ABSTRACT
One great barrier to racial change in this country is the pervasive and deepseated character of the white racial frame, with its extensive rationalizing elements and emotion-laden legitimation of white privilege and continuing discrimination. It is certainly possible for whites not to act out of that dominant frame, as many periodically do. Yet, most whites, at least much of the time, live their daily lives unreflectively out of some version of that white racial frame. Important elements of that frame control much societal interaction and communication, even for otherwise savvy whites, because these elements are omnipresent and considered "normal." Most whites do not even realize they routinely operate from some version of this dominant frame. Because of it, most have never committed to the comprehensive racial desegregation of major institutions, to aggressive enforcement of antidiscrimination laws, or to reparations to Americans of color for past and present racial oppression.
