave-like practices such as opportunistic arrests, sham trials, convict leasing, and coercive "contracts" to

continue supplying white farms and industry with the cheap black labor on which they relied. <E( 4nspite o this, critical theorists oten dismiss Arican American 0ni/0eness #y



noting that other racial minorities have experienced many o the in30stices#lacks have aced For example, Professor Perea asserts: Mexican Americans were also segregated

in separate but unequal schools, were kept out of public parks by law, were refused service in restaurants,

were prohibited from attending 'White' churches on Sundays, and were denied burial in 'White' cemeteries,

among all of the other horrors of the separate but equal scheme.153 While it is true that all racial

minorities, particularly Latinos/as, have been victims of white oppression, these racialized experiences are

nonetheless quite different from what African Americans have experienced. 54 In our view, the differences

between African Americans and other racial minorities are so great as to outweigh the similarities. As one

of the authors said on a previous occasion: [Bilacks were the main target of slavery and Jim Crow. No other

American group inhabited the peculiar institution. No other American gro0p s0stained morecas0alties or lengthier s0fering rom slavery and im Crow G1Hhis gives#lacks a connection to slavery and im Crow#oth amilial and psychological6that no other racial minority has There is a collective memory here that only#lacks have.... [UHnlike Asians and Latinos, #lacks did not vol0nteer or thisto0r o d0ty 8lacks were kidnapped rom their homeland and #ro0ght to thisco0ntry #y #r0tal orce, the likes o which we have not seen #eore or since inAmerican history In short, although blacks, Asians, Latinos, Native Americans, Indians, and other

people of color are victims of what Joe Feagin calls 'systemic racism' (or the "white-created" paradigm ofracial subordination), they do not experience and hence do not react to racial subordination in exactly the

same way.... Dhite6on6#lack oppression is 30st diferent rom other white6oppression syndromes, whether racial or gender Patricia Rodriguez has observed,ZDhite means mostly privilege and #lack means overcoming o#stacles, ahistory o civil rights As a Latina, 4 canZt try to claim one o theseZV EE 8lackAmericans carry the weight o the atrocities6slavery and im Crow.... 1 56



A2 Del&a'oo!us on )la!#ness the pro)le( is &roin& an'

'e!reasin& or other ra!es- other ra!es have seenin!reases in e'u!ation an' su!!ess

"roo#s an' 8i'ner 12F$oy L 8rooks and :irsten Didner, 8rooks is a senior editor o the Yale Law o0rnal,clerked or the 9onora#le Cliford &cott %reen o the U& ?istrict Co0rt inhiladelphia, and practiced corporate law with Cravath, &waine oore in New YorkCity 9e 3oined the U&? &chool o Law ac0lty in <=J= Didner is a ost ellow in lawworked as a director o policy and advocacy at ;mory law and got a degree in laworm University o &an ?iego. 4n ?eense o the 8lack5Dhite 8inary@ $eclaiming a



roessor $ichard ?elgado arg0es that #inary thinking can harm the gro0pwhose interest it places at the center 4t can, or example, pit one

disadvantaged gro0p against another to the detriment o #oth 1hisopposition can impair a gro0pZs a#ility to orge 0se0l coalitions and to leamrom other gro0psZ s0ccesses and ail0res,4 4 Dhat minority gro0ps sho0ld doinstead, ?elgado arg0es, is set 0p a secondary market in which theynegotiate selectively with each other 1his market wo0ld take the orm oexchanging s0pport or iss0es important to vario0s gro0ps, creating win6winsol0tions whenever possi#le 1h0s, a non6#inary ramework allows or racialminorities to approach whites in 0ll orceV<( Altho0gh roessor ?elgadoZsarg0ments are not witho0t merit, they are #ased on an 0nproven ass0mptionthat identities among racial minorities are s07ciently monolithic so as tomake interracial alliances nat0ral V1he idea wo0ld #e,V roessor ?elgadoasserts, Vor minority gro0ps to assess their own preerences and maketradeofs that will, optimistically, #ring gains or all concernedVZ < > 9owever,as roessor Car#ado points o0t, VNon68lack people o color have not always#een interested in identiying themselves with the 8lack or marginalized sideo the 8lack5Dhite paradigm 4n act, there are moments in American historywhen certain Asian Americans and Latinas5os have attempted to achievee/0ality #y asserting that they are not 8lack or like 8lacks, and5or that theyare DhiteV <I 1here are costs as well as advantages associated withocc0pying #oth ends o the polarity6the #lack Bor s0#ordinated- end as well asthe white Bor privileged- end6and non6#lack racial gro0ps have oten #eena#le to avoid the costs and exploit the advantagesZ <E &el6interest is apower0l motivating orce 1h0s, it may #e, as roessor ?elgado maintains,

that all #inaries, incl0ding the #lack5white #inary, are narrow nationalismscalc0lated to c0tting the most avora#le possi#le deal with whitesZ*6apossi#ility that Arican Americans can ill6aford to ignore 1hereore it isimportant to explore this possi#ility more closely to get a sense o how risky itwo0ld #e or Arican Americans to a#andon the #lack5white #inary6whichspawned the scholarly tradition and political strategy that together have#een responsi#le or destroying im Crow and orging a racial conscio0snessrom which all racial gro0ps have #ene2ttedV J Dhen one looks closely at the



nat0ral6alliance theory6more acc0rately, the pres0med6alliance theory6onecomes to the 0nhappy concl0sion that the theory o0nders on the shoals oracial reality 4n a world o limited reso0rces, achieving progress on onegro0pZs agenda can come at the expense o another gro0pZs agenda < < O

1he game is, indeed, oten zero6s0m 1he racial dynamic #etween #lacks andLatinos5as, the latter o whom have #een the most persistent critics o the#lack5white #inary,Z <= well ill0strates this point Let 0s #egin with ed0cation8lacks and Latinos5as #oth hope to see dramatic improvements in the /0alityo schools their children attend Por #lacks, this means increasing ed0cational0nds to their schools and providing c0rric0lar services that address iss0es oracial pride, sel6esteem, and the other 0ni/0e needs o Arican6Americanst0dents, especially those o yo0ng #lack males () Likewise, or Latinos5as,improving the /0ality o ed0cation or their children means oc0sing on thespecial needs o Latino5as children, incl0ding #iling0al ed0cation andexpanded coverage o Latin6American history, which is oten tied toimmigration concernsZ (< Dith the nationwide crisis in p0#lic school 0nding,the pool o state and ederal 0nds as well as other reso0rces availa#le tomeet these goals is extremely limited Conse/0ently, 0nds possi#ility moreclosely to get a sense o how risky it wo0ld #e or Arican Americans toa#andon the #lack5white #inary6which spawned the scholarly tradition andpolitical strategy that together have #een responsi#le or destroying im Crowand orging a racial conscio0sness rom which all racial gro0ps have#ene2ttedV J Dhen one looks closely at the nat0ral6alliance theory6moreacc0rately, the pres0med6alliance theory6one comes to the 0nhappyconcl0sion that the theory o0nders on the shoals o racial reality 4n a worldo limited reso0rces, achieving progress on one gro0pZs agenda can come atthe expense o another gro0pZs agenda < < O 1he game is, indeed, otenzero6s0m 1he racial dynamic #etween #lacks and Latinos5as, the latter o

whom have #een the most persistent critics o the #lack5white #inary,Z <=well ill0strates this point Let 0s #egin with ed0cation 8lacks and Latinos5as#oth hope to see dramatic improvements in the /0ality o schools theirchildren attend Por #lacks, this means increasing ed0cational 0nds to theirschools and providing c0rric0lar services that address iss0es o racial pride,sel6esteem, and the other 0ni/0e needs o Arican6American st0dents,especially those o yo0ng #lack males () Likewise, or Latinos5as, improvingthe /0ality o ed0cation or their children means oc0sing on the specialneeds o Latino5as children, incl0ding #iling0al ed0cation and expandedcoverage o Latin6American history, which is oten tied to immigrationconcernsZ (< Dith the nationwide crisis in p0#lic school 0nding, the pool o

state and ederal 0nds as well as other reso0rces availa#le to meet thesegoals is extremely limited Conse/0ently, 0nds Angeles have almost entirelyreplaced the 0nionized Arican6American. workorce with a non60nionizedimmigrant workorceZ * ;ven when. 0nionization is not an iss0e, the res0ltsare the same As ack iles o#serves@. 4 the Latinos were not aro0nd to #eGgardeners, #0s#oys, cham#ermaids,. nannies, 3anitors, constr0ctionworkersH, non#lack employers wo0ld #e. orced to hire #lacks6#0t theyZdrather not 1hey tr0st Latinos 1hey. ear or disdain #lacks 1he res0lt is



0no7cial #0t widespread preerential. hiring o Latinos6the largest a7rmativeaction program in the nation,. and one paid or, in efect, #y #lacks <(J.8eca0se o the employment implications o 0ndoc0mented immigration,. theNAAC, as well as the APL6C4+, s0pported the employer sanctions. provision0nder the 4mmigration $eorm and Control Act o <=O* As one. NAACo7cial said, the sanctions were a way Vto keep 0ndoc0mented aliens. romtaking the ood rom #lack childrenV<Z (O Arican Americans Vwere.competing more directly with Latinos than with any other ethnic gro0pVZ ( =.4n addition there have #een vario0s political str0ggles #etween Arican.Americans and Latinos5as in Los Angeles A case in point is the ())<mayoral. race in which #lacks voted or a white candidate instead o theLatino candidate. whom they #elieved to #e more interested in strengtheningLatino5a political. and economic power than in improving the plight o #lacksPor similar. reasons, the NAAC o#3ected to the incl0sion o Latinos5as in the<=JE "oting. $ights ;xtensionZ >) A #lack col0mnist positioned the matter ina #roader. context@ V1ho0gh we pride o0rselves on o0r leadership role in civilrights,. paradoxically, we g0ard the s0ccess 3ealo0sly ZDeZre the ones whomarched. in the streets and got o0r heads #0sted Dhere were theyS 80t nowthey want. to get in on the #ene2tsVV <>. Z. &imilar diferences exist#etween Arican Americans and other racial. minorities Por example, someAsians have so0ght to exploit the privilege pole. o the #lack5white #inary atthe expense o Arican Americans As roessor. Prank D0 o#serves, V$acialgro0ps are conceived o as white, #lack, honorary. whites, or constr0ctive#lacksVZ >( 9e also reminds 0s that some Asians have. #ene2ted rom theirVhonorary whitenessV and, in so doing, may have. Vperpet0atGedH thepro#lem o raceVZ roessor D0Zs 0se o the terms Vhonorary whitenessV andVconstr0ctive #lacksV 0nderscores #oth the constr0ctedness o race and thepoles o privilege and s0#ordination in the #lack5white #inary within which

Asians have operated 1he latter racial dynamic orms the #asis or the0neasy relationship that has developed #etween the Arican6American andthe Asian6American civil rights agendas since the end o the <=*)s anine

Yo0ng :im aptly descri#es this sit0ation@ Asian Americans have stood on0nsta#le gro0nd #etween Z#lackZ and Zwhite,Z alling 0nder the honorary whitecategory in anti6a7rmative action arg0ments, #0t considered constr0ctive#lacks or the p0rposes o school segregation or antimiscegenation laws 1osay that Asian Americans have #een perceived as honorary whites orconstr0ctive #lacks is, however, slightly misleading in that it tends to conveya notion o race speci2city 4t is important to keep in mind that altho0gh thestat0s o honorary white does afect identity, recognition, and appellation, its

more insidio0s 0nction is cooptation Por example, within the economy oa7rmative action policy, ZwhitenessZ encompasses victimization thro0ghZreverse racismZ and race6#ased disadvantage in certain ed0cational orocc0pational opport0nities 4nsoar as a conservative like Newt %ingrich treatsAsian Americans as honorary whites, he reers to common experience 0ndera7rmative action, not racial similarity >I Arican Americans do not have thiskind o racial Mexi#ility henotype and experience prevent Arican Americansrom #ene2tting as m0ch as other racial minorities rom the pole o privilege



Arican Americans constit0te the social marker or disadvantage, st0ck at thepole o s0#ordination 4ndeed, Arican Americans have watched as other racialand ethnic gro0ps with whom they have aligned in the past <>E haveleaprogged past them in reso0rces and power, oten distancing themselvesrom Arican Americans Bwhat roessor Car#ado calls Vinterracial distancingVZ>*- once they o#tained a certain level o s0ccess 1here is palpa#le concernamong Arican Americans that Latinos5as, with their increasing n0m#ers anddesire or acceptance, are poised to repeat this process Like Asians in thecontext o a7rmative action,Z >J Latinos5as might 2nd interracial distancingto #e within their sel6interest 1o ask Arican Americans to p0t aside thisracial history and risk #eing a stepping6stone or yet another racial gro0pZsadvancement may #e overly optimistic 1his is not to say that AricanAmericans and other racial gro0ps have never s0ccess0lly colla#orated orcan never orm m0t0ally #ene2cial coalitions As roessor erea correctlypoints o0t, :eyes v &chool ?istrict No <, ?enver, Colorado, >O a schooldesegregation case, provides an example o interest convergence >=Likewise, endez v Destminister &chool ?istrict o +range Co0nty,<I) aexican6American school desegregation disc0ssed earlier,Z I Z shows thatArican Americans can s0pport Latino5a interests when those interestsconverge with Arican6American interests <I( 80t the cr0cial /0estion iswhat happens when the interests clash rather convergeS As Latinos5ascontin0e to gain political strength and as #oth Latinos5as and Asians contin0eto #ecome more integrated into the mainstream c0lt0re B#ecoming moreVwhiteV I>-, will they 2nd it more advantageo0s to orge coalitions withwhites, whose experiences and interests they now share, than with AricanAmericans, whose experiences and interests have #ecome contraposedS



OfenseCalls to 3(ove )e%on'4 )la!#7hite )inar% repli!ate anti-

"la!#nessDeilovs#% an' Kitossa 1B B:aterina ?eliovsky, ?epartment o

&ociology 8rock University, +ntario and 1amari, !8eyond 8lack and Dhite@Dhen %oing 8eyond ay 1ake Us +0t o 8o0nds', o0rnal o 8lack &t0dies IIQ<EO, http@553#ssagep0#eom5content5II5(5<EO-

At 2rst impression, criti/0es o the so6called 8lack5Dhite #inary paradigm appearpers0asiveF#0t only i one accepts a priori that race scholarship is dominated#y this paradigm and that it 0nctions to restrict how race is 0nderstood, theorized, and addressed Dhat is

more, many claimants o this position contend that Arican and ;0ropean American scholars who employ the so6called

8lack5Dhite #inary paradigm o#sc0re the histories and claims making o Asian, Native, and Latina5o Americans 1hereare pro#lems, however, with proposing a m0ltiracial coalition #ased on acriti/0e o the so6called 8lack5Dhite #inary paradigm +ne s0ch pro#lem is identi2ed #y ared &exton

B()<)-, who arg0es that this call is premised on the #elie Vo an Zendemic #lack6

white model o racial tho0ghtV Bp =)- Por &exton, this notion is Vsomething o a social2ctionFone might say a misreadingFthat depends 0pon a red0ction o thesophistication o the paradigm in /0estionV B&exton, ()<), p =)- 4 &exton is correct, and we

#elieve he is, then the call to move #eyond is 0ndamentally Mawed #eca0se it is#0ilt on an inade/0ate 0nderstanding o power relations that str0ct0re whatis, in act, a #lack5white anicheanism A anicheanism is a moral and sym#olicramework that constr0cts the world as polarized #y orces o good and evil,represented in the oppositions #etween lightness and darkness and #etween#lack and white Bsee 8astide, <=*JQ Panon, <=*JQ 9och, <=J=Q &tone, <=O<- Contrary to moving #eyond

advocatesZ claim o a 8lack5Dhite #inary paradigm, the #lack5white anicheanism is an incorporative racialmatrix in the psychosocial world o ;0ropean c0lt0re that gives meaning to a

#road range o identities P0rthermore, this misreading and red0ction rests on thepres0pposition that this call is warranted and that one can move #eyond whatis posited as a simple #inary 1his ass0mption and call to action needs to #einterrogated and deconstr0cted not only #eca0se the ormer is erroneo0s #0talso #eca0se the latter implicitly reprod0ces anti6#lackness as apres0pposition or m0ltiracial coalition #0ilding De arg0e in this essay that a deconstr0ction

o the move #eyond disco0rse reveals that knowledge a#o0t racism, #0t more speci2cally, anti6#lack racism, is not

s0#stantively advanced and, in act, creates two distinct pro#lems Pirst, #y misreading and misnaminga real historical and contemporary experience as a paradigm, the disco0rsecreates the alse dilemma o needing to move #eyond &econd, the disco0rsesets 0p #lackness Binterestingly eno0gh+ not hiteness-, and #y extension, thosepeople socially de2ned as V#lack,V as an impediment to the la0da#le goals o

a m0ltiracial coalition and complex 0nderstanding o race relations in North America 4n this way, moving#eyond, in terms o praxis Baction, epistemology, and politics-, is a disco0rse #ased onV#ad aithV B%ordon, <==I- toward Arican6descended peoples As noted #y %ordon B<==I-,

#ad aith is denial o the h0manity o the #lack #ody and the consistent imp0tation o a

negative val0e to it as a means o de2ning the Bnon6#lack- sel

http://jbs.sagepub.eom/content/44/2/158




urn E$!lu'es "la!# ro( the !oalition o the alt

Deilovs#% an' Kitossa 1B B:aterina ?eliovsky, ?epartment o

&ociology 8rock University, +ntario and 1amari, !8eyond 8lack and Dhite@Dhen %oing 8eyond ay 1ake Us +0t o 8o0nds', o0rnal o 8lack &t0dies IIQ<EO, http@553#ssagep0#eom5content5II5(5<EO-

4n closing, moving #eyond advocates arg0e that alternatives to the 8lack5 Dhite #inary paradigm are needed to acco0nt or changingexperiences o race and racism Bartinez, <==>Q +mi Dinant, <==I- Uncritical acceptance o the 8lack5Dhite #inary paradigm sit0ates the

call to move #eyond as /0estiona#le and pro#lematic and all the more 0rgently in need o challenge erhaps, in the la0da#le/0est or m0ltiracial alliances, the call to move #eyond has #een 0ncriticallyaccepted as a necessary tactic in the antiracist str0ggle &exton B())O- warnsagainst the V0nexamined desire or new analyses and the oten anxio0s driveor political allianceV Bp (E(- oreover, he calls into V/0estion the motive orce o anominally critical intervention on the Z#lack6white paradigmZV B&exton, ())O, p (E(- 4an integral part o this move #eyond post0lates that #lackness is anepistemic o#stacle to efective antiracism politics, does this not imply thatm0ltiracial alliances are Va social ormation or which the excl0sion o thecategory o racial #lackness is a sine /0a nonV B&exton, ()<), p O=-S And to excl0deracial #lackness means, 0ltimately, to excise those de2ned as #lack rom thiscoalition 4n other words, the #lack #ody may #e co0nted or more than three 2ths o a person or the antiracist ca0se, #0t Arican

peopleZs history and narratives m0st #e checked at the door Not only does this Bimplied- excision do a gross disservice to those victimized #ythis anicheanismQ it erases their history and o#sc0res how other non6Arican people o color are afected #y it as well as contri#0te to it

1his sit0ates moving #eyond as a a0lty and politically harm0l episte6mological ramework or Arican6descended people, and what is more, it is an act o #ad aith<

Ditho0t /0estion, there is a need or a complex reading and analysis o racial oppressionQ however, the re0sal to grantprimacy to this Vvisi#le epis6temology o #lack skinV s0ggests there is more tothis call than an academic p0rs0it 0t another way, it is one thing to arg0e that we need a complex 0nderstanding

o the m0ltiracial make0p o North AmericaQ it is /0ite another to rame the #lack5white anicheanism as the reason or this lack o scholarlywork 1o reiterate, pointing the 2nger at the #lack5white anicheanism creates, in general, two 0ndamental errors +ne, it creates a alsepro#lem #y con0sing and misnaming a real historical and contemporary experience and, as s0ch, grossly simpli2es its complexity ichael&tein#erg B())<- arg0es 0tting the wrong name on a pro#lem is worse than having no name at all 4n the latter instance, one is at least opento 2lling the concept0al void 4n the 2rst instance, however, words lead 0s down a #l ind alley 1hey divert 0s rom the acets o the pro#lem

that sho0ld command o0r attention and lead to remedies that are inefect0al or worse, Bp (- As we see it, in o0r case, the VworseV leads 0sto the second 0ndamental pro#lem@ 4t sets 0p #lackness Binterestingly eno0gh, notwhiteness-, and #y extension those people socially de2ned as #lack, as animpediment to the la0da#le goals o a m0ltiracial coalition and complex0nderstanding o race relations in the United &tates 4t is disconcerting how the artic0lation o moving #eyond implicitly Band

sometimes explicitly- sit0ates #lackness as an o#stacle or, as &exton B())O- arg0es, VGstandingH in the way o 0t0re progress, silencing theexpression o m0ch needed voices on the political and intellect0al sceneV Bp (E(- 4t appears that Vthe orce o anti6#lackness consistently

tro0#les the myriad eforts at mediation and amelioration among the nonwhiteV B&exton, ())O, p (E>- 4t goes witho0tsaying the challenge is not to move #eyond #0t to theorize the #lack5white

anicheanism thro0gh a critical in/0iry that capt0res its complexity 1his complexity m0st #ear in

mind how thoro0ghly sat0rated is the sociosym#olic str0ct0re o racial diference with the determinants o the #lack5white anicheanism= 1he #lack5white anicheanism Vhas and contin0es to sit0ate every s0#3ect in U& c0lt0re within the panoptic vision o racial meaningsVBDeigman, <==E, p I)- 1hese racial meanings were and are oten con2g0red in relation to and against #lack Band whiteracial designations 1h0s, rather than calling to move #eyond, it wo0ld #e more concept0ally creative and politically advantageo0s to work toward analyzing the#lack5white anicheanism in a way that makes clear the relationship #etween this anicheanism and other racially marginalized gro0ps 1h0s,

to develop an epistemologically deep 0nderstanding o race, racialization,and racism in the North America, the signi2cance o anti6#lackness m0st #eapprehended, not as a s0perior orm o oppression #0t as a orm that givesshape and context to the oppression o other racially marginalized gro0ps, while

creating a /0alitatively distinct oppression or Arican6descended peoples As ared &exton B())O- cogently arg0es, anti6#lackness islongstanding and ongoing #0t also 0nlike other orms o racial oppression in /0alitative waysFdiferences o kind, rather than degree, astr0ct0ral sing0larity rather than an empirical anomaly 80t all o this is notto participate in the ranked determination o s0fering 4t is,instead, to properly locate the political dynamics and to o0tline the ethical stakes at hand Bp (IE-





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Multivalent Oppression K - Northwestern 2015