Abstract Racial colorblindness refers to the prescriptive belief that race should not influence institutional practices or interpersonal interactions. Though racial colorblind ideology was championed in the 2023 Supreme Court ruling reversing affirmative action in college admissions, existing research suggests that such beliefs may perpetuate racial inequality by neglecting the importance of policies that consider historical and social factors. Two studies investigate how institutionalized racial colorblindness shapes evaluations of student applicants of color. In two online samples of US adults, participants act as college admissions officers and evaluated hypothetical applications. In Study 1, students of color—who mentioned race in their personal statement—were rated as less qualified for admission when the Supreme Court ruling was mentioned relative to those evaluated without this policy cue. Study 2 further demonstrated that applicants who described experiences of racial injustice were penalized compared to those who expressed racial pride or did not mention race. Overall, the findings highlight the potential consequences of institutionalizing racial colorblindness in the admissions landscape and the risks this poses for students of color.
Small et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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