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ERIC Number: EJ932888
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1361-3324
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
"Which" Interests Are Served by the Principle of Interest Convergence? Whiteness, Collective Trauma, and the Case for Anti-Racism
Jackson, Taharee Apirom
Race, Ethnicity and Education, v14 n4 p435-459 2011
A primary principle of critical race theory is "interest convergence," or the notion that progress toward racial equality will only be made when it converges with the interests of whites. Although I generally concur, I posit that "interest" must be rendered more complex in order to fully understand the pernicious effects of racism on all people, and on whites in particular. While laws, cultural norms, institutional practices, and even the election of Barack Obama indeed serve the material and emotional interests of whites, their psychological and moral interests are simultaneously undermined. I complicate the meaning of "interest" to show that while whites indeed benefit from racial hierarchy in numerous ways, a full deconstruction of racism and the collective trauma it induces must be considered with a more nuanced and disaggregated definition of "interest" in mind. I put forth that while whites are advantaged in real and tangible ways in an endemic system of racial dominance, the psychological and moral costs of racism far outweigh its limited benefits. (Contains 1 figure and 11 notes.)
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A