Diverting From Race
DEFINITION
The practice of asserting that other social identities besides race — such as class, gender, or sexual orientation — are the predominant determining factors behind a given social inequity.
EFFECT ON RACIAL DISCOURSE ON RACIAL DISCOURSE
Ranks systems of power and dismisses racism as a primary, or even legitimate, determinant of social inequity. This logic inhibits an understanding of how bias and discrimination against groups for one reason — race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic class — intersects with others and works together. This promotes an either/ or instead of a both/and framework. The latter offers an important sociological and historical perspective, rather than a single identity or non-racial analysis.
EXAMPLE
A statewide LGBT non-profit organization releases a report that includes findings on rising rates of LGBT youth homelessness. Media coverage fails to take into account and report on how race/ethnicity and immigrant status have differing impacts on the experience of homelessness for LGBT youth of color, and how they affect their interactions with public, nonprofit and private institutions.
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In This Section:
- Individualizing Racism
- Falsely Equating Incomparable Acts
- Diverting From Race
- Portraying Government as Overreaching
- Prioritizing Intent Over Impact
- Coded Language
- Silencing History
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“Creating the Space to Talk About Race in Your School” content on this web site and in our "Racial Justice in Education" resource guide © 2017 National Education Association, in collaboration with Race Forward.