ABSTRACT
This concluding chapter identifies the key characteristics of white racist oppression and the strategies through which it is continually defended and legitimized. Contrary to mainstream accounts, which view racism as a rare occurrence driven by individual failings, the analysis reveals that racism is multidimensional (operating at both individual and systemic levels), fluid and complex. Most importantly, white racist oppression is comprehensive (it saturates every aspect of education, from the classroom to national policy), aggressive (striking against any perceived threat to white supremacy), and insatiable (it is never satisfied, always seeking greater influence and control). These characteristics and strategies serve two overarching goals: the normalization of racial injustice as a routine part of the fabric of society, and the naturalization of racist inequity – that is, the view that where racial disparities exist, they mostly arise from deficiencies in the people who experience the injustice (thereby absolving white powerholders of responsibility). The chapter ends with some thoughts about the application of Critical Race Theory in support of antiracist scholarship and activism.
