Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
2-15-2025
Abstract
The white ruling class sorted the masses of people into racial categories under their rule to manipulate different segments of the population to fight against each other rather than fight against the ruling establishment. They used hierarchical racial categories to manage and control different “racial groups” based on phenotypes. Race is a biosocial-political category created and used by the white ruling elite to design and control a racial hierarchy based on the ideology of white supremacy. Racial stratification functions like a caste system of oppression in which members of Different racially classified groups are legally required and socialized to develop intimate and emphatic relationships only with other members of their groups.
The mixing of ancestral groups in the United States began over 400 years ago. Under white supremacy, a racial hierarchy was created for subordinating groups who were not classified as white. The white elite rulers maintain the racialized state through the process of incorporating and repressing the non-white groups. Many believe that the growing mixed-race population in the United States will make racial categories meaningless and make us colorblind. The historical record of the United States shows that it is a mistaken idea. Ignoring or not acknowledging the foundational role of racialization will not solve problems. Colorblind approaches to social issues are limited in terms of effectiveness because they do not address the rootedness of race and racism in the social system.
Recommended Citation
Tripp, Luke, "The Ruling White Elite and Racism in the United States" (2025). Ethnic and Women's Studies Working Papers. 11.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/ews_wps/11
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
