Summary
Racial formation is a multiplex sociological theory about the emergence, existence, and change of the individual and society developed by Omi and Winant. According to the authors, individual, cultural, and societal processes are shaped by race (Omi & Winant, 2015). It is a biological phenomenon of their phenotype and those they see and interacts with, which, in the course of understanding by one, passes through socio-economic and political lenses and becomes a social construct. Humans are subject to race and act as agents of their race, creating racial projects manifest at the interpersonal, community, and institutional levels. One such ongoing racial project is the continuous debate on “colorblind’ ideology” between various ethnic and political groups (Omi & Winant, 2015, p. 126). Such a complex, intersectional theoretical perspective is critical because it reveals the existing racist institutional systems and mechanisms and creates an active social discourse that makes it possible to identify other ones. The KKK, the Black Panthers, and the Civil Rights Movement are historical examples of racial projects.
Importance of Racial Formation
There are currently two large meta-racial projects in the American socio-political spectrum. One is conservative or neo-conservative, and the other is liberal or neo-liberal. According to Omi and Winant (2015), the conservatives want to establish an anti-statist paradigm, while the liberals’ goal is a country-wide anti-racist policy. German and Hunzeker (2021) say that anti-statism is “the belief that governments invariably threaten individual liberty” (para. 3). Sociological experts argue that “anti-racism is the practice of identifying, challenging, and changing the values, structures and behaviors that perpetuate systemic racism” (Anti-racism, n.d., para. 4). Interestingly, these racial projects incorporate the concept of color blindness but move beyond it in differing directions (Cole, 2019). Conservative anti-statism seeks to focus resources around the ethnic majority and eliminate the too-socialistic welfare state. Anti-racist policy proponents want to provide more resources to ethnic minorities and eradicate racist institutions.
References
Anti-racism. (n.d.). Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre. Web.
Cole, N. L. (2019). What are racial projects? A sociological approach to race. ThoughtCo. Web.
German, C., & Hunzeker, M. (2021). America’s far right isn’t authoritarian. It’s anti-statist.Defense One. Web.
Omi, M., & Winant, H. (2015). Racial formation in the United States (3rd ed.). Routledge.