Hiding in plain sight: Dehumanization as a foundation of white racial prejudice

In the media, during sporting events, in online forums, and in interpersonal interactions, whites often portray Black people as animals, especially as apes or monkeys. In this essay we consider what contemporary research on prejudice in American politics has to say about these dehumanizing portrayals of Black people. We argue that contemporary political science work has not done enough to understand both the historical roots and the continuing practices of whites' dehumanization of Black people, to the detriment of an accurate understanding of racial attitudes in the United States. To rectify this omission, we draw on the work of historians to map out a brief overview of race-making and the dehumanizing attitudes that shaped this process. Then, we review political science literature on contemporary white attitudes toward Black people, emphasizing connections between prevailing conceptions of these attitudes and long-standing processes of dehumanization. We conclude by charting directions for future scholarship; we seek to unsettle the mainstream of a sub-field dominated by mild conceptions of racial attitudes.

Automated summary

The essay explores the dehumanizing portrayals of Black people in various aspects of society and argues that contemporary political science research has not adequately addressed the historical roots and ongoing practices of white people's dehumanization of Black people. The authors aim to rectify this by drawing on historical research and connecting prevailing conceptions of racial attitudes to long-standing processes of dehumanization. They conclude by proposing directions for future scholarship to challenge mainstream notions of racial attitudes.