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(Mis)Calculations, Psychological Mechanisms, and the Future Politics of People of Color

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2020

Efrén Pérez Open the ORCID record for Efrén Pérez [Opens in a new window]
Efrén Pérez*
Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles Race, Ethnicity, Politics & Society (REPS) Lab
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Efrén Pérez, Departments of Political Science and Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This essay comments on three questions about race, ethnicity, and politics in the contemporary United States—How did we get here? Who are we now? And, where are we going next? I grapple with these questions as a political psychologist steeped in the study of intergroup politics. In this capacity, I will argue that structural (mis)calculations have paved the road toward present intergroup relations, where identity politics reigns supreme. I then discuss America's current racial landscape, arguing that reality is more complex than before, especially as it concerns political relations between Whites and non-Whites. In this regard, I will claim that political psychology holds special insights to generate new knowledge about how (non-)Whites are navigating this changing racial landscape. Finally, I will advocate, strongly, for a greater sense of wonder about the multiplicity of identities that people of color hold. In particular, I will claim that by relaxing our assumption that race is the main identity that matters to people of color, we stand to better appreciate just how adaptive non-Whites are to their political surroundings, leading us toward new insights about the origins and nature of mass political engagement and involvement.

Keywords

Interminority politicspeople of colorhierarchy
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , March 2021 , pp. 33 - 55
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association

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