Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America

Eduardo Bonilla-Silva writes that he did not think there would be a sixth edition of Racism without Racists, but the events of the last few years changed his mind. First, Donald Trump’s overt rhetoric gave further fuel to the old-style racism that became more common during the presidency of Barack Obama. Bonilla-Silva lists several examples of Trump’s racist rhetoric and notes that his “relentless racism advanced the cause of extremists” over the course of his campaign, presidency, and during the transition to the presidency of Joe Biden, culminating with the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 (17).

Other events Bonilla-Silva notes encouraged him to write a sixth edition is the outbreak of COVID-19, the economic problems caused by the pandemic, and the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd by officers of the Minneapolis Police Department in May 2020. While the vast movement initiated by that murder is dissipating, a question remains about what will happen when other Black and Brown people are killed unjustly by police officers. There is palpable excitement about the prospects of advancing racial justice, but Bonilla-Silva notes that in previous periods of change far too little has actually been accomplished.