The Rise of the Modern White Nationalist Movement

Chapter 3 traces the rise of the modern white nationalist movement and the process by which it was mainstreamed in American politics. The chapter describes the ideology of white nationalists and the variety of racialized political narratives utilized by movement leaders to foster white racial consciousness. These narratives became increasingly resonant among white racists due to observable increases in racial diversity, which was portrayed as a threat to white supremacy. Nonetheless, because of the relatively closed nature of the political opportunity structure, white racists had few vehicles open to them to express their frustration. From the 1980s until the election of Obama in 2008, white racists became increasingly disillusioned with contemporary politics. Most white racists sat out of politics altogether as an increasingly angry minority fueled a rapid growth in white nationalist groups that were relegated to the extremist fringe.

The Critical Role of Outgroup Hostility in the 2016 Election

Chapter 8 offers a thorough analysis of survey research data from the American National Election Study (ANES), the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), and the Democracy Fund’s Voter Study Group (DFVSG) to show that white outgroup hostility had a uniquely strong effect on vote choice in 2016. It provides evidence that outgroup hostility was as important in predicting vote choice as party identification. Although many people have argued that a major factor in Trump’s victory was increasing economic anxiety within the white working class, the findings presented offer evidence that economic anxiety had a relatively small direct effect on support for Trump. Rather, its effect was largely exerted indirectly, filtered through the primary effects of outgroup hostility toward blacks, Latinx immigrants, and Muslims. The influence of outgroup hostility is even more compelling when we consider its indirect effect on vote choice through its effects on party identification and ideology. This chapter most significantly (1) specifies the causal pathways that are suggestive of a process by which white identity gets politicized as what has been called white racial consciousness; (2) discusses how white racial consciousness is the result of the dissemination of racialized political narratives as propagated by race-baiting elites; (3) examines how this dissemination of racialized political narratives agitates attitudes of outgroup hostility; and (4) explores how that outgroup hostility was a critical factor in producing a winning Trump coalition that furthered the mainstreaming of racism right into the White House.

The Changing Face of Racism

Chapter 2 begins by surveying the literature on white racial prejudice and voting behavior. It shows that over the four presidential elections from 2004 to 2016, white hostility toward African Americans, Latinx immigrants, and Muslims became increasingly intertwined and formed the basis for what is defined here as a contemporary form of ethnocentrism as expressed in white outgroup hostility. The chapter confirms the results of other studies that have shown that while the effect of outgroup hostility on vote choice greatly increased in 2016, the level of outgroup hostility actually declined between 2012 and 2016. Therefore, to properly understand the political mainstreaming of racism over the 2010s, the chapter argues that one must not only consider the evolution of whites’ racial attitudes but also examine the processes by which outgroup hostility is translated into political participation. Chapter 2 introduces a theoretical framework that combines insights from social identity theory to understand changes in whites’ racial attitudes with theories of political participation originating from the social movement literature. The framework thus emphasizes the highly contingent nature of the relationship between white racial consciousness, outgroup hostility, and political mobilization. Specifically, the chapter outlines a model of the process by which racialized political narratives help activate a politicized white consciousness that leads to anger, expressed though outgroup hostility, and thus serves as the catalyst for political mobilization.

White Consciousness and White Prejudice: Two Compounding Forces in Contemporary American Politics

In recent years, American politics has been defined by party polarization driven in part by Americans’ diverging attitudes toward immigration. In this article, I suggest that Donald Trump was able to capitalize on this polarization and on the way in which race is implicated in the issue of immigration. He did so by appealing to the attitudes held by two distinct groups of white Americans – those who possess a sense of animosity toward members of immigrant groups like Muslims and Latinos, and separately, whites who may demonstrate little out-group hostility, but instead have a strong sense of solidarity with their racial group. I show how white hostility toward Latinos and Muslims and white racial consciousness have become two distinct forces in American politics, driving opposition to immigration and bolstering support for Donald Trump above and beyond other presidential candidates, regardless of their party affiliations.

From Racial Resistance to Racial Consciousness: Engaging White STEM Faculty in Pedagogical Transformation

Professor Arnie Copper is among the many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty who view the learning of STEM curriculum as an intellectual exercise that is race-neutral. In this case, the authors use the White Racial Consciousness and Faculty Behavior model to illustrate how racially minoritized students can experience the classrooms of White STEM faculty who fail to see connections between their teaching, course content, and racial justice. Institutional leaders and faculty developers can use this case to generate a timely critique of the enduring racism shaping higher education and fostering hostile learning conditions on college campuses.