Rethinking Racism: Toward a Structural Interpretation

Author(s): Eduardo Bonilla-Silva

Source: American Sociological Review, Vol. 62, No. 3 (Jun., 1997), pp. 465-480
Published by: American Sociological Association
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 RETHINKING RACISM:
TOWARD A STRUCTURAL INTERPRETATION *

Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
The University of Michigan

The study of race and ethnic conflict historically has been hampered by in-
adequate and simplistic theories. I contend that the central problem of the
various approaches to the study of racial phenomena is their lack of a struc-
tural theory of racism. I review traditional approaches and alternative ap-
proaches to the study of racism, and discuss their limitations. Following the
leads suggested by some of the alternative frameworks, I advance a struc-
tural theory of racism based on the notion of racialized social systems.

"The habit of considering racism as a men- Although the concept of racism has be-
tal quirk, as a psychological flaw, must be come the central analytical category in most
abandoned." contemporary social scientific discourse on
-Frantz Fanon (1967:77) racial phenomena, the concept is of recent
origin (Banton 1970; Miles 1989, 1993). It
he area of race and ethnic studies lacks a was not employed at all in the classic works
_ sound theoretical apparatus. To compli- of Thomas and Znaniecki (1918), Edward
cate matters, many analysts of racial matters Reuter (1934), Gunnar Myrdal (1944), and
have abandoned the serious theorization and Robert Park (1950).1 Benedict (1945) was
reconceptualization of their central topic: rac- one of the first scholars to use the notion of
ism. Too many social analysts researching racism in her book, Race and Racism. She
racism assume that the phenomenon is self- defined racism as "the dogma that one ethnic
evident, and therefore either do not provide a group is condemned by nature to congenital
definition or provide an elementary definition inferiority and another group is destined to
(Schuman, Steeh, and Bobo 1985; Sniderman congenital superiority" (p. 87). Despite some
and Piazza 1993). Nevertheless, whether im- refinements, current use of the concept of
plicitly or explicitly, most analysts regard rac- racism in the social sciences is similar to
ism as a purely ideological phenomenon. Benedict's. Thus van den Berghe (1967)
states that racism is "any set of beliefs that
organic, genetically transmitted differences
* Direct correspondence to Eduardo Bonilla-
(whether real or imagined) between human
Silva, Department of Sociology, University of
groups are intrinsically associated with the
Michigan, 3012 Literature, Science, and Arts
Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1382 (ebonilla@ presence or the absence of certain socially
umich.edu). This research was supported in part relevant abilities or characteristics, hence
by the Rockefeller Foundation (1995-1996 Post- that such differences are a legitimate basis of
doctoral Fellowship at Washington State Univer- invidious distinctions between groups so-
sity) and by the Center for African and African
cially defined as races" (p. 11, emphasis
American Studies at the University of Michigan. I
added). Schaefer (1990) provides a more
thank Professors Erik 0. Wright and Pamela
Oliver at the University of Wisconsin for their
concise definition of racism: " . . . a doctrine
valuable feedback on an earlier draft of this pa- of racial supremacy, that one race is supe-
per, the members of the Faculty Seminar on Race rior" (p. 16).
and Ethnicity at the University of Michigan for
their intellectual support, and Pat Preston at 1 Yet they employed the very similar notion of
Michigan and Jane Fredrickson at Washington ethnocentrism as developed by William Graham
State University, who provided valuable editorial Sumner (1906). According to Sumner (1906) eth-
advice. I also thank Charles Tilly and the three nocentrism was the belief that "one's own group
anonymous ASR reviewers for their thorough and is at the center of everything, and all others are
helpful comments. scaled and rated with reference to it" (p. 13).

American Sociological Review, 1996, Vol. 62 (June:465-480) 465

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 466 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

This idealist view is still held widely institutional matter based on a system in
among social scientists. Its narrow focus on which the White majority "raises its social
ideas has reduced the study of racism mostly position by exploiting, controlling, and keep-
to social psychology, and this perspective has ing down others who are categorized in ra-
produced a schematic view of the way rac- cial or ethnic terms" (Blauner 1972:22). The
ism operates in society. First, racism is de- main difference between these two perspec-
fined as a set of ideas or beliefs. Second, tives is that the latter regards racial minori-
those beliefs are regarded as having the po- ties as colonial subjects in the United States;
tential to lead individuals to develop preju- this view leads unequivocally to nationalist
dice, defined as "negative attitudes towards solutions.2 Both perspectives contribute
an entire group of people" (Schaefer 1990: greatly to our understanding of racial phe-
53). Finally, these prejudicial attitudes may nomena by stressing the social and systemic
induce individuals to real actions or discrimi- nature of racism and the structured nature of
nation against racial minorities. This concep- White advantages. Furthermore, the effort of
tual framework, with minor modifications, the institutionalist perspective to uncover
prevails in the social sciences. contemporary mechanisms and practices that
Some alternative perspectives on racism reproduce White advantages is still empiri-
have closely followed the prevailing ideo- cally useful (e.g., Knowles and Prewitt
logical conceptualization in the social sci- 1969). Yet neither of these perspectives pro-
ences. For example, orthodox Marxists (Cox vides a rigorous conceptual framework that
1948; Perlo 1975; Szymanski 1981, 1983), allows analysts to study the operation of ra-
who regard class and class struggle as the cially stratified societies.
central explanatory variables of social life, The racial formation perspective (Omi and
reduce racism to a legitimating ideology used Winant 1986, 1994; Winant 1994) is the most
by the bourgeoisie to divide the working recent theoretical alternative to mainstream
class. Even neo-Marxists (Bonacich 1980a, idealist approaches. Omi and Winant (1994)
1980b; Carchedi 1987; Cohen 1989; Hall define racial formation as "the sociohistor-
1980; Miles 1989, 1993; Miles and ical process by which racial categories are
Phizacklea 1984; Solomos 1986, 1989; created, inhabited, transformed, and de-
Wolpe 1986, 1988) share to various degrees stroyed" (p. 55). In their view, race should
the limitations of the orthodox Marxist view: be regarded as an organizing principle of so-
the primacy of class, racism viewed as an cial relationships that shapes the identity of
ideology, and class dynamics as the real en- individual actors at the micro level and
gine of racial dynamics. For example, al- shapes all spheres of social life at the macro
though Bonacich's work provides an interest- level.
ing twist by regarding race relations and rac- Although this perspective represents a
ism as products of a split labor market, giv- breakthrough, it still gives undue attention to
ing theoretical primacy to divisions within ideological/cultural processes,3 does not re-
the working class, racial antagonisms are still gard races as truly social collectivities, and
regarded as byproducts of class dynamics. overemphasizes the racial projects (Omi and
Other scholars have advanced nonideo- Winant 1994; Winant 1994) of certain actors
logical interpretations of racism but have (neoconservatives, members of the far right,
stopped short of developing a structural liberals), thus obscuring the social and gen-
conceptualization of racial matters. From the eral character of racialized societies.
institutionalist perspective (Alvarez et al.
1979; Carmichael 1971; Carmichael and 2 Carmichael and Hamilton (1967) also advo-
Hamilton 1967; Chesler 1976; Knowles and cate nationalist strategies. Unlike other institu-

Prewitt 1969; Wellman 1977), racism is de- tionalists, however, they insist on the colonial re-
lationship of minorities to the majority in the
fined as a combination of prejudice and
United States.
power that allows the dominant race to insti-
3 In the most recent edition of Racial Forma-
tutionalize its dominance at all levels in a so-
tion in the United States, Omi and Winant (1994)
ciety. Similarly, from the internal colonial- move closer to a structural view, but they still re-
ism perspective (Barrera 1979; Blauner tain the ideological and juridico-political focus
1972; Moore 1970), racism is viewed as an that characterizes the original edition.

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RETHINKING RACISM: TOWARD A STRUCTURAL INTERPRETATION 467

In this paper I point out the limitations of paratus necessary to describe how this struc-
most contemporary frameworks used to ana- ture operates.
lyze racial issues and suggest an alternative Racism is ultimately viewed as a psycho-
structural theory built on some of the ideas logical phenomenon to be examined at the
and concepts elaborated by the institutional- individual level. The research agenda that
ist, the internal colonial, and the racial for- follows from this conceptualization is the ex-
mation perspectives. Although "racism" has amination of individuals' attitudes to deter-
a definite ideological component, reducing mine levels of racism in society (Schuman et
racial phenomena to ideas limits the possi- al. 1985; Sears 1988; Sniderman and Piazza
bility of understanding how it shapes a 1993). Given that the constructs used to mea-
race's life chances. Rather than viewing rac- sure racism are static-that is, that there are
ism as an all-powerful ideology that ex- a number of standard questions which do not
plains all racial phenomena in a society, I change significantly over time-this research
use the term racism only to describe the ra- usually finds that racism is declining in soci-
cial ideology of a racialized social system. ety. Those analysts who find that racist atti-
That is, racism is only part of a larger racial tudes are still with us usually leave unex-
system. plained why this is so (Sniderman and Piazza
1993).
This psychological understanding of rac-
LIMITATIONS OF MAINSTREAM
ism is related to the limitation I cited above.
IDEALIST VIEWS AND OF SOME
If racism is not part of a society but is a char-
ALTERNATIVE FRAMEWORKS
acteristic of individuals who are "racist" or
I describe below some of the main limita- "prejudiced"-that is, racism is a phenom-
tions of the idealist conception of racism. enon operating at the individual level-then
Because not all limitations apply to the insti- (1) social institutions cannot be racist and (2)
tutionalist, the internal colonialist, and the studying racism is simply a matter of survey-
racial formation perspectives, I point out the ing the proportion of people in a society who
ones that do apply, and to what extent. hold "racist" beliefs.
Racism is excluded from the foundation Orthodox Marxists (Cox 1948; Perlo 1975;
or structure of the social system. When rac- Szymanski 1983) and many neo-Marxists
ism is regarded as a baseless ideology ulti- (Miles 1993; Miles and Phizaclea 1984;
mately dependent on other, "real" forces in Solomos 1986) conceive of racism as an ide-
society, the structure of the society itself is ology that may affect members of the work-
not classified as racist. The Marxist perspec- ing class. Although the authors associated
tive is particularly guilty of this shortcoming.with the institutionalist, internal colonialist,
Although Marxists have addressed the ques- and racial formation perspectives focus on
tion of the historical origin of racism, they the ideological character of racism, they all
explain its reproduction in an idealist fash- emphasize how this ideology becomes en-
ion. Racism, in their accounts, is an ideol- meshed or institutionalized in organizations
ogy that emerged with chattel slavery and and social practices.
other forms of class oppression to justify the Racism is treated as a static phenomenon.
exploitation of people of color and survives The phenomenon is viewed as unchanging;
as a residue of the past. Although some that is, racism yesterday is like racism today.
Marxists have attempted to distance their Thus, when a society's racial structure and
analysis from this purely ideological view its customary racial practices are reartic-
(Solomos 1986; Wolpe 1988) and to ground ulated, this rearticulation is characterized as
racial phenomena in social relations, they do a decline in racism (Wilson 1978), a natural
so by ultimately subordinating racial matters process in a cycle (Park 1950), an example
to class matters. of increased assimilation (Rex 1973, 1986),
Even though the institutionalist, internal or effective "norm changes" (Schuman et al.
colonialism, and racial formation perspec- 1985). This limitation, which applies particu-
tives regard racism as a structural phenom- larly to social psychologists and Marxist
enon and provide some useful ideas and con- scholars, derives from not conceiving of rac-
cepts, they do not develop the theoretical ap- ism as possessing an independent structural

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 468 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

foundation. If racism is merely a matter of ies when racial practices were overt (e.g.,
ideas that has no material basis in contempo- slavery and apartheid), but problems in the
rary society, then those ideas should be simi- analysis of racism arise in situations where
lar to their original configuration, whatever racial practices are subtle, indirect, or fluid.
that was. The ideas may be articulated in a For instance, many analysts have suggested
different context, but most analysts essen- that in contemporary America racial prac-
tially believe that racist ideas remain the tices are manifested covertly (Bonilla-Silva
same. For this reason, with notable excep- and Lewis 1997; Wellman 1977) and racial
tions (Kinder and Sears 1981; Sears 1988), attitudes tend to be symbolic (Pettigrew
their attitudinal research is still based on re- 1994; Sears 1988). Therefore it is a waste of
sponses to questions developed in the 1940s, time to attempt to detect "racism" by asking
1950s, and 1960s. questions such as, "How strongly would you
Analysts defining racism in an idealist object if a member of your family wanted to
manner view racism as "incorrect" or "irra- bring a Black friend home to dinner?"4 Also,
tional thinking"; thus they label "racists" many such questions were developed to mea-
as irrational and rigid. Because racism is sure the extent of racist attitudes in the popu-
conceived of as a belief with no real social lation during the Jim Crow era of race rela-
basis, it follows that those who hold racist tions; they are not suitable for the post-1960s
views must be irrational or stupid (Adorno period.
1950; Allport 1958; Santa Cruz 1977; Snider- Furthermore, this emphasis on overt be-
man and Piazza 1993; for a critique see havior limits the possibility of analyzing ra-
Blauner 1972 and Wellman 1977). This view cial phenomena in other parts of the world
allows for a tactical distinction between indi- such as Brazil, Cuba, and Puerto Rico where
viduals with the "pathology" and social ac- race relations do not have an overt character.
tors who are "rational" and racism-free. The The form of race relations-overt or co-
problem with this rationalistic view is two- vert-depends on the pattern of racialization
fold. First, it misses the rational elements on that structures a particular society (Cox
which racialized systems originally were 1948; Harris 1964; Rex 1983; van den Ber-
built. Second, and more important, it neglects ghe 1967) and on how the process of racial
the possibility that contemporary racism still contestation and other social dynamics af-
has a rational foundation. In this account, fects that pattern (see the following section).
contemporary racists are perceived as Archie Contemporary racism is viewed as an ex-
Bunker-type individuals (Wellman 1977). pression of "original sin "-as a remnant of
Among the alternative frameworks re- past historical racial situations. In the case
viewed here, only orthodox Marxism insists of the United States, some analysts argue that
on the irrational and imposed character of racism preceded slavery and/or capitalism
racism. Neo-Marxists and authors associated (Jordan 1968; Marable 1983; Robinson
with the institutionalist, internal colonialist, 1983). Others regard racism in the United
and racial formation perspectives insist, to States as the result of slavery (Glazer and
varying degrees, on the rationality of racism. Moynihan 1970). Even in promising new av-
Neo-Marxists (e.g., Bonacich, Wolpe, Hall) enues of research, such as that presented by
and authors in the racial formation tradition Roediger (1991) in The Wages of Whiteness,
(e.g., Omi and Winant) acknowledge the contemporary racism is viewed as one of the
short-term advantages that workers gain"legacies from of white workerism" (p. 176). By
racism; the institutionalist and internal colo- considering racism as a legacy, all these ana-
nial paradigms emphasize the systematic and lysts downplay the significance of its con-
long-term character of these advantages. temporary materiality or structure.
Racism is understood as overt behavior. Again the Marxist perspective shares this
Because the idealist approach regards racism limitation. Marxists believe that racism de-
as "irrational" and "rigid," its manifestations veloped in the sixteenth century and has been
should be quite evident, usually involving used since then by capitalists or workers to
some degree of hostility. This does not
present serious analytical problems for the 4This question is used by NORC and has been
study of certain periods in racialized societ- employed by Schuman et al. (1985).

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RETHINKING RACISM: TOWARD A STRUCTURAL INTERPRETATION 469

further their own class interests. All other late two or more forms of hierarchical pat-
models recognize the historic significance of terns (Hall 1980; Williams 1990; Winant
this "discovery," but associate contemporary 1994).6 Although processes of racialization
racial ideology with contemporary racially are always embedded in other structurations
based inequalities. (Balibar and Wallerstein 1991), they acquire
Racism is analyzed in a circular manner. autonomy and have "pertinent effects"
"If racism is defined as the behavior that re- (Poulantzas 1982) in the social system. This
sults from the belief, its discovery becomes implies that the phenomenon which is coded
ensnared in a circularity-racism is a belief as racism and is regarded as a free-floating
that produces behavior, which is itself rac- ideology in fact has a structural foundation.
ism" (Webster 1992:84). Racism is estab- In all racialized social systems the place-
lished by racist behavior, which itself is ment of people in racial categories involves
proved by the existence of racism. This cir- some form of hierarchy7 that produces defi-
cularity results from not grounding racism in nite social relations between the races. The
social relations among the races. If racism, race placed in the superior position tends to
viewed as an ideology, were seen as possess- receive greater economic remuneration and
ing a structural5 foundation, its examination
access to better occupations and/or prospects
could be associated with racial practices in the labor market, occupies a primary posi-
rather than with mere ideas and the problem
of circularity would be avoided.
6 Some potentially useful conceptions about the
interaction of race, class, and gender (the primary
RACIALIZED SOCIAL SYSTEMS: axes of social hierarchy in modern societies) are
AN ALTERNATIVE FRAMEWORK Segura's (1990) "triple oppression" and Essed's
(1991) analysis of "gendered racism." Also see
FOR UNDERSTANDING RACIAL
Andersen and Hill Collins (1995) and Fraser
PHENOMENA
(1989).
Because all kinds of racial matters have been 7 This argument applies only to racialized so-
explained as a product of racism, I propose cial systems. In contrast, ethnic situations need

the more general concept of racialized social not be based on relations between superiors and
subordinates, as is the case between the Fur and
systems as the starting point for an alterna-
the Baggara in western Sudan (Barth 1969), the
tive framework. This term refers to societies
various ethnic groups in Switzerland (Hunt and
in which economic, political, social, and
Walker 1974), the Tungus and the Cossacks in
ideological levels are partially structured by Siberia (Berry 1965), the Lake Zwai Laki and the
the placement of actors in racial categories Arsi in Ethiopia (Knutson 1969), and certain
or races. Races typically are identified by mountain tribes and the Thai in Laos (Izikowitz
their phenotype, but (as we see later) the se- 1969). Certainly, ethnic situations can be con-
lection of certain human traits to designate a flictual and hierarchical, as illustrated by the

racial group is always socially rather than Tutsis and the Hutus in Rwanda or the conflict
between Serbians, Croatians, and Bosnians in
biologically based.
what was once Yugoslavia. The point is that eth-
These systems are structured partially by
nicity and race are different bases for group asso-
race because modern social systems articu-
ciation. Ethnicity has a primarily sociocultural
foundation, and ethnic groups have exhibited tre-
5 By structure I mean, following Whitmeyer mendous malleability in terms of who belongs
(1994), "the networks of interactionall) relation- (Barth 1969; Leach [1954] 1964); racial ascrip-
ships among actors as well as the distributions of tions (initially) are imposed externally to justify
socially meaningful characteristics of actors and the collective exploitation of a people and are
aggregates of actors" (p. 154). For similar but maintained to preserve status differences. Hence
more complex conceptions of the term, which are scholars have pointed out that despite the simi-
relational and incorporate the agency of actors, larities between race and ethnicity, they should be
see Bourdieu (1984) and Sewell (1992). I reserve viewed as producing different types of struc-
the term material to refer to the economic, social, turations (Balibar and Wallerstein 1991; Cox
political, or ideological rewards or penalties re- 1948; Rex 1973; van den Berghe 1967; Wilson
ceived by social actors for their participation 1973). On this point see Horowitz (1985),
(whether willing, unwilling, or indifferent) in so- Schermerhorn (1970), and Shibutani and Kwan
cial structural arrangements. (1965).

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 470 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

tion in the political system, is granted higher collective and shaped by the field of real
social estimation (e.g., is viewed as "smarter" practical alternatives, which is itself rooted
or "better looking"), often has the license to in the power struggles between the races.10
draw physical (segregation) as well as social Although the objective general interests of
(racial etiquette) boundaries between itself races may ultimately lie in the complete
and other races, and receives what DuBois elimination of a society's racial structure, its
(1939) calls a "psychological wage" (Mar- array of alternatives may not include that
able 1983; Roediger 1991).8 The totality of possibility. For instance, the historical
these racialized social relations and practices struggle against chattel slavery led not to the
constitutes the racial structure of a society. development of race-free societies but to the
Although all racialized social systems are establishment of social systems with a dif-
hierarchical, the particular character of the ferent kind of racialization. Race-free soci-
hierarchy, and thus of the racial structure, is eties were not among the available alterna-
variable. For example, domination of Blacks tives because the nonslave populations had
in the United States was achieved through the capacity to preserve some type of racial
dictatorial means during slavery, but in the privilege. The historical "exceptions" oc-
post-civil rights period this domination has curred in racialized societies in which the
been hegemonic (Omi and Winant 1994; nonslaves' power was almost completely su-
Winant 1994).9 Similarly, the racial practices perseded by that of the slave population."I
and mechanisms that have kept Blacks subor- A simple criticism of the argument ad-
dinated changed from overt and eminently vanced so far would be that it ignores the in-
racist to covert and indirectly racist (Bonilla- ternal divisions of the races along class and
Silva and Lewis 1997). The unchanging ele- gender lines. Such criticism, however, does
ment throughout these stages is that Blacks' not deal squarely with the issue at hand. The
life chances are significantly lower than those fact that not all members of the superordinate
of Whites, and ultimately a racialized social race receive the same level of rewards and
order is distinguished by this difference in life (conversely) that not all members of the sub-
chances. Generally, the more dissimilar the ordinate race or races are at the bottom of the
races' life chances, the more racialized the social order does not negate the fact that
social system, and vice versa. races, as social groups, are in either a super-
Insofar as the races receive different social ordinate or a subordinate position in a social
rewards at all levels, they develop dissimilar system. Historically the racialization of so-
objective interests, which can be detected in cial systems did not imply the exclusion of
their struggles to either transform or main- other forms of oppression. In fact, racial-
tain a particular racial order. These interests ization occurred in social formations also
are collective rather than individual, are structured by class and gender. Hence, in
based on relations between races rather than these societies, the racial structuration of sub-
on particular group needs, and are not struc- jects is fragmented along class and gender
tural but practical; that is, they are related to lines. 12 The important question-which inter-
concrete struggles rather than derived from
I Power is defined here as a racial group's ca-
the location of the races in the racial struc-
pacity to push for its racial interests in relation to
ture. In other words, although the races' in- other races.
terests can be detected from their practices, I I am referring to cases such as Haiti. None-
they are not subjective and individual but theless, recent research has suggested that even
in such places, the abolition of slavery did not end
8 Herbert Blumer was one of the first analysts
the racialized character of the social formation
to make this argument about systematic rewards (Trouillot 1990).
received by the race ascribed the primary posi- 12 Some authors have developed notions com-
tion in a racial order. Blumer (1955) summarized bining racial/ethnic positions with class. Gordon
these views in his essay "Reflections on Theory (1964) developed the concept of "ethclass" but
of Race Relations." Also see the works of Blalock assumed that this was a temporary phenomenon.
(1967), Schermerhorn (1970), Shibutani and Geschwender (1977) transformed the notion into
Kwan (1965), and van den Berghe (1967). the concept of race-class, defined as "a social col-
9 Hegemonic means that domination is lectivity comprised of persons who are simulta-
achieved more through consent than by coercion. neously members of the same class and the same

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RETHINKING RACISM: TOWARD A STRUCTURAL INTERPRETATION 471

ests move actors to struggle?-is historically at least the class of persons' family of ori-
contingent and cannot be ascertained a priori gin). By doing this, analysts assume they can
(Anthias and Yuval-Davis 1992; Wolpe measure the unadulterated effects of "dis-
1988). Depending on the character of raciali- crimination" manifested in unexplained "re-
zation in a social order, class interests may siduals" (Farley 1984, 1993; Farley and
take precedence over racial interests as they Allen 1987). Despite its usefulness, however,
do in contemporary Brazil, Cuba, and Puerto this technique provides only a partial account
Rico. In other situations, racial interests may of the "race effect" because (1) a significant
take precedence over class interests as in the amount of racial data cannot be retrieved
case of Blacks throughout U.S. history. through surveys and (2) the technique of
In general, the systemic salience of class "controlling for" a variable neglects the ob-
in relation to race increases when the eco- vious-why a group is over- or underrepre-
nomic, political, and social distance between sented in certain categories of the control
races decreases substantially. Yet this broad variables in the first place (Whatley and
argument generates at least one warning: The Wright 1994). Moreover, these analysts pre-
narrowing of within-class differences be- sume that it is possible to analyze the amount
tween racial actors usually causes more of discrimination in one domain (e.g., in-
rather than less racial conflict, at least in the come, occupational status) "without analyz-
short run, as the competition for resources ing the extent to which discrimination also
increases (Blalock 1967; Olzak 1992). More affects the factors they hold constant" (Reich
significantly, even when class-based conflict 1978:383). Hence to evaluate "race effects"
becomes more salient in a social order, the in any domain, analysts must attempt to
racial component survives until the races' life make sense of their findings in relation to a
chances are equalized and the mechanisms race's standing on other domains.
and social practices that produce those dif- But what is the nature of races or, more
ferences are eliminated. Hence societies in properly, of racialized social groups? Omi
which race has declined in significance, such and Winant (1986; also see Miles 1989) state
as Brazil, Cuba, and Mexico, still have a ra- that races are the outcome of the racialization
cial problem insofar as the racial groups have process, which they define as "the extension
different life chances. of racial meaning to a previously racially un-
Because racial actors are also classed and classified relationship, social practice or
gendered, analysts must control for class and group" (p. 64). Historically the classification
for gender to ascertain the material advan- of a people in racial terms has been a highly
tages enjoyed by a dominant race. In a racial- political act associated with practices such as
ized society such as ours, the independent conquest and colonization, enslavement, pe-
effects of race are assessed by analysts who onage, indentured servitude, and, more re-
(1) compare data between Whites and non- cently, colonial and neocolonial labor immi-
Whites in the same class and gender posi- gration. Categories such as "Indians" and
tions, (2) evaluate the proportion as well as "Negroes" were invented (Allen 1994; Berk-
the general character of the races' participa- hoffer 1978; Jordan 1968) in the sixteenth
tion in some domain of life, and (3) examine and seventeenth centuries to justify the con-
racial data at all levels-social, political, quest and exploitation of various peoples.
economic, and ideological-to ascertain the The invention of such categories entails a
general position of racial groups in a social dialectical process of construction; that is,
system. the creation of a category of "other" involves
The first of these procedures has become the creation of a category of "same." If "In-
standard practice in sociology. No serious dians" are depicted as "savages," Europeans
sociologist would present racial statistics are characterized as "civilized"; if "Blacks"
without controlling for gender and class (or are defined as natural candidates for slavery,
"Whites" are defined as free subjects (Goss-
race" (p. 221; also see Barrera 1979:174-279).
ett 1963; Roediger 1991, 1994; Todorov
Geschwender, however, views racial interests as 1984). Yet although the racialization of
somewhat less "objective" and less "fundamen- peoples was socially invented and did not
tal" than class interests. override previous forms of social distinction

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 472 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

based on class or gender, it did not lead to position assigned to races in the racial struc-
imaginary relations but generated new forms ture are always contested (Gilroy 1991).
of human association with definite status dif- What and who is to be Black or White or In-
ferences. After the process of attaching dian reflects and affects the social, political,
meaning to a "people" is instituted, race be- ideological, and economic struggles between
comes a real category of group association the races. The global effects of these
and identity.'3 struggles can change the meaning of the ra-
Because racial classifications partially or- cial categories as well as the position of a
ganize and limit actors' life chances, racial racialized group in a social formation.
practices of opposition emerge. Regardless This latter point is illustrated clearly by the
of the form of racial interaction (overt, co- historical struggles of several "White ethnic"
vert, or inert), races can be recognized in the groups in the United States in their efforts to
realm of racial relations and positions. become accepted as legitimate Whites or
Viewed in this light, races are the effect of "Americans" (Litwack 1961; Roediger 1991;
racial practices of opposition ("we" versus Saxton 1990; Williams 1990). Neither light-
"them") at the economic, political, social, skinned-nor, for that matter, dark-
and ideological levels.14 skinned-immigrants necessarily came to
Races, as most social scientists acknowl- this country as members of race X or race Y.
edge, are not biologically but socially deter- Light-skinned Europeans, after brief periods
mined categories of identity and group asso- of being "not-yet White" (Roediger 1994),
ciation.15 In this regard, they are analogous became "White," but they did not lose their
to class and gender (Amott and Matthaei "ethnic" character. Their struggle for inclu-
1991). Actors in racial positions do not oc- sion had specific implications: racial inclu-
cupy those positions because they are of X sion as members of the White community al-
or Y race, but because X or Y has been so- lowed Americanization and class mobility.
cially defined as a race. Actors' phenotypical On the other hand, among dark-skinned im-
(i.e., biologically inherited) characteristics, migrants from Africa, Latin America, and the
such as skin tone and hair color and texture, Caribbean, the struggle was to avoid classifi-
are usually, although not always (Barth 1969; cation as "Black." These immigrants chal-
Miles 1993), used to denote racial distinc- lenged the reclassification of their identity
tions. For example, Jews in many European for a simple reason: In the United States
nations (Miles 1989, 1993) and the Irish in "Black" signified a subordinate status in so-
England have been treated as racial groups ciety. Hence many of these groups struggled
(Allen 1994). Also, Indians in the United to keep their own ethnic or cultural identity,
States have been viewed as one race despite as denoted in expressions such as "I am not
the tremendous phenotypical and cultural Black; I am Jamaican," or "I am not Black; I
variation among tribes. Because races are so- am Senegalese" (Kasinitz and Freidenberg-
cially constructed, both the meaning and the Herbstein 1987; Rodriguez 1991; Sutton and
Makiesky-Barrow 1987). Yet eventually
13 This point has been stressed by many social
many of these groups resolved this contradic-
analysts since Barth's (1969) crucial work con-
tory situation by accepting the duality of
ceiving of ethnicity as a form of social organiza-
their social classification as Black in the
tion.
14 This last point is an extension of Poul- United States while retaining and nourishing
antzas's view on class. Races (as classes) are not their own cultural or ethnic heritage-a heri-
an "empirical thing"; they denote racialized so- tage deeply influenced by African traditions.
cial relations or racial practices at all levels Although the content of racial categories
(Poulantzas 1982:67). changes over time through manifold pro-
15 Weber ([1920] 1978) made one of the earli- cesses and struggles, race is not a secondary
est statements of this view. He regarded race and
category of group association. The meaning
ethnicity as "presumed identities" in which the
of Black and White, the "racial formation"
actors attached subjective meanings to so-called
(Omi and Winant 1986), changes within the
common traits. Leach ([1954] 1964), in his study
of the Kachin in highland Burma, was one of the larger racial structure. This does not mean
first social scientists to illustrate the malleability that the racial structure is immutable and
of ethnic boundaries. completely independent of the action of

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RETHINKING RACISM: TOWARD A STRUCTURAL INTERPRETATION 473

racialized actors. It means only that the so- superordination between the races. The avail-
cial relations between the races become in- able evidence suggests that racialized social
stitutionalized (forming a structure as well as orders emerged after the imperialist expan-
a culture) and affect their social life whether sion of Europe to the New World and Africa
individual members of the races want it or (Boggs 1970; Cox 1948; Furnivall 1948;
not. In Barth's words (1969), "Ethnic iden- Magubane 1990; E. Williams [1944] 1961;
tity implies a series of constraints on the R. Williams 1990).
kinds of roles an individual is allowed to play What are the dynamics of racial issues in
[and] is similar to sex and rank, in that it con- racialized systems? Most important, after a
strains the incumbent in all his activities" (p. social formation is racialized, its "normal"
17). For instance, free Blacks during the sla- dynamics always include a racial component.
very period struggled to change the meaning Societal struggles based on class or gender
of "blackness," and specifically to dissociate contain a racial component because both of
it from slavery. Yet they could not escape the these social categories are also racialized;
larger racial structure that restricted their life that is, both class and gender are constructed
chances and their freedom (Berlin 1975; along racial lines. In 1922, for example,
Franklin 1974; Meir and Rudwick 1970). White South African workers in the middle
The placement of groups of people in ra- of a strike inspired by the Russian revolution
cial categories stemmed initially'6 from the rallied under the slogan "Workers of the
interests of powerful actors in the social sys- world unite for a White South Africa." One
tem (e.g., the capitalist class, the planter of the state's "concessions" to this "class"
class, colonizers). After racial categories struggle was the passage of the Apprentice-
were used to organize social relations in a so- ship Act of 1922, "which prevented Black
ciety, however, race became an independent workers acquiring apprenticeships" (Ticktin
element of the operation of the social system 1991:26). In another example, the struggle of
(Stone 1985). women in the United States to attain their
Here I depart from analysts such as Jordan civil and human rights has always been
(1968), Robinson (1983), and Miles (1989, plagued by deep racial tensions (Caraway
1993), who take the mere existence of a ra- 1991; Giddings 1984).
cial discourse as manifesting the presence of Nonetheless, some of the strife that exists
a racial order. Such a position allows them to in a racialized social formation has a distinct
speak of racism in medieval times (Jordan) racial character; I call such strife "racial con-
and to classify the antipeasant views of testation"-the struggle of racial groups for
French urbanites (Miles) or the prejudices of systemic changes regarding their position at
the aristocracy against peasants in the Middle one or more levels. Such a struggle may be
Ages (Robinson) as expressions of racism. In social (Who can be here? Who belongs
my view, we can speak of racialized orders here?), political (Who can vote? How much
only when a racial discourse is accompanied power should they have? Should they be citi-
by social relations of subordination and zens?), economic (Who should work, and
what should they do? They are taking our
jobs!), or ideological (Black is beautiful! The
16 The motivation for racializing human rela-
tions may have originated in the interests of pow-
term designating people of African descent
erful actors, but after social systems are in the United States has changed from Negro
racialized, all members of the dominant race par- to Black to African American).
ticipate in defending and reproducing the racial Although much of this contestation is ex-
structure. This is the crucial reason why Marxist pressed at the individual level and is dis-
analysts (Cox 1948; Reich 1981) have not been jointed, sometimes it becomes collective and
successful in analyzing racism. They have not general, and can effect meaningful systemic
been able to accept the fact that after the phenom-
changes in a society's racial organization.
enon originated with the expansion of European
The form of contestation may be relatively
capitalism into the New World, it acquired a life
passive and subtle (e.g., in situations of fun-
of its own. The subjects who were racialized as
belonging to the superior race, whether or not damental overt racial domination, such as sla-
they were members of the dominant class, be- very and apartheid) or more active and more
came zealous defenders of the racial order. overt (e.g., in quasi-democratic situations

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 474 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

such as the contemporary United States). As 1993). Racism crystallizes the changing
a rule, however, fundamental changes in "dogma" on which actors in the social sys-
racialized social systems are accompanied by tem operate (Gilroy 1991), and becomes
struggles that reach the point of overt pro- "common sense" (Omi and Winant 1994); it
test.17 This does not mean that a violent ra- provides the rules for perceiving and dealing
cially based revolution is the only way of ac- with the "other" in a racialized society. In the
complishing effective changes in the relative United States, for instance, because racial
position of racial groups. It is a simple exten- notions about what Blacks and Whites are or
sion of the argument that social systems and ought to be pervade their encounters, Whites
their supporters must be "shaken" if funda- still have difficulty in dealing with Black
mental transformations are to take place.'8 bankers, lawyers, professors, and doctors
On this structural foundation rests the phe- (Cose 1993; Graham 1995). Thus, although
nomenon labeled racism by social scientists. racist ideology is ultimately false, it fulfills a
I reserve the term racism (racial ideology) practical role in racialized societies.
for the segment of the ideological structure At this point it is possible to sketch the el-
of a social system that crystallizes racial no- ements of the alternative framework pre-
tions and stereotypes. Racism provides the sented here. First, racialized social systems
rationalizations for social, political, and eco- are societies that allocate differential eco-
nomic interactions between the races (Bobo nomic, political, social, and even psychologi-
1988). Depending on the particular character cal rewards to groups along racial lines; lines
of a racialized social system and on the that are socially constructed. After a society
struggles of the subordinated races, racial becomes racialized, a set of social relations
ideology may be developed highly (as in and practices based on racial distinctions de-
apartheid), or loosely (as in slavery), and its velops at all societal levels. I designate the
content can be expressed in overt or covert aggregate of those relations and practices as
terms (Bobo and Smith forthcoming; the racial structure of a society. Second,
Jackman 1994; Kinder and Sears 1981; Petti- races historically are constituted according to
grew 1994; Sears 1988). the process of racialization; they become the
Although racism or racial ideology origi- effect of relations of opposition between
nates in race relations, it acquires relative racialized groups at all levels of a social for-
autonomy in the social system and performs mation. Third, on the basis of this structure,
practical functions.)9 In Gilroy's (1991) there develops a racial ideology (what ana-
words, racial ideology "mediates the world lysts have coded as racism). This ideology is
of agents and the structures which are cre- not simply a "superstructural" phenomenon
ated by their social praxis" (p. 17; also see (a mere reflection of the racialized system),
Omi and Winant 1994; van Dijk 1984, 1987, but becomes the organizational map that
guides actions of racial actors in society. It
17This argument is not new. Analysts of the becomes as real as the racial relations it or-
racial history of the United States have always
ganizes. Fourth, most struggles in a racial-
pointed out that most of the significant historical
ized social system contain a racial compo-
changes in this country's race relations were ac-
nent, but sometimes they acquire and/or ex-
companied by some degree of overt violence
hibit a distinct racial character. Racial con-
(Button 1989; Cruse 1968; Franklin 1974; Mar-
able 1983). testation is the logical outcome of a society
IX This point is important in literature on revo- with a racial hierarchy. A social formation
lutions and democracy. On the role of violence in that includes some form of racialization will
the establishment of bourgeois democracies, see always exhibit some form of racial contesta-
Moore (1966). On the role of violence in social tion. Finally, the process of racial contesta-
movements leading to change, see Piven and tion reveals the different objective interests
Cloward (1979) and Tilly (1978).
of the races in a racialized system.
19 The notion of relative autonomy comes from
the work of Poulantzas (1982) and implies that
the ideological and political levels in a society are CONCLUSION
partially autonomous in relation to the economic
level; that is, they are not merely expressions of My central argument is that racism, as de-
the economic level. fined by mainstream social scientists to con-

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RETHINKING RACISM: TOWARD A STRUCTURAL INTERPRETATION 475

sist only of ideas, does not provide adequate or from racism (conceived of as a free-float-
theoretical foundation for understanding ra- ing ideology), we can trace cultural, politi-
cial phenomena. I suggest that until a struc- cal, economic, social, and even psychologi-
tural framework is developed, analysts will cal racial phenomena to the racial organiza-
be entangled in ungrounded ideological tion of that society.
views of racism. Lacking a structural view, The changing nature of what analysts la-
they will reduce racial phenomena to a deri- bel "racism" is explained as the normal
vation of the class structure (as do Marxist outcome of racial contestation in a racial-
interpreters) or will view these phenomena as ized social system. In this framework,
the result of an irrational ideology (as do changes in racism are explained rather than
mainstream social scientists). Although oth- described. Changes are due to specific
ers have attempted to develop a structural struggles at different levels among the races,
understanding of racial matters (such as au- resulting from differences in interests. Such
thors associated with the institutionalist, in- changes may transform the nature of racial-
ternal colonial, and racial formation perspec- ization and the global character of racial re-
tives) and/or to write about racial matters as lations in the system (the racial structure).
structural (Bobo and Smith forthcoming; Therefore, change is viewed as a normal
Cose 1993; Essed 1991; Feagin and Feagin component of the racialized system.
1993; Page 1996; van Dijk 1993), they have The framework of racialization allows
failed to elaborate a framework that extends analysts to explain overt as well as covert
beyond their critique of mainstream views. racial behavior. The covert or overt nature of
In the alternative framework developed racial contacts depends on how the process
here, I suggest that racism should be studied of racialization is manifested; this in turns
from the viewpoint of racialization. I contend depends on how race originally was articu-
that after a society becomes racialized, lated in a social formation and on the process
racialization develops a life of its own.20 Al- of racial contestation. This point implies that
though it interacts with class and gender rather than conceiving of racism as a univer-
structurations in the social system, it be- sal and uniformly orchestrated phenomenon,
comes an organizing principle of social rela- analysts should study "historically-specific
tions in itself (Essed 1991; Omi and Winant racisms" (Hall 1980:336). This insight is not
1986; Robinson 1983; van Dijk 1987). Race, new; Robert Park (1950) and Oliver Cox
as most analysts suggest, is a social con- (1948) and Marvin Harris (1964) described
struct, but that construct, like class and gen- varieties of "situations of race relations" with
der, has independent effects in social life. distinct forms of racial interaction.
After racial stratification is established, race Racially motivated behavior, whether or
becomes an independent criterion for verti- not the actors are conscious of it, is re-
cal hierarchy in society. Therefore different garded as "rational"-that is, as based on
races experience positions of subordination the races' different interests.21 This frame-
and superordination in society and develop work accounts for Archie Bunker-type racial
different interests. behavior as well as for more "sophisticated"
The alternative framework for studying ra- varieties of racial conduct. Racial phenom-
cial orders presented here has the following ena are viewed as systemic; therefore all ac-
advantages over traditional views of racism: tors in the system participate in racial affairs.
Racial phenomena are regarded as the Some members of the dominant racial group
"normal" outcome of the racial structure of tend to exhibit less virulence toward mem-
a society. Thus we can account for all racial bers of the subordinated races because they
manifestations. Instead of explaining racial have greater control over the form and the
phenomena as deriving from other structures outcome of their racial interactions. When

2( Historian Eugene Genovese (1971) makes

21aActions by the Ku Klux Klan have an un-
similar argument. Although he still regards rac- mistakably racial tone, but many other actions
ism as an ideology, he states that once it "arises (choosing to live in a suburban neighborhood,
it alters profoundly the material reality and in fact sending one's children to a private school, or op-
becomes a partially autonomous feature of that posing government intervention in hiring poli-
reality" (p. 340). cies) also have racial undertones.

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 476 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

they cannot control that interaction-as in tion. Stereotypes that do not tend to reflect a
the case of revolts, general threats to Whites, group's situation do not work and are bound
Blacks moving into "their" neighborhood- to disappear: For example, notions of the
they behave much like other members of the Irish as stupid or of Jews as athletically tal-
dominant race. ented have all but vanished since the 1940s,
The reproduction of racial phenomena in as the Irish moved up the educational ladder
contemporary societies is explained in this and Jews gained access to multiple routes to
framework, not by reference to a long-dis- social mobility. Generally, then, stereotypes
tant past, but in relation to its contemporary are reproduced because they reflect the
structure. Because racism is viewed as sys- group's distinct position and status in soci-
temic (possessing a racial structure) and as ety. As a corollary, racial or ethnic notions
organized around the races' different inter- about a group disappear only when the
ests, racial aspects of social systems today group's status mirrors that of the dominant
are viewed as fundamentally related to hier- racial or ethnic group in the society.
archical relations between the races in those The framework developed here is not a
systems. Elimination of the racialized char- universal theory explaining racial phenom-
acter of a social system entails the end of ena in societies. It is intended to trigger a se-
racialization, and hence of races altogether. rious discussion of how race shapes social
This argument clashes with social scientists' systems. Moreover, the important question of
most popular policy prescription for "curing" how race interacts and intersects with class
racism, namely education. This "solution" is and gender has not yet been addressed satis-
the logical outcome of defining racism as a factorily. Provisionally I argue that a
belief. Most analysts regard racism as a mat- nonfunctionalist reading of the concept of
ter of individuals subscribing to an irrational social system may give us clues for compre-
view, thus the cure is educating them to real- hending societies "structured in dominance"
ize that racism is wrong. Education is also (Hall 1980). If societies are viewed as sys-
the choice "pill" prescribed by Marxists for tems that articulate different structures (or-
healing workers from racism. The alternative ganizing principles on which sets of social
theorization offered here implies that be- relations are systematically patterned), it is
cause the phenomenon has structural conse- possible to claim that race-as well as gen-
quences for the races, the only way to "cure" der-has both individual and combined (in-
society of racism is by eliminating its sys- teraction) effects in society.
temic roots. Whether this can be accom- To test the usefulness of racialization as a
plished democratically or only through revo- theoretical basis for research, we must per-
lutionary means is an open question, and one form comparative work on racialization in
that depends on the particular racial structure various societies. One of the main objectives
of the society in question. of this comparative work should be to deter-
A racialization framework accounts for mine whether societies have specific mecha-
the ways in which racial/ethnic stereotypes nisms, practices, and social relations that
emerge, are transformed, and disappear. produce and reproduce racial inequality at all
Racial stereotypes are crystallized at the levels-that is, whether they possess a racial
ideological level of a social system. These structure. I believe, for example, that the per-
images ultimately indicate (although in dis- sistent inequality experienced by Blacks and
torted ways) and justify the stereotyped other racial minorities in the United States
group's position in a society. Stereotypes today is due to the continued existence of a
may originate out of (1) material realities or racial structure (Bonilla-Silva and Lewis
conditions endured by the group, (2) genu- 1997). In contrast to race relations in the Jim
ine ignorance about the group, or (3) rigid, Crow period, however, racial practices that
distorted views on the group's physical, cul- reproduce racial inequality in contemporary
tural, or moral nature. Once they emerge, America (1) are increasingly covert, (2) are
however, stereotypes must relate-although embedded in normal operations of institu-
not necessarily fit perfectly-to the group's tions, (3) avoid direct racial terminology, and
true social position in the racialized system (4) are invisible to most Whites. By examin-
if they are to perform their ideological func- ing whether other countries have practices

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RETHINKING RACISM: TOWARD A STRUCTURAL INTERPRETATION 477

and mechanisms that account for the persis- lumnbus to the Present. New York: Vintage.
tent inequality experienced by their racial Berlin, Ira. 1975. Slaves without Masters: The
Free Negro in Antebellum South. New York:
minorities, analysts could assess the useful-
Pantheon.
ness of the framework I have introduced.
Berry, Brewton. 1965. Race and Ethnic Rela-
tions. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva is Assistant Professor of
Blalock, Hubert M., Jr. 1967. Toward a Theory
Sociology and African American Studies at the
of Minority-Group Relations. New York: John
University of Michigan. He is working on two
Wiley and Sons.
books, one titled Squatters, Politics, and State
Blauner, Robert. 1972. Racial Oppression in
Responses: The Political Economy of Squatters
America. New York: Harper and Row.
in Puerto Rico, and the other The New Racism:
Blumer, Herbert G. 1955. "Reflections on Theory
Toward an Analysis of the U.S. Racial Structure,
of Race Relations." Pp. 3-21 in Race Relations
1960s-1 990s. Currently he is exploring post-civil
in World Perspective, edited by A. W. Lind.
rights White ideology in an article titled "'I Am
Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press.
Not a Racist But. . .': An Examination of White
Bobo, Lawrence. 1988. "Group Conflict, Preju-
Racial Attitudes in the Post-Civil Rights Period. "
dice and the Paradox of Contemporary Racial
Attitudes." Pp. 85-114 in Eliminating Racism:

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