Racism is real while race itself is a myth

Evidence

For decades, Critical Race Theory (“CRT”) and Latina & Latino Critical Legal Theory (“LatCrit”) scholars have debated the construction of race and the operations of racism in the United States. This article uses this rich literature as well as the work of historians Cedric Robinson and Barbara J. Fields and sociologist Karen E. Fields to argue that race is a specter or a myth and that we should take its unreality much more seriously than we do. In other words, although racism exists, race itself is not real, it is not a fact, and it is not immutable. Furthermore, this article argues, along with Robinson, that racism produces not only the specter of race but fluid identities as it addresses itself to specific and identifiable groups of people. — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 39

Categorization

• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
• XREF: connects to: Race exists only as a specter produced by racism, not as reality; Real cultural differences can anchor racial myths despite legitimate observation — Sherene Razack, Casting Out: The Eviction of Muslims…, 317; Racism is real but race is only an idea manufactured by racist practice. (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Racism is real but race is only an idea manufactured by racist practice. #corroborates (0.95)
• Race is socially constructed rather than biologically real but has powerful social effects #corroborates (0.90) — Michael Omi, Howard Winant, Racial Formation in the United States, 113
• Races are produced by racism, not by biology #corroborates (0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 76
• Race is a product of racism, so groups are racialized rather than racial. #corroborates (0.85) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 107
• Real cultural differences can anchor racial myths despite legitimate observation #qualifies (0.80) — Sherene Razack, Casting Out, 317
• Race emerges from prior racist practice, not from perceived difference #corroborates (0.80) — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 32