an abstraction separated from a concrete case,”3 and similarly Hans Joas and Wolfgang Knöbl in their book Social Theory note that “theories should be understood as generalizations.”4 In this sense, any analysis that goes from the specifics of one case to making a claim about how conditions might operate generally can be construed as (moving toward) theory.
We are constantly engaging with theory. On a daily basis, we interpret our social worlds and make generalizations about them in order to understand those social worlds. For example, you might have a theory that car salespeople are dishonest, so you visit multiple car lots to ensure that the best price is attained. Or you have a theory that you pick up good habits from friends, so you make a point to socialize with people who work hard. Joas and Knöbl remark that “theory is as necessary as unavoidable. Without it, it would be impossible to learn or to act in a consistent fashion; without generalizations and abstractions, the world would exist for us only as a chaotic patchwork of discrete, disconnected experiences and sensory impressions.”5 Theory guides behavior, and behaviors lead to amended or new theories.
It is important to grasp the fundamental necessity of theory. Theories guide us in how to understand and interpret social problems. For instance, take the two major sociological theories of conflict theory and symbolic interactionism. Conflict theory pays attention to how society is largely divided into “the haves,” who have resources and power, and the “have-nots,” who do not have resources and power. Symbolic interactionism pays attention to how people interact with each other and develop meaning through symbols. Now, take the social problem of teen pregnancy. Proponents of conflict theory would analyze this problem as one of haves and have-nots, wherein have-nots are more likely to experience teen pregnancy because they have less access to healthcare information and resources. Thus, the conflict theory solution would be to provide these resources. Proponents of symbolic interactionism will interpret the same data differently, as they will pay attention to symbols and meaning making. Symbolic interactionists would look at how sex is marketed to teenagers and how condoms are seen as not sexy. A symbolic interactionist solution would be to change the meaning around teen sex and condoms. These examples provide two important lessons about the necessity of theory: (1) Theory guides how one interprets data, and (2) theory and action must be connected. To the first point, theory helps explain observations and therefore frames interpretation and analysis of data. However, one theory is not always necessarily better than another, as seen in the example of conflict theory and symbolic interactionism. It is likely correct that teen pregnancy is affected by resources (conflict theory) and meanings around sex and condoms (symbolic interactionism), so multiple theories can coexist, rather than one being right and the other wrong. To the second point, theory and practice need each other. In the preceding example, the theoretical analysis of teen pregnancy means little if a solution is not provided. Theory is useless without action, but action needs effective theory to be most beneficial. Thus, it is understandable when Alexander argues that “theory is crucial, indeed that it is the heart of science.”6
Understanding Race and Racism
Race and racism are in an ugly mutual engagement and cannot exist without each other. Racism birthed racial categories and our contemporary understanding of “races.” However, before further discussion about racism, it is imperative to know that race is a social construction and is without any biological reality. Race is the assignment of a categorical label to a group of people who are perceived to share a set of physical features. For example, Whites are often described as sharing the features of light skin tone, straight hair, blue or green eyes, narrow nose, and thin lips. Of course, there are some people who are deemed “White” who fit this description but many who do not. There are “White” people who have curly hair, a wide nose, brown eyes, and/or brown skin. A perceived set of physical features helps guide our day-to-day social classification of people into races, but there is no unifying set of features that would encompass all Whites, all Asians, all Blacks, all Latinxs, all Native Americans, or any racial group. Moreover, research shows that humans are 99.9% identical in their genetic makeup, and there is no set of genetic markers that is distinctly shared by racial groups.7 In fact, people who are of different races can have more genetically in common with one another than people who are deemed of the same race.8 Thus, race is not biological and is instead a social construction—that is, a construct created and maintained by society.
Racial groups, to reiterate, were created by and are maintained through society’s practice of racism. Racism is a form of oppression based on race. The word oppression comes from the Latin and French words that mean “state of being overcome” or “constriction,” which is revealing of the nature of oppression.9 Any social oppression is identified by an ideological belief that there is a classification of people who are at the top of a hierarchy and who are superior and that consequently there is systemic (of the system) and systematic (of a pattern) provision of resources, opportunities, and benefits to those at the top of the hierarchy, along with the simultaneous denial of resources, opportunities, and benefits to those at the bottom of the hierarchy. Oppression can operate through the micro level of individual engagement and at the macro level of institutions and structures. Oppression can be based on any type of social categorization that society deems important enough to assign value to.10 For example, classism is a form of oppression based on money and sustained by capitalism, and sexism is a form of oppression based on gender and sustained by patriarchy. Racism is a form of oppression based on race and sustained by White supremacy. White supremacy is fundamentally the valuing of people deemed White and the disvaluing of people deemed non-White. White colonialism and imperialism led to the creation of a racial hierarchy and racial categories wherein people with light skin and of European ancestry were categorized as “White” and were placed at the top of the racial hierarchy. Who is considered “White” has fluctuated throughout time, but the valuing of people deemed White has been consistent.11 The continuing operation and ramifications of racism are addressed by the theories of racism in this book.
A Note on Capitalization
Because racial groups are significant categories of classification, I choose to capitalize all racial groups, such as “Black” and “White.” In the case of quotations used in the book, racial groups may or may not be capitalized, depending on the theorist’s perspective on capitalization. For further discussion on why to capitalize the names of racial groups, see Race Forward’s “Race Reporting Guide”12 and the Brookings Institution report “Not Just a Typographical Change: Why Brookings Is Capitalizing Black.”13 Regarding the use of “Latino” and “Hispanic,” I follow the author’s use of the term when applicable and otherwise use the term “Latinx.” The use of the “x” at the end signifies the effort to avoid gendering the term.14
Understanding Theories of Racism
White supremacy is often, in contemporary terms, understood within the confined ideas of White supremacy groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and Les Identitaires. White supremacy is apparent through the existence of such groups, but it can also operate on a level that appears more covert to some through means such as incarceration, immigration, and even access to good schools. As society has generally moved away from overt racism to more covert racism, theories of how racism persists have burgeoned. The theories addressed in this book are primarily from the sociological discipline, as sociology is the study of society, but also included are theories from philosophy, psychology, and law.
There are 13 theories covered in this book: prejudice and discrimination, White privilege, White supremacy, implicit bias, microaggressions, racial formation, systemic racism, critical race theory, laissez-faire racism, structure and culture, color-blind racism, colorism, and intersectionality. Some of these theories are largely undisputedly understood as theories, such as racial formation, systemic racism, and laissez-faire racism. Yet there has been debate, which will likely continue, about whether all 13 theories covered in this book actually
