The End of Lace Politics: Key Terms (Video Notes)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture notes on race, anti-racism, and neoracism.

Race

A social construct inspired by a natural genetic variation; not purely natural or purely social; boundaries are blurry and policy and social perception shape its meaning.

Natural concepts

Concepts that map onto nature with high precision (e.g., mass, tree).

Social construct

A concept created to achieve social goals, not to describe nature (e.g., weeks, calendars).

Hybrid concept of race

Race is a social construct inspired by a natural phenomenon (genetic clustering) but not defined solely by biology.

Month (as a social construct)

A unit of time not dictated by nature alone but created to coordinate society, loosely tied to the lunar cycle.

One-drop rule

A historic rule assigning someone to the 'black' category if they have any black ancestry, used to uphold racial segregation.

Canonical race categories

Five categories used in policy: Black, Hispanic, White, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American/Alaska Native; defined for administrative purposes, not precise science.

Arbitrariness of race

Race categories are often arbitrary and not scientifically grounded; evidenced by questions of who counts as which category.

Christine Combs vs. SBA

A case where Combs was denied Hispanic status due to lack of discrimination proof, illustrating the vagueness of Hispanic eligibility.

Steve Lynn vs. SBA

Lynn was classified as Hispanic due to Spanish ancestry (Sephardic Jewish heritage) after appeal; shows breadth of 'Hispanic' under law.

Kao Lee Yang case

Hmong student denied a fellowship for being 'not underrepresented' because she was categorized under the broad 'Asian' group rather than as Hmong.

Asian category disparity

The Asian category encompasses diverse groups with wide income and education gaps (e.g., Indians vs Bhutanese).

Proxy for disadvantage

Using race as a stand-in for disadvantage is flawed; socioeconomic status (income/wealth) is a more accurate proxy.

Hispanic as ethnicity vs race

Hispanic can be treated as ethnicity or race; classification is inconsistent and affects policy, with cross-country examples.

Neoracism

A modern form of racism that treats race as deeply important for society, but justifies outcomes through perceived historical injustices; enforces race-related rules.

Old-school racism

Racist ideologies based on biology/genetics; the historical antecedent to neoracism.

Stereotype / Heuristic

A mental shortcut about groups; can reflect averages but reduces individuals to group traits and provokes anger or injustice.

Robin DiAngelo (less white)

Neoracist stance that whiteness is linked to oppression and should be diminished; uses broad racial stereotypes about whiteness.

Ibram X. Kendi (power construct)

View that race is a social construct with power dynamics; emphasizes how power shapes racial understandings.

King’s content of character

Core Civil Rights idea: people should be judged by character, not skin color; supports a colorblind approach.

Zora Neale Hurston on race

Argued that race does not drive achievement; individuals’ efforts and talents matter more than racial categories.

The colorblind principle

Treat people without regard to race in public policy and private life; not ignoring race but not using it as a basis for unequal treatment.

Colorblindness in practice

Not literal blindness to race, but a deliberate stance to disregard race as a criterion for policy decisions.

War on colorblindness

Public and media pushback against colorblindness; high-profile cases (Blood Heir, Blood Heir controversy, public figures) critique colorblindness as harmful.