On 25 May 2020, George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis. His death was one of many Black lives cut short by police, but for a multitude of reasons, this particular murder, which was caught on tape, ignited massive protests nationally. Attention was focused on the ways that racial inequality continues to thrive in the United States.
Although many progressives would have liked to believe that such attention would lead to policies that aimed to reduce racial inequality, within two years of these protests and renewed conversation about racial inequality, state legislatures began introducing bills to limit programmes, language and training around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The re-election of Donald Trump in November 2024 comes with the promise of further restrictions on DEI work in higher education institutions.
How can we explain this backlash to antiracist efforts? What happens when race and racial inequality is revealed and visible to White people? Our research on college students may shed light on this phenomenon. We interviewed a total of 68 first-year students in two cohorts: the first cohort when just 15 per cent of the student body were students of colour, and the second five years later when the percentage of students of colour on campus had doubled to 30 per cent.
White students in the first cohort generally didn’t notice race. For example, when asked whether he thought his background affected his experiences on campus, Jonathan, a White student, answered: “Not that I can see, because I am a White male, and that’s kind of what our campus is right now.” However, students of colour detected racial divisions and expressed a desire to see more students of colour on campus.
In the second cohort, all students noticed race. Some White students told us that this was the first time they had been in a racially diverse setting, and therefore expressed some discomfort in adjusting, simultaneously feeling surprised that students of colour saw them as White people, forcing them to confront their own Whiteness. The interviews revealed that some White students on campus reacted defensively and with frustration when students of colour confronted their racial slurs and jokes and sought to educate their peers about racial issues. Further, White students were not always open to learning: Ibrahim, a Black man, reported that a White student still was “not understanding [why a joke he told was racist], even after I’ve explained it”. Ibrahim also said in his first weeks on campus, he had to ‘minimise’ himself when he walked into a room to make his White peers more comfortable. Such experiences reveal whose comfort (White students) takes precedence in social spaces, and whose job it is (Black students) to provide that comfort.
In addition, during the time of the second cohort, the institution had incorporated a Living Learning Community (LLC) that provided a scholarship and other networking opportunities. Though students were eligible for this LLC if they were students of colour, first-generation college students or students from families below a certain income threshold, the White students we interviewed linked this LLC only to race and used it as evidence that White students didn’t receive the same support as students of colour. These feelings of discomfort, anger and reverse racism stemming from their perception that Black students were receiving ‘unearned’ resources, mirror the consequential policies restricting DEI and the US Supreme Court’s 2023 decision about ending affirmative action, and suggest a deep connection between emotions and policy.
The growing percentage of students of colour on campus seemed to make race visible to many White students, some of whom had never had to interact with people of other races. This revelation, paired with economic supports, awakened White students’ negative emotional responses. Despite this backlash, almost all the White students expressed support for racial equality and sought to learn more about multiculturalism. This interest in racial equality and multiculturalism lives in contradiction with their emotional responses when faced with racial diversity. Other scholars, like Nolan Cabrera, have argued that racism is not just about ‘bad Whites’, nor will it be solely fixed by education or providing facts; these are unconscious processes that White people insulate with anger and apathy. Our emotions do not remain privately contained within ourselves; they guide both our thoughts and actions.
Racial inequality has been a part of the USA since its foundation. Today, White people’s emotions, consequent actions and resulting policies continue to reveal a deeply ingrained sentiment that people of colour and their feelings and perspectives should remain in the background. A commitment to addressing racial inequality there requires a better understanding of the way White racial emotions drive policies and perceptions of race and racial fairness. White students’ backlash against increasing numbers of people of colour on campus affect the emotional wellbeing and sense of belonging of students of colour. More broadly, White backlash against DEI policies undermines our ability to repair racial inequities and explore the ways that racism is baked into our institutions; without deeper understanding, we end up reproducing this inequality. Exploring and addressing this emotional backlash, finding ways to foster White students’ empathy and emotional self-awareness, and understanding the ways White emotions get written into policies, are critical steps to creating more equitable and safe environments for people of colour.
Molly Dingel is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota Rochester, USA. Gemma Punti is an associate professor in the College of Individualized and Interdisciplinary Studies at Metro State University, Minnesota, USA.
Increasing diversity and racial emotions on campus by Molly J. Dingel and Gemma Punti is available on Bristol University Press Digital.
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