White Study on Exposure to Historical Information on Racial Inequality Featured in NBC News Article

August 12, 2022

NBC

Steven White

Political Science Department

Campbell Public Affairs Institute

Civil Rights

Education

Race & Ethnicity

United States

NBC

Steven White

"Historical information and beliefs about racial inequality," co-authored by Assistant Professor of Political Science Steven White, was featured in the NBC News article, "Teachers say in new survey they’re being told not to talk about racism and race."

One in four teachers report being told by school officials or district leaders to limit their classroom conversations about race, racism or bias, a new survey shows. This comes on the heels of White's study being published in Politics, Groups, and Identities.

Overall, White and co-author Albert H. Fang found that “emphasizing the historical and structural roots of contemporary racial inequalities” can increase beliefs in its structural causes, especially among white Republicans and independents, as well as reduce “racial resentment” among political groups.

White says the findings suggest encountering historical arguments has the potential to “push attitudes in a more egalitarian direction, at least at the margins.”