Deck 26: Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, the Strange Enigma of Race in Contemporary America From Racism Without Racists

Question 1

Bonilla-Silva's analysis of racism in "The Strange Enigma of Race in Contemporary America" shows how

A) racism is much more in widespread among minorities than among those in the majority.
B) organizations and institutions operate to benefit some people in ways they may not be aware of.
C) it has become acceptable to openly express racial prejudice and discriminate against minorities.
D) women are less prejudiced than men, largely because they have, themselves, experienced gender prejudice.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What does Bonilla-Silva mean by color-blind racism in "The Strange Enigma of Race in Contemporary America"?

A) Whites profess not to be racially prejudiced and contend that race no longer matters, but they participate in organizational practices that perpetuate racial inequality and oppose measures to rectify this.
B) Class prejudice, inasmuch as the color of a person's skin, is less important than the amount of money in their pocketbook.
C) People of all ethnic and racial groups express prejudicial attitudes and beliefs.
D) Long-held values such as the value of hard work and thrift are embraced by some people who look down on other people who do not share these values.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

According to many people who study race and inequality, the idea of biological differences between race/ethnicity has been replaced by the idea of

A) cultural differences, especially the way the values and behaviors of minority group members hold them back from being as successful as they might be.
B) genetic differences that may not manifest themselves in observable biological differences.
C) historical determinism, that the past lives on in people's ways of thinking about themselves and explains why some are ambitious and others are not.
D) manifest functions or the unappreciated forces of society acting in the public's best interest, often to the detriment of individual people.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Just as feminist scholars talk about a "gendered labor force" that values masculinity and gives advantages to males, Bonilla-Silva sees

A) elites giving advantages to those raised in elite institutions and who are able to show their elite status.
B) women competing against one another for valued things (e.g., money, status) in a male-dominated world.
C) the end of gender discrimination as coming before the end of racial discrimination.
D) a racial structure or racialized social system that advantaged and continues to advantage whites.

Question 5

In Bonilla-Silva's "The Strange Enigma of Race in Contemporary America," "racial optimists" make the mistake of

A) focusing on minority group members who have "made it" and overlooking those who haven't.
B) equating economic equality with social and interpersonal equality.
C) measuring the decline in prejudicial attitudes from earlier eras and concluding that their decline shows today's racism in a much better light than it really is.
D) seeing America today as a post-racial society, largely by studying young people rather than their parents or grandparents.