The Prevalence, Correlates, and Consequences of Racial Apathy Among Black Teenagers

Recognition and Disregard: The Relationship Between Racial Apathy and Liberal Reforms on Monetary Sanctions

“…Let us distinguish how we define racial apathy in contrast to recent studies that have taken up the concept. Whereas studies by Brown et al (2019Brown et al ( , 2020, Ebert et al (2020) and Estrada and colleagues (2016) claim that racial apathy captures the denial of racial discrimination, in addition to an indifference to it, we suggest that racial apathy is not so much a denial but a deflection. The difference is subtle but critical.…”

“…To date, few inquiries have taken up the construct of racial apathy and those that do tend to study it among whites only (e.g., Alexander 2018;Brown et al 2019;Lewis 2006, 2015). Our project joins recent work by Brown et al (2020) by departing from a singular focus on whites to consider whether other groups adhere to racial apathy as well. The omission of other groups makes substantive sense when you consider the polarization that divides ethnoracial groups on a variety of topics, from the persistence of discrimination to support for reparations to general welfare attitudes.…”

“…Two of these measures are reverse coded (the second and fourth statements), so their scales follow the same direction. Unlike other studies that have operationalized racial apathy as a binary sentiment (e.g., Brown et al 2020), our measurement follows a continuum parsing out differences in degree. Higher scores reflect greater levels of racial apathy.…”

“…Unlike other studies that have operationalized racial apathy as a binary sentiment (e.g., Brown et al. 2020), our measurement follows a continuum parsing out differences in degree. Higher scores reflect greater levels of racial apathy.…”

“…As an emotional script, racial apathy is deleterious insomuch that it recognizes discriminatory harm without committing to anything. In defining racial apathy in this way, we depart from recent studies (e.g., Brown et al 2019Brown et al , 2020Ebert, Liao, and Estrada 2020;Estrada, Ebert, and Lore 2016) that deploy the construct within a context of colorblindness to capture the denial of discrimination. Whereas colorblind ideology does not deny racial inequality but the discrimination that creates it (Bonilla-Silva 2003), we contend that racial apathy acknowledges the persistence of discrimination but deflects any complicity with its spoils (see also Yamashita 2020).…”