Beyond Racial Prejudice:
Laws, Policies, Practices, and the Persistence of Systemic Racism
presented by
Dr Ted Thornhill
FGCU Associate Professor of Sociology
Director of the Center for Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
Despite the racial progress realized over the past 50 years, the U.S. remains a white supremacist society, one where those racialized as white are afforded greater opportunities, resources, and social accord than those racialized as non-white. While serious concern about the increasing threat of violent white racist hate groups is warranted, these groups and their members are not the primary reason Blacks and other people of color continue to have lower life chances. Rather, Dr. Thornhill will argue that color-blind ideology and contemporary forms of racism do the operative work. He will conclude by highlighting the types of anti-racist policies and practices necessary to engender a racially just society.
Dr. Ted Thornhill is an associate professor of sociology and founding director of the Center for Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers. His research examines racist and antiracist policies and practices within organizations. He has published in journals such as Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, Urban Education, the American Journal of Sociology, and Sociology Compass and popular outlets including The Conversation, The Grio, and Inside Higher Ed. He is the author of the widely reviewed article, “We Want Black Students, Just Not You: How White Admissions Counselors Screen Black Prospective Students.” Dr. Thornhill’s research and teaching has been covered by numerous media outlets including CNN, The Washington Post, The Root, The Boston Globe, NPR, BBC, and Forbes. He received his BA in sociology and ethnic studies from Florida Atlantic University and his master’s in applied social research from Florida State University. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.