Covert Racism

Covert racism, subtle in application, often appears hidden by norms of association, affiliation, group membership and/or identity. As such, covert racism is often excused or confused with mechanisms of exclusion and inclusion, ritual and ceremony, acceptance and rejection. Covert racism operates as a boundary keeping mechanism whose primary purpose is to maintain social distance between racial majorities and racial minorities

Rodney D. Coates, Ph.D. (1987) in Sociology, University of Chicago, is Professor of Sociology at Miami University. He has published extensively in the areas of critical race and ethnic relations including his edited text Race and Ethnic Relations: Across Time, Space and Discipline (Brill 2004).