Race consciousness can serve either democratic or despotic ends.

Evidence

Parallel to the question, what do you want your race consciousness to be? is another question: What would a racial justice-oriented social policy look like to you? What types of policies and practices —at the level of the state, civil society, and major institutions— would help us achieve a more comprehensive, deeper, and lasting racial democracy in the United States? … Since racism is so large, combating it must also be a largescale practice. — Michael Omi, Howard Winant, Racial Formation in the United States, 249