Ian López on What It Means To Be White, A Race and Power Conversation

When we talk about race we typically focus on racial minorities. Today, it seems much less uncomfortable to talk about what it means to be white. In this session we jump in. What does it mean to be white? Who gets to be white and why? Professor Brian Lowery talks with Ian López, the author of Dog Whistle Politics, How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class (2014), and of Merge Left: Fusing Race and Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America (2019). They discuss how the concept of whiteness was constructed, how politicians exploit racial pandering to fracture social solidarity, and ways to overcome the political weaponization of whiteness. This event is part of a weekly series of conversations with prominent leaders that aims to deepen our collective awareness of the role of race in the United States and around the world. We will discuss how race interacts with structures of power and how systemic racism manifests itself in institutions and our daily lives. Register here: https://gsb-courses.stanford.edu/lead...