Racial Resentment in the Political Mind

Darren W. Davis; David C. Wilson

Published by University of Chicago Press 2022

Racial Resentment in the Political Mind

Darren W. Davis and David C. Wilson

https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226814704

Overview
Contents

About this book

A thought-provoking look at how racial resentment, rather than racial prejudice alone, motivate a growing resistance among whites to improve the circumstances faced by racial minorities.

In Racial Resentment in the Political Mind, Darren W. Davis and David C. Wilson challenge the commonly held notion that all racial negativity, disagreements, and objections to policies that seek to help racial minorities stem from racial prejudice. They argue that racial resentment arises from just-world beliefs and appraisals of deservingness that help explain the persistence of racial inequality in America in ways more consequential than racism or racial prejudice alone.

The culprits, as many White people see it, are undeserving people of color, who are perceived to benefit unfairly from, and take advantage of, resources that come at Whites’ expense—a worldview in which any attempt at modest change is seen as a challenge to the status quo and privilege. Yet, as Davis and Wilson reveal, many Whites have become racially resentful due to their perceptions that African Americans skirt the “rules of the game” and violate traditional values by taking advantage of unearned resources. Resulting attempts at racial progress lead Whites to respond in ways that retain their social advantage—opposing ameliorative policies, minority candidates, and other advancement on racial progress. Because racial resentment is rooted in beliefs about justice, fairness, and deservingness, ordinary citizens, who may not harbor racist motivations, may wind up in the same political position as racists, but for different reasons.

Author / Editor information

Darren W. Davis is the Snyder Family Mission Professor at the University of Notre Dame. He is coauthor of Perseverance in the Parish? Religious Attitudes from a Black Catholic Perspective and Negative Liberty: Public Opinion and the Terrorist Attacks on America. David C. Wilson is professor of political science and psychological and brain sciences at the University of Delaware and senior associate dean for the social sciences.

Reviews

“In this timely contribution, Davis and Wilson set out to update and refine a core idea in the study of racial attitudes over the last few decades: racial resentment. Their work fills a long-standing gap in the literature on racial attitudes, and it will be of great interest to all those interested in American politics, political psychology, and the study of race, ethnicity, and politics.”

— Christopher M. Federico, University of Minnesota

“Racial Resentment in the Political Mind is a masterful recasting of racial resentment from an exclusive focus on Whites’ prejudice toward Blacks to a broader, richer concept focusing on feelings of injustice among Blacks as well as Whites. Based on a thoroughly updated theoretical and political foundation, the measure of racial resentment developed by Davis and Wilson is not just psychometrically elegant but also a powerful explanation of the many grievances felt by supporters of Donald Trump and the contemporary racial divide in the US.”

— Mark Peffley, Research Professor, University of Kentucky

"In grounding racial resentment in concerns about justice, fairness, and deservingness and in pressuring us to see it as actual resentment, Davis and Wilson have expanded the value of racial resentment for understanding the role of race in politics and in society more broadly. This is a book for graduate courses in race, and it belongs on the desk of everyone doing research on racial attitudes."

— Ethnic and Racial Studies

"The authors of this book propose a deeper understanding of racial attitudes in the US . . . Recommended."

— Choice

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Prologue Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Chapter 1. “I’m Not a Racist, but . . .” Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter 2. Resentment Is Not Prejudice Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	37
Chapter 3. Pressing Restart on Racial Resentment Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
Chapter 4. The Profile and Performance of Racial Resentment Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	114
Chapter 5. Racial Resentment and the Susceptibility to Campaign Appeals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	137
Chapter 6. Racial Cognitive Consistency Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	159
Chapter 7. Racial Schadenfreude Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	190
Chapter 8. African Americans’ Resentment toward Whites Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	214
Chapter 9. Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	243
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	263
Appendix: Description of Data Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	267
Appendix: Chapter 8 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	277
Appendix: Question Wording by Chapter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	285
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	307
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	313
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	337

Language: English
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 320
Illustrations
- Other: 17 line drawings, 47 tables
Keywords: race; poverty; inequality; resentment; prejudice; discrimination; systemic racism; nonfiction; politics; political science; public opinion; resistance; minorities; polarization; undeserving; justice; status quo; privilege; resources; conservatism; unearned; fairness; deserving; advantage; advancement; hard work; puritanism; sociology; psychology; schadenfreude

eBook

Published: December 27, 2021
ISBN: 9780226814704