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christa.alexander20
Feb 02, 2022
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One compelling theme throughout Parts IV, V, and the Epilogue was how racist ideas were repackaged in a “palatable” way. No longer were senators, presidents, and prominent figures using explicit language to speak on the inferiority of Black people. Rather, they were using race-neutral language to appeal to those who were inherently racist. For example, in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the legislation barred “clear and obvious” intentions to discriminate. Under this legislation, “whites only” public policies could not stand. However, race-neutral policies, that had discriminatory outcomes, were permissible. Literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses were “void of racial language”, but clearly discriminated against Black people. Nixon was another user of “palatable” racist ideas. He managed to demean Black people and praise white people without ever saying Black people or white people (see pg. 410). Americans had a clear picture of who Nixon was referring to when he said “dangerous” neighborhoods, crackheads, and “welfare” bums. This allowed closeted racists to continually promote clearly racist ideas.
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