Capitalism, Racism, and Trumpism: Whitelash and the Politics of Oppression

That the rising tide of fascism, headwinds of neoliberalism, or persistence of racism in the United States is institutional, systemic, and part of a long history of oppression towards various groups is not new news. The bigger question is how we got to a point in which overt manifestations of racism, sexism, faux democracy, and other forms of illegality and authoritarianism has once again become normalized. What does it mean when a sitting President claims that Mexican immigrants are rapists, criminals, and drug runners? How did we get to a point where we, collectively, are not as outraged as we reasonably should be? In this paper, we argue that part of the explanation for the rise of, and loyalty to, Trumpism lies in Donald Trump's ability to fuel "whitelash." We define whitelash as individual, institutional, and/or structural countermeasures against the dismantling of white supremacy or actions, real or imagined, that seek to remedy existing racial inequities. Whitelash, we argue, is a reaction to challenges made to the white status quo; it is a reaction to growing diversity; it is a reaction against any progressive changes that would call out racism, question white privilege, or suggest racial equality is necessary to meet American ideals of fairness, in any of its forms. We present two historical case studies (immigration and affirmative action) that highlight the role of whitelash in the U.S. Author Biographies David G. Embrick, University of Connecticut Department of Sociology Dr. David G. Embrick holds a joint position as Associate Professor in the Sociology Department and African Studies Institute at the University of Connecticut. Prior to UConn, he spent a decade at Loyola University Chicago as faculty in the Sociology Department. He received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in 2006. He is a former American Sociological Association Minority Fellow; Past-President of the Southwestern Sociological Association; current Vice President of the Society for the Study of Social Problems; and current President of the Association for Humanist Sociology. In addition, Dr. Embrick serves as the Founding Co-Editor of Sociology of Race and Ethnicity; Founding Book Series Editor of Sociology of Diversity, with Bristol University Press; and Founding Book Series Co-Editor of Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, with Georgia University Press. J. Scott Carter, University of Central Florida Department of Sociology Dr. Carter is currently an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Central Florida and is the Co-Editor of Sociological