In a review article published online May 23 in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, researchers looked at 83 previous studies in which specific types of color-blind ideology were found to increase anti-Black perspectives and give a pass to racist behaviors and attitudes. More specifically, power evasion (the denial of racism) led to these negative outcomes, and color evasion (ignoring race) did not necessarily do so. The researchers noted in the paper that by helping people better understand the individual-level behaviors and ideologies that contribute to anti-Black sentiment, counseling psychologists can help dismantle the systemic racism those behaviors and attitudes lead to. These findings can inform best practices for mental health professionals and others who work in fields such as education, social work, and various nonprofits, said the study’s lead researcher, Jacqueline Yi, a clinical-community psychology doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in a press release. “The denial of structural racism appears to be a big barrier to racial equity because it allows for more victim-blaming explanations of systemic inequality,” Yi said. “The more that BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and People of Color] individuals are blamed for racial disparities, the less likely it is for white people and institutions to take responsibility for the continued effects of systemic racism.”
Researchers Looked at Color and Power Evasion Separately
Psychologists define “racial ideology” as a belief system that informs one’s interpretation of and response to racial stimuli. For the study, the researchers analyzed data from 83 previous studies that had looked at the effects of color-blind racial ideologies on anti-Black prejudice and a willingness to show racial empathy or openness to diversity. The researchers categorized color-blindness as either color evasion or power evasion. The first means ignoring someone’s race or ethnicity to reduce prejudice and possible tension, or focusing on human similarity rather than differences linked to racial group membership. The second, power evasion, is the denial, minimization, and distortion of the existence of institutional racism. All the studies in the new review focused on either color evasion, power evasion, or both. The studies that were reviewed took place between 1995 to 2019 and included more than 25,000 participants. The review found that power evasion was associated with greater prejudice against Black people and was not an effective way to “get past” or address structural racism; instead, it perpetuated anti-Blackness. Color evasion, however, was not associated with greater levels of prejudice. The researchers also concluded that the denial of structural racism was more closely linked to anti-Black prejudice than to prejudice against other people of color; and that people who denied the existence of structural racism were more likely to endorse stronger beliefs, such as that societal inequality is acceptable, and they reported fewer intentions to engage in social justice behaviors. Researchers noted some limitations: They did not analyze responses from study participants by race or ethnicity, meaning power evasion and color evasion attitudes from Black, white, and non-Black people of color were combined. And most of the studies in the analysis included mostly white participants.
Systemic Racism Needs to Be Addressed — Step 1 Is to Better Understand Why It Continues
Barbara Ford Shabazz, PsyD, a clinical psychologist and the owner of Intentional Activities, a personal and professional coaching company, says that better understanding attitudes that contribute to systemic racism will ultimately help address it. “Awareness and acknowledgment of the insidious effects of structural racism are not as prevalent as they could and should be,” she says. The shocking murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, led to nationwide protests in opposition to racial violence directed toward Black people. In response at the time, the NAACP’s president and CEO, Derrick Johnson, said, “This is about the systemic and pervasive nature of racism in this nation that must be addressed." Doctors similarly pointed to systemic racism as driving racial inequities in COVID-19 infections and deaths in a 2020 New England Journal of Medicine article. Research like this new analysis from Li and her team helps build a framework to address the specific mental health concerns that victims of racism face, and eventually dismantle structural racism, Dr. Shabazz says. Color-blindness may be an attractive ideology because it allows people who benefit from a racist society to ignore their own privilege and lets them off the hook for contributing to it, adds Jocelyn Smith Lee, PhD, an assistant professor of human development and family studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. Even though the data from this research did not suggest that color evasion contributes to anti-Black sentiment, Dr. Smith Lee adds: “That approach is also harmful.” Shabazz agrees. “The willful avoidance of appreciating diversity and [not] looking at racial disparities only reinforces white comfort, power, and privilege, rendering this approach wildly ineffective.” Based on their findings, the researchers noted future directions for study, such as developing a tool to measure color-blind racial ideology, investigating the implications of color-blindness across ethnic groups, and studying the motivations behind it.
